Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume III Part 17

(20) (_a_) For what purpose are timbale cases used? (_b_) Explain how to make a batter for timbale cases.

ADDITIONAL WORK

Select a cut of beef that you consider most desirable from an economical standpoint. Buy a quant.i.ty that may be used to the greatest advantage for your family. Prepare it in any way you desire.

State the number of pounds purchased, the price of the meat, the number of meals in which it was served, and the number of persons (tell how many adults and how many children) served at each meal. Estimate the cost of each portion by dividing the cost of the whole by the number of persons served.

Make up an original dish in which left-over meat is used and submit the recipe to us.

POULTRY

POULTRY AS A FOOD

1. POULTRY is the term used to designate birds that have been domesticated, or brought under the control of man, for two purposes, namely, the eggs they produce and the flesh food they supply. All the common species of domestic fowls--chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowls, and pigeons--are known as poultry. However, none of these species is included under this term unless it is raised for at least one of the two purposes mentioned. As the term is to be understood in this Section, poultry includes all domestic fowls that are killed in order that their flesh may be cooked and used as food for human beings. Of course, many wild birds are killed for the flesh food they furnish, but they are cla.s.sed under the term _game_.

2. Poultry is probably never a necessity in the ordinary dietary, and when prices are high it is a decided luxury. Still it does aid materially in relieving the monotony of the usual protein foods, and it supplies that "something out of the ordinary" for special occasions.

Then, too, it is often valuable in the diet of an invalid or some person with a poor appet.i.te. Poultry is, of course, used more in some homes than in others; yet there is scarcely a home in which it is not served some time or another. A knowledge of this food and its preparation and serving will therefore prove to be a valuable a.s.set to any housewife.

3. To arrive at a knowledge of the use of poultry as a food, the housewife must necessarily become familiar with its selection and purchase. Then she must give attention to both its preparation for cooking and its actual cooking, and, finally, to its serving. In all these matters she will do well to adhere to the practice of economy, for, at best, poultry is usually an expensive food. Before entering into these matters in detail, however, it will be well to look into them in a general way.

4. In the selection of poultry, the housewife should realize that poultry breeders have so developed certain breeds, even of the same species, that they are better for table use than others. The flesh of any breed of poultry may be improved by feeding the birds good food and giving them proper care; and it is by applying these principles that the breeders are enabled to better the quality of this food. Other things also influence the quality of poultry flesh as food, as, for example, the way in which the poultry is prepared for market and the care it receives in transportation and storage. Unless these are as they should be, they have a detrimental effect on poultry, because such food is decidedly perishable.

It is possible to exercise economy in the purchase of poultry, but before the housewife can do this she must be able to judge the age of each kind she may desire. On the age depends to a great extent the method of cookery to be followed in preparing the poultry for the table.

Likewise, she must know the marks of cold-storage poultry, as well as those of poultry that is freshly killed; and she must be familiar with the first marks of deterioration, or decay, that result from storing the food too long or improperly.

Economy may also be practiced in preparing poultry for cooking. To bring this about, however, the housewife should realize that the best method of preparing any kind of poultry for cooking is always the most economical. It means, too, that she should understand thoroughly the methods of drawing and cutting, so that she may either do this work herself or direct it.

The way in which poultry is cooked has a bearing on the cost of this food, too. For example, a young, tender bird prepared by a wrong method not only is a good dish spoiled, but is a waste of expensive material.

Likewise, an older bird, which has more flavor but tougher tissues, is almost impossible as food if it is not properly prepared. Both kinds make appetizing dishes and do not result in waste if correct methods of cooking are followed in their preparation.

Even the way in which poultry is served has a bearing on the cost of this food. For this reason, it is necessary to know how to carve, as well as how to utilize any of this food that may be left over, if the housewife is to get the most out of her investment.

SELECTION OF POULTRY

GENERAL INFORMATION

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 a.s.sist the housewife greatly in performing her tasks.

6. CLa.s.sIFICATION OF POULTRY.--Poultry breeders and dealers divide the domestic fowls into three cla.s.ses. In the first cla.s.s are included those which have combs, such as chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowls. Quails and pheasants belong to this cla.s.s also, but they are very seldom domesticated. The birds in this cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s 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 cla.s.s. They stand between the other two cla.s.ses 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 cla.s.s.

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 quant.i.ty 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 s.p.a.ce, 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 s.e.x ON QUALITY.--When birds of any kind are young, s.e.x 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 s.e.x. 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 c.o.c.k, and the quant.i.ty 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 c.o.c.k. 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 quant.i.ties, they are sold alive and dressed by the butcher.

However, poultry that is to be shipped long distances and in large quant.i.ties 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.

