EFFECT ON THIAMIN RETENTION OF ADDING A CARBOHYDRATE VEGETABLE TO BEEF STEW¹

Abstract

The addition of carbohydrate-rich materials, such as cereals, has been shown by Rice et al. (1944) and Nymon and Gortner (1947) to stabilize the thiamin in dehydrated meat mixtures. The thiamin in certain carbohydrate vegetables, such as potatoes, appears to be rather stable during cooking, according to Fenton (1945). These observations suggest the possibility that the retention of thiamin in meat-carbohydrate vegetable mixtures, such as stews, may be greater than the sum of the retentions obtained from the foods cooked separately. Adding potatoes to meat stews is a common household practice. It was not known how this practice affects thiamin retention. An experiment designed to test this possibility is described. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDUREThe variables in this study were : Meat, raw and cooked ; potatoes, raw and cooked; raw mixture and cooked mixture. MDAT FOR STEWSThe beef carcasses weighed approximately 400 to 500 pounds. They were obtained from two sources, a packing house and the college abattoir.The meat was taken from the brisket and cut into pieces approximately one inch square. Enough of the fat was removed to make all the meat edible. The pieces were thoroughly mixed and three and one-half pounds of the mixture placed in each package. The packages were placed in shallow pans, one layer deep, frozen, and kept in the deep freezer until needed. One package a t a time was removed and placed in the laboratory refrigerator to defrost before cooking. Just before cooking, the contents of the package were removed, mixed well, and five samples of approximately 300 grams each were weighed-two for separate raw samples,.one for cooked meat, one for the raw mixture, and one for the cooked mixture. POTAToES FOR S m SPotatoes were purchased from a local grocery, select,ed for uniformity of shape and smoothness of surface. The first three experimental tests were made with a dark-skinned potato (sold as "Idaho Russet") which was iong, smooth, and cylindrical, giving 'sections of rather uniform weight.2 When sprouting made it impossible to use this variety any longer, "new" potatoes (sold as "California Burbank") were purchased which were ob-'Supported in part by a grant from the National Livestock and Meat Board. 475