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knife must go next to the plate. Never forcibly tighten
the adjustment ring on the chopping end, but tighten it
snugly. Excess pressure will wear the chopper parts.
Start the motor, then feed the material into the
chopper. Turn the motor off after the material is ground.
Feed the material into the machine with the tools
intended for that purposenever with your hands.
Care and Cleaning
After meat has been chopped, take the grinder apart
and wash each part thoroughly with soap and water,
rinse with hot water (170°F), and allow to air dry. Do
not allow food to dry on the surfaces of the chopper
before you wash it. A grinder can be a breeding place
for bacteria that might cause food poisoning. Great care
should be exercised in keeping the parts of the grinder
free from contamination.
Knives and plates should be sharpened before they
get dull, but do not attempt this yourself. The
engineering department should be consulted. It is a
good idea to keep the same knife and plate together as
they wear to fit each other. Tie them together with a cord
after they are used so they will not be mislaid.
Keep the motor dry. Do not grind juicy foods, such
as onions, because the juice will be forced back into the
gear housing, causing a loss of oil and consequent
wearing of gears.
If you are grinding foods such as crackers, grind a
very small amount at a time or the machine will jam.
When the chopper is hot, do not run raw meat through
it. Remember that bits of bones can break the warm
gears and knives.
MEAT TENDERIZER
The meat tenderizer is used to tenderize all sorts of
tough meats. The machine is about 20 inches long and
about 1 foot wide.
To operate, turn the motor on, insert the meat to be
tenderized into the opening at the top of the machine.
The meat will pass through two sets of revolving rollers
that contain many small blades and will be made tender.
If further tenderizing is required, insert the meat again
after first giving it a one-quarter turn (90 degrees).
Meat-tenderizing machines are equipped with a
safety device that automatically stops the machine when
the cover (shield) is raised. Never attempt to raise the
top with the machine running or to operate the machine
with the cover raised because of the danger of catching
your fingers in the machine. Take the machine apart and
clean it after each use. Oil the parts often.
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KNIVES
Many different sizes and shapes of knives are
required for meat-cutting jobs. You must understand
which knife to use for each job and make sure to use it
for the job it was intended. You should never use the
thin-bladed knife that is designed for carving cooked
meats to bone a roast. It is quicker and more efficient
to use the boning knife that has a stiff, narrow, short
blade to cut close around bones. The knives with the
long, wide blades are used to cut steaks and roasts before
they are cooked.
Sharpening Knives
To get the most use out of the knives in the galley,
they must be sharp. A dull knife is a hazard and makes
extra work for you. A boning knife has a comparatively
narrow bevel and will stand more hard use than a steak
knife that has a wide bevel and a thin edge. But no
matter what tool you use, you cannot do a good job
unless the tool is sharp. The butchers steel is used only
to keep the edges of knives straight and not to sharpen
them. Nor should you sharpen knives on a power- or
hand-driven stone, since this removes the temper from
the cutting edge. The best things to use for sharpening
are a waterstone and a carborundum oilstone. If you use
the entire stone when sharpening tools the stone will not
hollow out at any one point. Draw the full blade, from
heel to tip, across the length of the stone and then turn
the knife over and pull it back from the opposite end of
the stone. This sharpens the knife evenly and smoothly
and causes the stone to wear uniformly. Always clean
the blade and handle thoroughly after sharpening.
Steeling
In steeling, there is a definite technique. Specific
types of steels should be used to true certain edges.
Never use a rough steel. A smooth steel should be used
to keep the blade in perfect condition and to maintain a
keen edge. The steel should have good magnetism in
order to hold steel particles. The easiest and most
effective methods of steeling a knife are as follows:
. Hold the steel firmly in the left hand, thumb on
the top of the handle under the guard, with the point
upward and slightly away from the body.
. Place the heel of the blade against the top side of
the tip of the steel. The steel and the blade should meet
at an angle of about 25 degrees.
. With a quick swinging motion bring the blade
down across the steel toward the left hand. This should
pass the entire edge lightly over the steel.
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