How many ways can you say chicken
Sep. 25th, 2009 11:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
raffaellasworldLooking at the Scappi index for fowl it reminded me of some definitions questions I've had about the different terms for various forms of chicken. Chicken is obviously the general. I'm guessing chick means young like kid or lamb is for mutton, only even younger. Rooster and hen are both also obvious gender definitions, I would think non-modified.
The definition I found for capon is: A rooster that has been castrated just after 6 weeks old and fed a diet rich in grains to prepare it for processing when it is no more than 10 months old.
The definition I found for cockrel is: A male chicken under one year of age, or just young male chicken (does not specify castration).
The definition I found for pullet is: A pullet is a young chicken, more specifically a hen (female) at least 20-weeks-old which has begun to lay eggs but has not yet moulted.
Do these sound correct? I generally just substitute chicken as other more specific forms have proven difficult for me to get at local grocery stores, but I'm guessing like the difference between modern ham and other meats and those they would have used for these it likely has at least some effect on flavor, and texture.
That is just covering poultry, not all forms of fowl. poultry: (capon, chicken, chick, cockerel, pullet, rooster)
Interestingly, in the Scappi ingredients index the listing for turkey has pretty much the same qualifiers as poultry. There has been some discussion as to how much "new world food" is represented in Scappi, and which ones seem to be integrated into Italian cuisine earliest.
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Date: 2009-09-25 06:14 pm (UTC)Sorry I can't be of more help.
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Date: 2009-09-25 07:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 06:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-25 08:30 pm (UTC)Hopefully this condensation make sense and isn't just TMI
Date: 2009-09-26 02:26 pm (UTC)First off, your definitions are spot on, but I suspect the question you are really asking is how do these various classes of chickens impact chickens as an ingredient, especially as modernly available and applied in period.
First off, a little natural history of the chicken. The modern chicken is Gallus gallus and it was likely domesticated in South East Asia about 5 - 6,000 BC. Basically Red Jungle Fowl were captured and used for meat and egg production. After domestication, chickens spread fairly rapidly along trade routes (including throughout Polynesia) as birds were used as a food source. Although not well explored it seems likely that the spread from Asia to Europe accord overland. Some report indicate graphic evidence of "Chickens" (likely jungle fowl) on Greek pottery pre-dating, scientifically accepted domestification dates.
Chickens cruised along with little differentiation for 7-8000 years until the Victorian Era. As with many of our domestic animals, the 19th Century was a hot bed of "breeding" activity and many of the modern breeds were selected for in this time period. There were a few characteristics that pre-date the 19th Century poultry fancy, but based on graphic eviedence it is likely that the period European chicken was a multi-purpose type bird. The Victorian poultry breeds are carried on by "poultry fanciers" even today.
The modern laying hen has her origin rooted in genetics from the mediterranean while the modern meat chickens genetics are largely rooted in breeds/strains from around the English Channel. So although 19th century chickens were dual purpose, it is likely that the Italian one had a lighter body and more eggs, while the English one was noted more for body mass and less for egg production. It is unclear how early this separation occurred.
In 1947, all the poultry genetics in North American were gathered together and thrown in a poultry house, the result was the 1947 Athens-Canadian Randombred. The result is a multi-pupose chicken that contains the genetic potential to be re-selected as our modern strains. This chickens also becomes a control for evaluating the impact of genetic selection on poultry traits.
So while no one has saved period poultry genetics for us, we do have several time points to go back to - especially if we are trying to work from the scholarly record as there is some great research out there.
1) Look for papers evaluating Jungle Fowl.
2) Look for works evaluating the Characteristics of purebred chickens - this will bookend period genetics.
3) Look for papers about the 1947 ACRbC.
4) Look for information on modern poultry. This sub-group is important because even if you go to specialty suppliers, this is likely to be the genetics you are cooking with.