SELECTION OF CHICKEN

11. To be able to select chicken properly, the housewife must be familiar with the terms that are applied to chickens to designate their age or the cookery process for which they are most suitable. _Chicken_ is a general name for all varieties of this kind of poultry, but in its specific use it means a common domestic fowl that is less than 1 year old. _Fowl_ is also a general term; but in its restricted use in cookery it refers to the full-grown domestic hen or c.o.c.k over 1 year of age, as distinguished from the chicken or pullet. A _broiler_ is chicken from 2 to 4 months old which, because of its tenderness, is suitable for broiling. A _frying chicken_ is at least 6 months old, and a _roasting chicken_ is between 6 months and 1 year old. With these terms understood, it can readily be seen that if fried chicken is desired a 2-year-old fowl would not be a wise purchase.

The quality of the bird is the next consideration in the selection of chicken. A number of things have a bearing on the quality. Among these, as has already been pointed out, are the feeding and care that the bird has received during its growth, the way in which it has been prepared for market, and so on. All of these things may be determined by careful observation before making a purchase. However, if the bird is drawn, and especially if the head and feet are removed, there is less chance to determine these things accurately.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 1]

12. GENERAL MARKS OF GOOD QUALITY.--A chicken older than a broiler that has been plucked should not be scrawny nor drawn looking like that shown in Fig. 1, nor should the flesh have a blue tinge that shows through the skin. Rather, it should be plump and well rounded like the one shown in Fig. 2. There should be a sufficient amount of fat to give a rich, yellow color. It should be plucked clean, and the skin should be clear and of an even color over the entire bird. Tender, easily broken skin indicates a young bird; tougher skin indicates an older one. The skin should be whole and unbroken; likewise, when pressed with the fingers, it should be neither flabby nor stiff, but pliable.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 2]

13. The increase of age in a chicken is to some extent an advantage, because with age there is an increase in flavor. Thus, a year-old chicken will have more flavor than a broiler. However, after more than a year, the flavor increases to such an extent that it becomes strong and disagreeable. With the advance of age there is also a loss of tenderness in the flesh, and this after 1-1/2 or 2 years becomes so extreme as to render the bird almost unfit for use. As the age of a chicken increases, the proportion of flesh to bone also increases up to the complete maturity of the bird. Hence, one large bird is a more economical purchase than two small ones that equal its weight, because the proportion of bone to flesh is less in the large bird than in the small ones.

14. DETERMINING THE AGE OF CHICKEN.--An excellent way in which to determine the age of a chicken that has been dressed consists in feeling of the breast bone at the point where it protrudes below the neck. In a very young chicken, a broiler, for instance, the point of this bone will feel like cartilage, which is firm, elastic tissue, and may be very easily bent. If the bird is about a year old, the bone will be brittle, and in a very old one it will be hard and will not bend.

15. If the head has been left on, the condition of the beak is a means of determining age. In a young chicken, it will be smooth and unmarred; in an old one, it will be rough and probably darker in color. If the feet have been left on, they too will serve to indicate the age. The feet of a young chicken are smooth and soft; whereas, those of an old bird are rough, hard, and scaly. The claws of a young one are short and sharp; but as the bird grows older they grow stronger and become blunt and marred with use. The spur, which is a projection just above the foot on the back of each leg, is small in the young chicken, and increases in size as the age increases. However, the spurs are more p.r.o.nounced in males than in females.

16. Another way of telling the age of dressed chicken is to observe the skin. After plucking, young birds usually have some pin feathers left in the skin. _Pin feathers_ are small unformed feathers that do not pull out with the larger ones. Older birds are usually free from pin feathers, but have occasional long hairs remaining in the skin after the feathers have been plucked. These do not pull out readily and must be singed off when the chicken is being prepared for cooking.

17. DETERMINING THE FRESHNESS OF CHICKEN.--There are a number of points that indicate whether or not a chicken is fresh. In a freshly killed chicken, the feet will be soft and pliable and moist to the touch; also, the head will be unshrunken and the eyes full and bright. The flesh of such a chicken will give a little when pressed, but no part of the flesh should be softer than another. As actual decomposition sets in, the skin begins to discolor. The first marks of discoloration occur underneath the legs and wings, at the points where they are attached to the body.

Any dark or greenish color indicates decomposition, as does also any slimy feeling of the skin. The odor given off by the chicken is also an indication of freshness. Any offensive odor, of course, means that the flesh has become unfit for food.

18. LIVE CHICKENS.--Occasionally chickens are brought to the market and sold alive. This means, of course, that the birds are subjected to a certain amount of fright and needless cruelty and that the work of slaughtering falls to the purchaser. The cost, however, is decreased a few cents on the pound. Such birds must be chosen first of all by weight and then by the marks that indicate age, which have already been given.

SELECTION OF POULTRY OTHER THAN CHICKEN