Dodge City, Longton, a Steak Order, and Legal Jurisdiction

[Diane Amberg]

 If they were Texas grown, they might have been ok. But farther away, they may have come up the MO. river after an over land trip by freight wagon or train?

[kdfrawg]

The best steaks I have ever had in my life were in a restaurant in a Best Western motel in Fort Dodge, Iowa. The owner of both was a rancher. He raised the cattle that he used from calves to steaks and must have been good at every step. They were perfect. One of the odd features was that you got to pick out your own steak, after looking at a selection in coolers. You could tell who knew meat. Folks who didn't always picked the brightest red, which made Jim sort of wince every time. They had a fair amount that had been hung a long time and once in a while you would find a fleck of green. Boy, that was good beef.

[Diane Amberg]

 I had really good steak in Wichita, but the best was at the Stockyard Inn in Chicago. Well aged and pick it yourself.

[W. Gray]

Kermit -- When I worked in the grocery business, red meat cuts that did not sell within a specified period were unpackaged and thrown into the hamburger hopper for grinding. Some of it was really dark. Hamburger always sold well and would be out the door in no time. Sometimes, especially on weekends, the meat department was constantly grinding hamburger to meet demand. When green mold spots developed on cheese in the dairy section, the cheese was unwrapped, the green area sliced off, the cheese repackaged, and then placed back on the dairy shelf. Both these actions might seem revolting but it was a common practice.

Grocers use to, and I assume they still do, use different lighting over the meat counter. Something called cool or warm pink fluorescent bulbs, I forget exactly, were used to give meat a redder look than what it actually had.

Diane -- Trains coming from Florida had to go through many interchanges because of the hundreds of railroad companies in existence back then. Southern Texas did not have many railroads at the time. However, it is conceivable the items could have come from either area but one would have to question the quality once it arrived, especially if part of the journey was by slow oxen driven freight wagon.

Another source could have been California since the transcontinental railroad opened two years earlier in 1869. There would have been only two railroad companies on the route from the west coast to Omaha making the trip conceivably fast. Then the fruit could have been shipped south into Kansas. However, Emporia, at the time was the nearest railhead to Longton. It was ox power to Longton.

Growers use to, and I assume they still do, spray a retardant of some type on citrus to delay spoilage, something that probably would not have existed way back then. Even with the retardant, however, I remember opening boxes from refrigeration and going through the box to pick out the spoilers before putting out before the customer.

The answer, though, may be something entirely different. I now seem to recall reading a history of Chautauqua County for a period that was later than the 1870s. The writer said that not many people could afford to buy fruit and when they did, it was usually in dried form.

[kdfrawg]

Now, the modern supermarket is putting a gas (nitrogen, I think) in with the meat when they shrink-wrap it. It does not make the meat last any longer but it does keep it red longer, which to the supermarket is the same thing.

[kfclark]

One gas that is being used is Carbon Monoxide. Supposedly it won't harm humans, but it will keep meat from turning brown. Scary thought that unrefrigerated meat or old meat could look as fresh as meat that was just packaged.  The article I read said the meat that is in deep plastic containers with a sealed top that does not come close to touching the meat is the kind to watch out for. The only place that sells meat in packages like that near me is Walmart. I called the 800 number on the package once to ask if it had been processed with Carbon Monoxide and was assured that it was not. Consumer Reports has a good article on the subject http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/consumer-protection/consumer-interest/meat-treated-with-carbon-monoxide-spoiled-meat-may-look-fresh-7-06/overview/0607_spoiled-meat_ov.htm?EXTKEY=SP72CR0&CMP=KNC-CROYPIBRAND&HBX_OU=51&HBX_PK=pi
Don't trust the color of the meat, read the expiration dates very carefully and if it smells rotten, I would not feed it to my dog, let alone eat it myself.

As for the pink lighting on meat counters. They use similar lights in funeral homes to help the deceased have a more natural look. I know that some corpses look great in the funeral home, but when they get under the harsh fluorenscents at the church, not so great.

[W. Gray]

That same gas, nitrogen, goes into potato chip bags to keep them fresher.

[kdfrawg]

Hmmmm. After reading this, I'm beginning to give some consideration to installing pink lighting exclusively in my home....

[Diane Amberg]

 That's why I like our local butcher shop. No tricks and I can still get bird suet for free. And frawg, I just can't can't picture pink lighting against green skin....you may want to rethink that.

[kdfrawg]

When I take off my frawg suit, I'm pinkish. You didn't think I was a frawg all the time, did you? As I patently explained to my wife, I am a regular feller in a frawg suit. There are no super-powers involved, unless you wish to include our country. It's just me in here.

I don't have a local butcher shop. The closest butcher shop is in De Soto. I haven't had a local butcher shop since I moved out of San Francisco proper over 30 years ago. If you have a local butcher, I would suggest that you treat him very nicely and help him pay his health insurance. He is one of a disappearing breed.