12. CARBOHYDRATE IN MEAT.--In the liver and all muscle fibers of animals
is stored a small supply of carbohydrate in a form that is called
_glycogen_, or _muscle sugar_. However, there is not enough of this
substance to be of any appreciable value, and, so far as the methods of
cookery and the uses of meat as food are concerned, it is of no
importance.
13. WATER IN MEAT.--The proportion of water in meat varies from
one-third to three-fourths of the whole, depending on the amount of fat
the meat contains and the age of the animal. This water carries with it
the flavor, much of the mineral matter, and some food material, so that
when the water is removed from the tissues these things are to a great
extent lost. The methods of cookery applied to meat are based on the
principle of either retaining or extracting the water that it contains.
The meat in which water is retained is more easily chewed and swallowed
than that which is dry. However, the water contained in flesh has no
greater value as food than other water. Therefore, as will be seen in
Fig. 1, the greater the amount of water in a given weight of food, the
less is its nutritive value.
14. MINERALS IN MEAT.--Eight or more kinds of minerals in sufficient
quantities to be of importance in the diet are to be found in meat. Lean
meat contains the most minerals; they decrease in proportion as the
amount of fat increases.
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