On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 333

porkfatisusedtoprovidebothflavorand
succulencetoleanmeats,appliedeitherina
thinsheetthatprotectsthesurfaceduring
roasting,orinthinsplintersinsertedintothe
meatbymeansoflardingneedles.
Rendered Fats Pure fat is rendered from fat
tissue by cutting the tissue into small pieces
and gently heating them. Some fat melts out
of the tissue, and more is squeezed out by
applyingpressure.Renderedbeeffatiscalled
tallow, and pork fatlard. The fats from
different animals differ in flavor and in
consistency. Fats from ruminant cattle and
sheeparemoresaturatedandthereforeharder
than pig or bird fats (due to their rumen
microbes;seep.13);andfatsstoredjustunder
theskinarelesssaturatedandthereforesofter
thanfatsstoredinthebodycore,becausetheir
environmentiscooler.Beefsuet,fromaround
the kidneys, is the hardest culinary fat,
followed by subcutaneous beef fat, then leaf


lardfrompigkidneys,andlardfrombackand
bellyfat.Chicken,duck,andgoosefatarestill
less saturated and so semiliquid at room
temperature.
MeatMixtures

Thetransformationofasteerorpigintothe
standardroasts,steaks,andchopsgeneratesa

largeassortmentofscrapsandby-products.
Theseremaindershavealwaysbeenputto
use,reassembledintoeverythingfromthe
“goatsausagebubblingfatandblood”thatthe
disguisedOdysseuswinsinawarm-upfight
beforehisbattlewithPenelope’ssuitors,to
theScotshaggisofsheep’sliver,heart,and
lungstuffedintoitsstomach,tothemodern
cannedmixtureofham,porkshoulder,and
flavoringscalledSpam.Choppedorground
up,mixedwithotheringredients,andpressed
together,meatscrapscanprovideoneofthe
heartiestpartsofameal—andevenoneof