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Show 1 , ISHOPPER7 CORNER By DOROTHY BARCLAY EARLY BIRD WHAT DO you make of this rollback roll-back on meat prices? What does your butcher make out of it? Not much the quick buck, yes, but at roll-back prices not so many bucks, for his supply of meat is sold for less and much faster so that there's noth- I 7 1 I ing left by Saturday A . - night! He can't help ?JtJ it. It's up to you to . MMai be an earty.jn.the- STRSET week bird! FEATURE This is the Way 1 FEATURE the roll-back is ex- ' plained. Suppose your butcher can get 250 pounds of hamburger a week, for instance. Before roll-back, let's say he can sell it at 69c a pound. At that price his supply will probably last till the last Saturday night straggler leaves the store, just before closing time. Okay but now how about next week? He gets his same amount 250 pounds, and he rolls back the price to 59c. How long is that supply sup-ply going to last, do you think? Along about Thursday afternoon you'll be out of luck, or at the end of a disappointed line of hamburger-hunters! hamburger-hunters! Remember, it's not your butcher's fault. He's making his supply last as well as he knows how, and selling sell-ing it very reasonably. Don't take it out on him, poor fellowl Just be an early bird! It seems likely that meat will be in short supply until after June 30 when the present price conjtrol laws die. Congress, no doubt, will enact new ones and then clear up the confusion con-fusion in the meat industry. MEAT THRIFT Wouldn't you be surprised to hear that just 5.6 per cent of your money is spent on meat? It's true, according ac-cording to statistics! As a nation of meat-lovers, we are more conscious con-scious of meat buys than of many apparently unnecessary items which are just as regularly bought. "That's where my money goes," we say when we leave the meat market. The statistics are revealing here, too. This 5.6 per cent share of the nation's income amounts to about 235 million dollars a week, for 435 million pounds of meat. That is the entire supply of veal, pork, lamb and mutton left for civilian consumption con-sumption after military needs are filled. So every meat-eater has nearly near-ly three pounds of meat a week about 145 pounds per year per person. per-son. And what meats are you buying for your three pounds a week? With prices high, as well known, it's only for special occasion that you squander on steak or rib roast. For ordinary daily fare, your butcher has thriftier cuts in all the meats, and, cooperative fellow that he is, he'll be happy to help you stretch that 5.6 per cent meat budget of yours. In beef, the national favorite, you'll find chuck, fore shank, short ribs, brisket, flank steak and oxtails, ox-tails, for a variety every day at little cost. As for lamb, what's tastier than a lamb stew, made like what they used to call "24-hour soup"? Breast, shank or neck slices are just right for that dish. And if you must have a leg of lamb for Sunday company, have your butcher cut off the end chops for future use, or for freezing for the remote future. fu-ture. Shoulder chops have as much nutriment, and many more bites, than the more luxurious loin or rib. Veal, too, is an economical buy. for you have your chops from the roast and your shoulder and breast for a braised delight. Pork ranks high in vitamin B content, and is rich and delicious when given plenty of cooking time. The thrifty cuts of pork are many: shoulder, end cut chops, spare ribs, ham shank, shoulder butt and shoulder steaks and hocks. The smart cook not only buys the thriftier cuts, but stretches her meat as well as her budget. One way is to use left-overs in pie, or wrapped in biscuit-dough. A good beef or lamb pie is a welcome echo of last Sunday's festive roast. |