Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1919-01-16

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The Importance of age, sex, exercise,
food and care as influencing tender.
ness and flavor in poultry is pointed
out by home economics specialists of
tn U. S. Department Of Agriculture in
a professional paper, Bulletin ACT,
just published
There is much less difference, the
bulletin states, in the digestibility or
healthfulness of the meat of different
kinds of fowls than Is commonly sup
posed. Nearly all the nutrients and
energy. Of poultry, as Of other meats,
1t is pointed out, are utilized by the
healthy normal body. In all kinds Of
poultry table quality depends primari-
ly on tenderness and flavor, and
these, in turn, are influenced by age,
sex, exercise, food, and care. Fresh
ness Is ..lso an important factor, but
this is not merely question Of how
long bird has been dead, but rather
Of how far developed are the chemical
and psychological changes which,
what we call spelling or decomposi-
ton in the meat. The microorganisms
which cause dangerous changes are
likely to be introduced by careless and
dirty handling, and for this reason
cleanliness should be insisted on. The
changes take place most rapidly in the
presence of warmth and moisture.
Hence cleanliness. cold, and dryness
are at the bottom of all the methods
Of caring for poultry on the farm, in
the warehouse, at the market, and in
the home.
The methods of cooking poultry are,
in general, the same as those for other
kinds of meat. The tougher the bird,
the more cooking will be needed to
make it tender and easily digested.
and the larger it is, the more heat will
be required TO cook it thoroughly.
Canned and potted poultry are pre-
pared in much the same way as
freshly cooked dishes, then sterilized
and sealed, and when properly put up
do not differ essentially in food value
from similar fresh foods.
In regard to the general considera-
tions to be observed in choosing poul-
try, the bulletin calls attention to the
fact that while the relative cost of
different kinds of poultry depends pri-
marily on the price, the proportion of
edible to inedible material and the
thoroughness with which the edible
portions can be utilized should also be
kept in mind. Well-grown birds with
good-sized masses of moderately fat
| flesh are more economical than either
young or overwhelmed ones. At or
dinarI retail prices, full-grown is the
only poultry which compares in real
economy with the cheaper cuts of beef
and pork, but young chicken, medium
| sized turkey, goose, and guinea fowl
are often as economical as the more
expensive grades of other meats.
In discussing the use of cold-storage
fowls, the bulletin says:
"The way in which frozen birds are
thawed makes great difference in
the length of time they keep in condi-
ton. 1t used to be customary to
thaw them by soaking in cold water,
tut this has been proved undesirable
not only because the water is very
likely not to be clean, but also be-
cause soaked birds go Off in quality
very rapidly. Soaking in hot water, as
is sometimes done in market for a
rush order,' is even worse. much
better way is to keep the birds for "a
hours at ordinary ice-box temperature
CAS- degrees to SO degrees F.). AS has
been already stated, the sooner the
birds are used after thawing, the bet
ter, and whenever possible should be
bought stiff and thawed at home.
This means buying poultry day be-
fore It is needed, but it s the surest
way of having it properly thawed. In
warm weather it should be put in the
refrigerat to thaw, but il. cold
weather moderately cool room will
do as well. II it is impossible to do
the thawing at home, the marketman
should not be allowed to do it until
a short time before delivery.
| although frozen poultry is hardly
to be chosen when fresh birds are in
the market, it undoubtedly has the adj
vantage of furnishing chickens, tur-
keys, and other birds when the natural
supply is lacking and thus increasing
the variety of the meat list"
The following statement of the
methods by which good table poultry
can be recognized by the purchaser is
made in the bulletin:
"In freshly killed bird the feet feel
moist, soft, and timber, and # it was
dressed with the head ON, the eyes
look bright and full. AS it becomes
stale the eyes shrink and the feet dry
and harden; when too stale, ie.. when
decoml osition is well under way, the
body turns dark and greenish or be-
comes Shiny. The flesh should be
neither fabby nor stiff. but should
give evenly and gently when pressed
by the finger. 1t is very difficult tc
distinguish between good cold-storage
and freshly killed poultry.