Butchering and Curing Meats in China

9781465673879

213 pages

Library of Alexandria

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Overview

The Chinese, like most people, are lovers of pork, beef, mutton, and poultry, and consume these meats, both fresh and cured, in large quantities each year. Fresh meat is practically all consumed within a few miles of the locality in which it is butchered. However large quantities of cured meats, especially cured pork and duck, are shipped long distances from the localities where they are cured. Cured hams and bacon are shipped from Kuling north to Peking, and south to Canton. Yunnan exports to Canton and other parts of China, to the Philippine Islands and other countries to the south, a considerable quantity of home cured ham, which is quite popular with the Chinese in those regions. On the other hand, a good deal of cured ham and bacon is imported, chiefly from Australia and England, to the various ports of China and finds its way inland. For a number of years Canton Christian College has been studying the butchering and curing problems as they exist in southern China, particularly in the region of Canton. Meats of various kinds have been butchered and cured by the College. Both the foreign and Chinese methods of handling the meat have been practiced and studied. In this work special attention has been given to the butchering and curing of pork. The climate of Canton is one not especially well adapted to curing meat. This is due to the fact that the temperature never falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the coldest winter season. Further, this low a temperature is not maintained more than a few days of the winter season, and only at night. Before noon it usually rises to 50 or 60, following even the coldest nights. In spite of the fact that the temperature never gets very low, the work at the College has demonstrated that it is possible to produce good cured meat, if done properly, even without the use of ice. However there is some risk of the meat spoiling without ice, and it is recommended, especially in curing large pieces of meat, such as hams and shoulders, that ice be used to facilitate the cooling of the meat before the cure is applied.