In selecting beef see that the lean is a clear, bright red, the fat firm and a creamy white, never yellow; then you may be reasonably sure that meat is fresh and from a young animal. In selecting poultry the eyes should be bright, the comb red, the nostrils clean and dry, the feet and legs smooth and free from scales, the breast plump and the tip end of the breastbone soft and yielding to pressure. A fowl that has these requirements is young, healthy and at least moderately fat.

The best meat can be ruined by poor cooking, and the poorest cut can be made palatable and nutritious by proper preparation. A roast or steak should be quickly seared on the outside to harden the albumen and retain the juices, and then the heat reduced to finish cooking to make the inside tender and juicy, otherwise your roast, or steak, will be dry and hard; for the same reason never salt your meat until it is almost done. Never beat a steak as it crushes the fibers, allowing the juices to escape. If the steak is tough, and you have time, put three or four tablespoons of oil, or melted butter, mixed with an equal amount of vinegar, on a platter and place your steak in that for two hours, turning every 20 minutes, then cook in the usual manner, or if in a hurry take a very sharp knife, and score the meat about one-half inch apart each way on both sides. "The chief reason for the bad opinion in which fried food is held by many is that it always means eating burned fat. When fat is heated too high it splits up into fatty acids and glycerin, and from the glycerin is formed a substance (Acrolein) which is very irritating to the mucous membrane. All will recall that the fumes of scorched fat makes the eyes water. It is not surprising that such a substance, if taken into the stomach, should cause digestive disturbance. Fat in itself is a very valuable food, and the objection to fried foods because they may be fat seems illogical." - U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 391.

In boiling or roasting 15 minutes to the pound and 15 minutes longer is the rule for beef and mutton, and 20 minutes to the pound and 20 minutes longer for pork, poultry, veal and lamb. Allow one-third to one-half pound of raw meat for each person to be served, of roast or steak, and one-quarter pound if to be used in a pie, or with vegetables or dressing. Salt meat should be put on in cold water so that it may freshen in cooking. This applies to boiling a ham and to ham sliced for frying, if it is too salty. Put the slices in a skillet and cover with cold water, heat almost to boiling, remove ham and fry in the usual way and it will be sweet and tender. Salt meat requires almost half as long again for boiling or roasting as fresh meat, due to the effect of salt on the tissues. Meat in boiling loses about one-third, in roasting the loss is about one-fourth.

By keeping a supply of dried celery leaves, parsley, bay leaf (to be used sparingly), thyme, peppers, whole cloves, onions, carrots, horseradish, catsup and Worcestershire sauce, any cook need have no trouble in giving variety to the flavor of her meat dishes, either by frying in the fat before searing the meat, or by adding to the sauce to serve with it.

In making sauces or gravies of the fat, about two table-spoonfuls of fat and two tablespoonfuls of flour to one cup of milk or other liquid, is melted, then the flour added and browned and then the milk added slowly and stirred constantly until of the right consistency the product will be smooth.

Some of the more common accompaniments to different meats are:

Boiled Beef - Horseradish, good if mixed with a tea-spoonful of prepared mustard and a little whipped cream.

Roast Chicken or Turkey - Cranberry sauce.

Roast Goose or Pork - Apple sauce.

Roast Lamb - Mint sauce.

Boiled Mutton - Caper sauce.

Broiled Steak - Mushroom sauce.

Breaded Veal Cutlets - Tomato sauce.

A Kitchen Bouquet, referred to in many recipes for soup, may be made as follows: A sprig of parsley, savory and thyme, one leaf of sage and one bay leaf. This will flavor one gallon of soup if cooked in it one hour, and should not remain in it longer.