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'Chicken' is the meat derived from the domestic chicken. It is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is frequently prepared as food in a large number of ways.

Contents

History

Breeding

Edible components

Cooking

References

External Links

History

Chicken as a food product is mentioned in Chinese documents from around 1400 BC. They have also been depicted in Babylonian carvings from around 600 BC.^[1] Chicken was one of the most common meats available in the Middle Ages. It was widely believed to be easily digested and considered to be one of the most neutral foodstuffs. It was eaten over all of Europe and a number of different kinds of chicken such as capons, pullets and hens were eaten. It was one of the basic ingredients in the so-called white dish, a stew usually consisting of chicken and fried onions cooked in milk and seasoned with spices and sugar.
U.S. chicken consumption increased during World War II due to a shortage of beef and pork. ^[2] In Europe, consumption of chicken overtook that of beef and veal in 1996, linked to consumer awareness of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy or B.S.E. ^[3]

Breeding

Modern varieties of chicken such as the Cornish Cross, are bred specifically for meat production, with an emphasis placed on the ratio of feed to meat produced by the animal. The most common breeds of chicken consumed in the US are Cornish and White Rock.^[4]
Chickens raised specifically for meat are called broilers. In the United States, broilers are typically butchered at a young age. Modern Cornish Cross hybrids, for example, are butchered as early as 8 weeks for fryers and 12 weeks for roasting birds.
Capons (castrated cocks) produce more and fattier meat. For this reason, they are considered a delicacy and were particularly popular in the Middle Ages.

Edible components

Typically, the muscle tissue (breast, legs, thigh, etc), livers, hearts, and gizzard are processed for food. Chicken feet are less commonly eaten, though they are popular in Chinese cuisine. The head, internal organs such as the lungs and intestines, and feathers are typically discarded or ground into a protein meal for inclusion in other animal feeds, although Chinese cuisines may retain the whole bird on the dish (with the head), depending on the dish. Internal organs are also popularly used for yakitori.
Chicken wings refers to a serving of the wing sections of a chicken. Deep fried wings coated in sauce are also known as Buffalo wings.
Chicken eggs are commonly eaten, even by many vegetarians. The unlaid eggs removed from slaughtered hens are also eaten.

Cooking

Raw chicken can be frozen for up to two months. Chicken is always eaten cooked as when raw it may contain bacteria such as salmonella.
Chicken can be cooked in innumerable ways; it can be made into sausages, put in salads, grilled, breaded and deep-fried, or used in various curries. There is significant variation in cooking methods amongst cultures; historically common methods include roasting, baking and frying, as in Chicken Balls. Today, chickens are also cooked by deep frying and prepared as fast food such as chicken nuggets.
Chickens often come with labels such as "roaster", which suggest a method of cooking based on the type of chicken. While these labels are only suggestions, ones labeled for stew often do not do well when cooked with other methods.^[5]
Some chicken breast cuts and processed chicken breast products include the moniker "with Rib Meat." This is thought to be the blackish meat surrounding and in between the rib cage. The breast is cut from the chicken and sold as a solid cut, while the left over breast and rib meat is stripped from the bone through cooking or solvents. The resulting meat is reduced and processed with stabilizers and additives into its consumer form, such as chicken nuggets. Breast meat is often sliced thinly and marketed as chicken slices, an easy filling for sandwiches.
While chicken bones are not edible, they can be simmered with vegetables and herbs for several hours to make chicken stock.

References

1. http://www.poultrymad.co.uk/chicken-facts/index.html
2. Poultry Farming, The History Channel. March 2 2007.
3. http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?id=61941-poultry-e-coli-contamination
4. Focus On: Chicken, USDA. March 2, 2007.
5. How to Buy: 5 Things to Keep in Mind, Food Network. March 2 2007.

External Links

★ Foodnetwork.com page on use of chicken in cooking

★ Useful US government fact sheet on chicken as food