133. Lard is prepared from the fat of swine, and is separated from associated tissue by the action of heat. A large amount of fat is found lining the back of the abdominal cavity, and this is known as leaf lard. Slight differences are noticeable in the composition and quality of lard made from different parts of the hog. Leaf lard is usually considered the best. Lard is composed of the three fats, olein, stearin, and palmatin, and has a number of characteristic physical properties, as specific gravity, melting point, iodine absorption number, as well as behavior with various reagents, and these enable the mixing of other fats with lard to be readily detected. Lard is used in the preparation of oleomargarine, and it is also combined with various vegetable oils, as cotton-seed oil, in the making of imitation or compound lards.[46] Lard substitutes differ little in general composition from pure lard, except in the structure of the crystals and the percentage of the various individual fats.
134. Texture and Toughness of Meats.--In discussing the texture of meats, Professor Woods states:[45]
"Whether meats are tough or tender depends upon two things: the character of the walls of the muscle tubes and the character of the connective tissues which bind the tubes and muscles together. In young and well-nourished animals the tube walls are thin and delicate, and the connective tissue is small in amount. As the animals grow older or are made to work (and this is particularly true in the case of poorly nourished animals), the walls of the muscle tubes and the connective tissues become thick and hard. This is the reason why the flesh of young, well-fed animals is tender and easily masticated, while the flesh of old, hard-worked, or poorly fed animals is often so tough that prolonged boiling or roasting seems to have but little effect on it.
"After slaughtering, meats undergo marked changes in texture. These changes can be grouped under three classes or stages. In the first stage, when the meat is just slaughtered, the flesh is soft, juicy, and quite tender. In the next stage the flesh stiffens and the meat becomes hard and tough. This condition is known as _rigor mortis,_ and continues until the third stage, when the first changes of decomposition set in. In hot climates the meat is commonly eaten in either the first or second stage. In cold climates it is seldom eaten before the second stage, and generally, in order to lessen the toughness, it is allowed to enter the third stage, when it becomes soft and tender, and acquires added flavor. The softening is due in part to the formation of lactic acid, which acts upon the connective tissue. The same effect may be produced, though more rapidly, by macerating the meat with weak vinegar. Meat is sometimes made tender by cutting the flesh into thin slices and pounding it across the cut ends until the fibers are broken."