Chicken is the meat derived from chickens. It is the most common type of poultry on earth, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture throughout the world. In Vietnam, chicken always is used in traditional Tet holiday for praying the good thing will be come to them in next year.
Contents
1 History
2 Breeding
3 Edible components
4 Health Issues
5 Cook
History
Chicken as a meat has been depicted in Babylonian carvings from around 600 BC. 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 foodstuff. It was eaten over most of the Eastern hemisphere 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.
Chicken consumption in the US increased during World War II due to a shortage of beef and pork. 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.
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.
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
Chicken in a public marketTypically, the muscle tissue (breast, legs, thigh, etc, liver, heart, and gizzard) are processed for food. Chicken feet are commonly eaten, especially in Caribbean, French and Chinese cuisine. Chicken wings refers to a serving of the wing sections of a chicken.
Exotic parts like chicken's buttocks and testicles are commonly eaten in East Asia and some parts of South East Asia. In Viet Nam, China, legs of chicken are very popular in local pub with expensive price. Chicken eggs are commonly eaten.
Health Issues
Chicken meat is generally considered healthy (in contrast to red meat), however, due to a significant inclusion of cholesterol (as in most meats) it should be avoided in excess, especially for conditions in sensitivity of it (the exact conditions around cholesterol intake from animal products (limit, effects, etc.) is debated). The cholesterol issue is also apparent on the animal's eggs (particularly the yolk), and it's more pronounced in certain parts of the body.
Chicken generally includes low fat in the meat itself (castrated roosters excluded), however it is highly concentrated on its skin, which should be avoided when low intake of fat is necessary.
Cooking method is highly related to health issues related to chicken, with steam cooking with skin removed being considered one of the healthiest, and fried with trans fats one of the worst.
Cooking
Oven roasted chicken with potatoes. Juvenile chickens, of less than 28 days of age at slaughter in the United Kingdom are marketed as poussin. Mature chicken is sold as small, medium or large. In Vietnam, chicken always harvest more than 40 days with body weight 2.5 kg (It is different in Indo, chicken are slaughted less than 28 days with body weigh lower 2kg.
Some chicken breast cuts and processed chicken breast products include the moniker "with Rib Meat." This is a misnomer, as it is the small piece of white meat that overlays the scapula, and is removed with the breast meat. The breast is cut from the chicken and sold as a solid cut, while the leftover breast and true rib meat is stripped from the bone through mechanical separation for use in chicken franks, for example. Breast meat is often sliced thinly and marketed as chicken slices, an easy filling for sandwiches. Often, the tenderloin (pectoralis minor) is marketed separately from the breast (pectoralis major). In the US, "tenders" can be either tenderloins or strips cut from the breast.
Chicken bones are hazardous to health as they tend to break into sharp splinters when eaten, but they can be simmered with vegetables and herbs for hours or even days to make chicken stock.
In Asian countries it is possible to buy bones alone as they are very popular for making chicken soups, which are said to be healthy. It is thought that the marrow within the bone provides a great deal of nutritional value to the broth. In Australia the rib cages and backs of chickens after the other cuts have been removed are frequently sold cheaply in supermarket delicatessen sections as either "chicken frames" or "chicken carcasses" and are purchased for soup or stock purposes.