Now to get back to your question, based on my knowledge of the above and based on work down examining meat quality, meat yield, and muscle fiber characteristics, I suspect the modern meat chicken most closely resembles a period capon in terms of being an ingredient. If you can find a "Roaster" that is probably an even better approximation than a "Broiler" or "Fryer". These are going to be mostly from English/Cornish genetics. In the case of these birds the gentics and modern nutrition achieve what required castration and special feed in period.
Where they talk about "Hens" or "Roosters", I would look towards the "Asian Live Brid Markets". Ask for Spent Fowl or Roosters. These birds will generally be of mediterranean lines. For pullets I would again visit the Live bird markets. The most common bird sold there is a hen just reaching sexual maturity - that bird likely shares many of the characteristics that you seek.
Re: Hopefully this condensation make sense and isn't just TMI
Date: 2009-09-29 01:19 am (UTC)Hopefully this condensation make sense and isn't just TMI
Date: 2009-09-26 02:28 pm (UTC)First off, your definitions are spot on, but I suspect you want to know how do these various classes of chickens impact chickens as an ingredient.
First off, a little natural history of the chicken. The modern chicken is Gallus gallus and it was likely domesticated in South East Asia about 5 - 6,000 BC. Basically Red Jungle Fowl were captured and used for meat and egg production. After domestication, chickens spread fairly rapidly along trade routes (including throughout Polynesia) as birds were used as a food source. Although not well explored it seems likely that the spread from Asia to Europe accord overland. Some report indicate graphic evidence of "Chickens" (likely jungle fowl) on Greek pottery pre-dating, scientifically accepted domestification dates.
Chickens cruised along with little differentiation for 7-8000 years until the Victorian Era. As with many of our domestic animals, the 19th Century was a hot bed of "breeding" activity and many of the modern breeds were selected for in this time period. There were a few characteristics that pre-date the 19th Century poultry fancy, but based on graphic eviedence it is likely that the period European chicken was a multi-purpose type bird. The Victorian poultry breeds are carried on by "poultry fanciers" even today.
The modern laying hen has her origin rooted in genetics from the mediterranean while the modern meat chickens genetics are largely rooted in breeds/strains from around the English Channel. So although 19th century chickens were dual purpose, it is likely that the Italian one had a lighter body and more eggs, while the English one was noted more for body mass and less for egg production. It is unclear how early this separation occurred.
In 1947, all the poultry genetics in North American were gathered together and thrown in a poultry house, the result was the 1947 Athens-Canadian Randombred. The result is a multi-pupose chicken that contains the genetic potential to be re-selected as our modern strains. This chickens also becomes a control for evaluating the impact of genetic selection on poultry traits.
So while no one has saved period poultry genetics for us, we do have several time points to go back to - especially if we are trying to work from the scholarly record as there is some great research out there.
1) Look for papers evaluating Jungle Fowl.
2) Look for works evaluating the Characteristics of purebred chickens - this will bookend period genetics.
3) Look for papers about the 1947 ACRbC.
4) Look for information on modern poultry. This sub-group is important because even if you go to specialty suppliers, this is likely to be the genetics you are cooking with.
Now to get back to your question, based on my knowledge of the above and based on work down examining meat quality, meat yield, and muscle fiber characteristics, I suspect the modern meat chicken most closely resembles a period capon in terms of being an ingredient. If you can find a "Roaster" that is probably an even better approximation than a "Broiler" or "Fryer". These are going to be mostly from English/Cornish genetics. In the case of these birds the gentics and modern nutrition achieve what required castration and special feed in period.
Where they talk about "Hens" or "Roosters", I would look towards the "Asian Live Brid Markets". Ask for Spent Fowl or Roosters. These birds will generally be of mediterranean lines. For pullets I would again visit the Live bird markets. The most common bird sold there is a hen just reaching sexual maturity - that bird likely shares many of the characteristics that you seek.
Capon . . .
Date: 2009-09-26 09:56 pm (UTC)Rosceline