5. The selection of any kind of poultry to be used as food is a matter
that should not be left to the butcher. Rather, it should be done by
some one who understands the purpose for which the poultry is to be
used, and, in the home, this is a duty that usually falls to the
housewife. There are a number of general facts about poultry, and a
knowledge of them will assist the housewife greatly in performing
her tasks.
6. CLASSIFICATION OF POULTRY.--Poultry breeders and dealers divide the
domestic fowls into three classes. In the first class are included those
which have combs, such as chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowls. Quails
and pheasants belong to this class also, but they are very seldom
domesticated. The birds in this class are distinguished by two kinds of
tissue--light meat on the breast and dark meat on the other parts of the
body. In the second class are included those fowls which swim, such as
ducks and geese. These are characterized by web feet and long thick
bills, and their meat is more nearly the same color over the entire
body. The third class is comprised of birds that belong to the family of
doves. Pigeons, which are called _squabs_ when used as food, are the
only domesticated birds of this class. They stand between the other two
classes with respect to their flesh, which has some difference in color
between the breast and other muscles, but not so much as chicken and
other fowls of the first class.
7. INFLUENCE OF FEEDING AND CARE ON QUALITY.--To some extent, the breed
affects the quality of poultry as food; still this is a far less
important matter than a number of things that the purchaser is better
able to judge. Among the factors that greatly influence the quality are
the feeding and care that the birds receive up to the time of slaughter.
These affect not only the flavor and the tenderness of the tissue, as
well as the quantity of tissue in proportion to bone, but also the
healthfulness of the birds themselves. To keep the birds in good health
and to build up sufficient flesh to make them plump, with as much meat
as possible on the bones and a fair amount of fat as well, the food they
get must be clean and of the right kind. Likewise, the housing
conditions must be such that the birds are kept dry and sufficiently
warm. The living space, also, must be adequate for the number that are
raised. Domestic fowls are not discriminating as to their food, and when
they are forced to live in dirt and filth they will eat more or less of
it and thus injure the quality of their flesh. Poultry that comes into
the market looking drawn and thin, with blue-looking flesh and no fat,
shows evidence of having had poor living conditions and inadequate
feeding. Such poultry will be found to have a less satisfactory flavor
than that which has received proper care.
8. EFFECT OF SEX ON QUALITY.--When birds of any kind are young, sex has
very little to do with the quality of the flesh. But as they grow older
the flesh of males develops a stronger flavor than that of females of
the same age and also becomes tougher. However, when birds, with the
exception of mature ones, are dressed, it would take an expert to
determine the sex. The mature male is less plump than the female, and it
is more likely to be scrawny. Likewise, its spurs are larger and its
bones are large in proportion to the amount of flesh on them.
Very often the reproductive organs of young males are removed, and the
birds are then called _capons_. As the capon grows to maturity, it
develops more of the qualities of the hen. Its body becomes plump
instead of angular, the quality of its flesh is much better than that of
the cock, and the quantity of flesh in proportion to bone is much
greater. In fact, the weight of a capon's edible flesh is much greater
than that of either a hen or a cock. In the market, a dressed capon can
usually be told by the long tail and wing feathers that are left on, as
well as by a ring of feathers around the neck. Female birds that are
spayed are called _poulards_. Spaying, or removing the reproductive
organs, of female birds, however, makes so little improvement that it is
seldom done.
9. PREPARATION OF POULTRY FOR MARKET.--The manner in which poultry is
prepared for market has a great bearing on its quality as food. In some
cases, the preparation falls to the producer, and often, when birds are
raised in quantities, they are sold alive and dressed by the butcher.
However, poultry that is to be shipped long distances and in large
quantities or stored for long periods of time is usually prepared at a
slaughtering place. This process of slaughtering and shipping requires
great care, for if attention is not given to details, the poultry will
be in a state of deterioration when it reaches the consumer and
therefore unfit for food.
In order to avoid the deterioration of poultry that is slaughtered some
distance from the place of its consumption, each bird is well fed up to
within 24 hours before it is killed. Then it is starved so that its
alimentary tract will be as empty as possible at the time of killing.
Such birds are killed by cutting the large blood vessel running up to
the head. When properly done, this method of killing allows almost all
the blood to be drained from the body and the keeping qualities are much
improved. At practically the same time, the brain is pierced by the
knife thrust, and as soon as the bleeding commences the fowl becomes
paralyzed. As the tissues relax, the feathers may be pulled easily from
the skin without immersing the bird in hot water. This method of
plucking, known as _dry plucking_, is preferable when the skin must be
kept intact and the poultry kept for any length of time. The head and
feet are left on and the entrails are not removed. The poultry is then
chilled to the freezing point, but not below it, after which the birds
are packed ten in a box and shipped to the market in refrigerator cars
or placed in cold storage. Unless the poultry is to be cooked
immediately after slaughter, such measures are absolutely necessary, as
its flesh is perishable and will not remain in good condition for a long
period of time.
10. COLD-STORAGE POULTRY.--Poultry that has been properly raised,
killed, transported, and stored is very likely to come into the market
in such condition that it cannot be readily distinguished from freshly
killed birds. When exposed to warmer temperatures, however, storage
poultry spoils much more quickly than does fresh poultry. For this
reason, if there is any evidence that poultry has been in storage, it
should be cooked as soon as possible after purchase.
There are really two kinds of cold-storage poultry: that which is kept
at a temperature just above freezing and delivered within a few weeks
after slaughtering, and that which is frozen and kept in storage a much
longer time. When properly cared for, either one is preferable to
freshly killed poultry that is of poor quality or has had a chance to
spoil. Poultry that has been frozen must be thawed carefully. It should
be first placed in a refrigerator and allowed to thaw to that
temperature before it is placed in a warmer one. It should never be
thawed by putting it into warm water. Thawing it in this way really
helps it to decompose.
A sure indication of cold-storage poultry is the pinched look it
possesses, a condition brought about by packing the birds tightly
against one another. Storage poultry usually has the head and feet left
on and its entrails are not removed. Indeed, it has been determined by
experiment that poultry will keep better if these precautions are
observed. The removal of the entrails seems to affect the internal
cavity of the bird so that it does not keep well, and as a matter of
safety it should be cooked quickly after this has been done in the home.