When the meat alone is to be eaten, either roasting, broiling or frying in deep fat is a more economical method, as the juices are saved. The shrinkage in a roast of meat during cooking is chiefly due to a loss of water. A small roast will require a hotter fire than a larger one, in order to harden the exterior and prevent the juices from escaping. Meat is a poor conductor of heat, consequently a large roast exposed to this intense heat would become burned before the interior could be heated. The large roast should be exposed to intense heat for a few minutes, but the temperature should then be reduced, and long steady cooking allowed. Broiling (see broiling in previous chapter, p. 19.) Varieties of Meat. BEEF TONGUE. Beef tongue is a tender form of meat, but contains too much fat to agree well with people of delicate digestion. VEAL. Veal, when obtained from animals killed too young, is apt to be tough, pale and indigestible, but good veal is considered fairly nutritious. It contains more gelatin than beef, and in broth is considered valuable, especially for the sick. MUTTON. Mutton is considered to be more digestible than beef, that is well fed mutton from sheep at least three years old; but as it is more difficult to obtain tender mutton than beef, the latter is more generally preferred. Mutton broth is wholesome and valuable in sickness. LAMB. Lamb, when tender and of the right age, is quite as digestible as beef or mutton, but the flesh contains too large a proportion of fat. [Illustration: FIG. 1.--Diagram of cuts of beef.] [Illustration: FIG. 2.--Diagram of cuts of veal.] [Illustration: FIG. 3.--Diagram of cuts of pork.] [Illustration: FIG. 4.--Diagram of cuts of mutton.] VENISON. Venison is a tender meat with short fibres, which is very digestible when obtained from young deer, but is considered to be rather too stimulating. Its chemical composition is similar to lean beef. PORK. Pork is a tender-fibred meat, but is very indigestible owing to the high percentage of fat, which is considerably more than the nitrogenous material it contains. Pork ribs may have as much as 42 per cent. of fat. HAM AND BACON. Ham is more digestible when well boiled and eaten cold. Bacon is more easily digested than either ham or pork; when cut thin and cooked quickly--until transparent and crisp--it can often be eaten by dyspeptics, and forms an excellent food for consumptives. FOWL. Chicken is one of the most digestible of meats, contains considerable phosphorus and is particularly valuable as food for invalids. Turkey is somewhat less digestible than chicken. Ducks and geese are difficult of digestion, unless quite young, on account of the fat they contain. GAME. Game, if well cooked, is fairly digestible. SWEETBREAD.