12 BULLETIN 461, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



partially drawn ones less quickly than the fully drawn ones from 

 which not only the viscera but also the heads and feet have been 

 removed. 



For household use it may be safe to let the local farmer or the mar- 

 ketman draw the birds just before they are delivered, providing they 

 are to be cooked within a few hours, but otherwise it is probably best 

 to draw them at home. In no case should the interior of the bird 

 be washed until just before cooking, for the moisture which would 

 necessarily remain would be favorable to the growth of injurious 

 microorganisms to the meat and would be more dangerous than 

 anything the washing might remove. Another disadvantage of 

 buying birds drawn is that it is more difficult to judge the age and 

 freshness of the bird when the head, feet, and intestines have been 

 removed. (See p. 16.) 



The head and feet, usually considered as waste in this country, are 

 commonly used in Europe for gravy or soup making and are occa- 

 sionally sold for this purpose in the United States. The masses of 

 fat such as are found around the entrails are sufficiently valuable 

 for culinary purposes to be sold in some markets for as much as 50 

 cents a pound at retail. The giblets or edible entrails (gizzard, heart, 

 fiver, and sometimes lungs) are often cooked and used in stuffing or 

 gravy. Chicken livers are considered a great delicacy by many and 

 bring high prices when sold separately. If any of these parts are 

 removed and kept by the marketman, allowance ought to be made 

 in the price. The inedible entrails, on the other hand, have no 

 value to the housekeeper and should be disposed of at once, as they 

 spoil quickly and taint whatever they come in contact with. 



CHANGES IN POULTRY FLESH. 



After the animal heat leaves the body, a condition known as 

 "rigor mortis" sets in, which stiffens the flesh and tendons. After 

 some hours, however, this stiffness begins to pass off, probably as the 

 result of the growth of microorganisms or the action of natural fer- 

 ments in the flesh. Because of this, poultry should either be cooked 

 within a few hours after killing or else kept for a day or two. Along 

 with this softening of the flesh and tendons, other changes also take 

 place which, when they have become more apparent, are called 

 decomposition or putrefaction. In their later stages they are 

 accompanied by a characteristic odor and a disagreeable, acid taste, 

 and sometimes by a change of color. The younger the bird and the 

 softer and moister the flesh the more rapidly does this decomposition 

 set in. The microorganisms which produce these undesirable chem- 

 ical changes in flesh grow more quickly at a moderately high tem- 

 perature than at a low one, and in a damp place than in a dry one, 

 and the meat must, therefore, be stored in a cool, dry place. Clean- 



