Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-12-17
Secret of Buying
Poultry Explained

| A branch OF home marketing which
always SEEM to be a problem to the
beginner is the choosing and buying,
az well as cleaning and cooling Of
poultry.
Until it is 4 months old, the term
Chicken" is applied to the female bird.
They are then called bullets, until
they begin to lay, after which they are
known as hens" Insbuying live birds
the bones being tubular or hollow and
the feathers light, the weight is all
meat, except for the waste of the intes-
tines, which is small. In buying
dressed" poultry, the feathers are re-
moved and the bird cleaned, but the in
testines are left, for should they be
removed for any length of time before
would dry out and be tasteless and unfit
for use.
In their infancy, cocks and hens are
usually equally tender, but the flesh of
the cock toughens first. and at a year
old he is fit for little else but the soup
pot. while a hen of the same age is
fair eating with careful preparation.
The caponized rooster is like old wine,
better with age. A capon naturally fed
is at its prime at 3 years of age, as
is also a spayed hen.
1t is a general rule in buying that
small-boned, short-legged poultry, with
rather short, plump bodies are the fin
est for cooking in any Of the many ways
in which they may be served. The
flesh of the chicken is less alkaleseent
than that of any other animal, which
makes it available for the delicate, as
well as the strong, stomach. Abnor-
mally fed poultry make bigger, heavier
birds, but the abnormal fat melts away
in the pan and so they are e~xtrava-
CANT, poor purchases.
The market man divides his chickens
into broilers, frying or fricasseeing
chickens, roasters and boiling chickens.
II he is d reliable dealer, it is safer to
abide by his division, reserying your
own right to select the shape and color
as well as the weight of the bird you
like best.
In all cases except for broiling, insist
upon the butcher removing the sinews
from the legs before cutting off the
feet. Also, insist on having the gizzard,
liver, heart and feet If he cleans the
bird for you. Some white veal bones
or calves feet. used with the chickens
feet and trimmings. will make an excel
lent bouillon or jelly. A cockerel for
soup and a boiling hen for salad use
will be good and cheaper than others
for this purpose.
The ideal turkey Is the hen weighing
around 10 pounds with a short, plump
body. With sinews removed from the
legs, neck removed and a French breast
fixed. well stuffed and trussed and
roasted on It's breast, no finer dish
could be desired. The larger the bird,
the more bone and coarser flesh it has,
though il it is young and your oven is
spacious, a large bird may prove a
pleasant surprise. An old bird must be
parboiled before it is roasted, and Is
not very desirable even then.
November is the proper time to eat
duck, as they are then at their best,
plump and tender. Celery fed ducks
, ara the finest that come to most mod
ern markets, though they are very fat
and also waste away in cooking more
than the swimmers that feed upon
corn, vegetables and aquatic insects.
The timber breast bone and appearance
of this bird is perhaps the safest test OF
its quality. Ducks are generally picked
except for the pinions. and there is so
! ganee to cut them off entirely.
A goose is called green" until it is
1 month old. In many places the goose
| season begins late in June and lasts
through four months. After that the
bird is good. roasted, until the holidays.
The Micbaelmas goose is q bird of ira
| dition. In selecting a goose, choose
one with a clean, white skin. plump
body and yellow feet. If the feet are
red. the goose is old. A large goose,
properly stuffed and trussed. will roast
in an hour and three-auarters and feed
from six to eight people. Goose siblets
are usually boiled and set aside to be
used in a pie with the left over meat
aud gravy.
The guinea fowl is an early winter
dainty not to be overlooked. These
fowls are usually stuffed. trussed and
roasted like a small turkey, and a good
sized one will roast in an hour and a
quarter and feed six people. The choice
of guinea fowls In the market is in size
o,1-