FOOD VALUE AND USES OF POULTRY. 19 



time required for the interior to become hot. On the other hand, 

 if the bird is small, there is danger of the interior drying out with 

 prolonged heat, and it should be cooked as quickly as possible. 

 Hence the rule that the smaller the bird the hotter the oven and the 

 shorter the period of cooking should be. 



When the layer of meat over the bones is very thin, as in young 

 chicks or squabs, broiling is preferable to roasting. Here very intense 

 heat is applied to one side of the meat until the surface is coated over 

 with coagulated protein, then the other side, and so on alternately 

 until the interior is cooked. 



In frying, whether in a pan or in deep fat, the heat reaches the 

 meat through hot fat instead of water or air. Like broiling, this 

 process seems appropriate only for thin pieces of meat. The hot fat 

 on the surface forms a coating which keeps the juices in; or, when the 

 meat is dipped in batter before frying, the latter forms the coating 

 and adds its own browned flavor to the flavor of the meat. The fat 

 should be very hot when the meat is put in, else* it may soak into the 

 flesh and spoil the flavor. 



Cookbooks and bills of fare suggest almost endless ways of cook- 

 ing poultry, but it will be found that they all correspond in principle 

 to the methods described and that the differences between them 

 usually, He in the way in which the dishes are flavored by dressing 

 or sauce or in the way they are treated after their first cooking. 

 Chicken pie, for example, is stewed or boiled chicken plus the crust 

 and a little sauce, and chicken croquettes are rather finely divided 

 boiled or roasted chicken plus the seasoning, etc., with which the 

 meat is mixed and the crumbs in which it is rolled before frying. 

 The nutritive value of these dishes depends, of course, on all the 

 materials which go into them. 



POTTED AND CANNED POULTRY. 



In commercial establishments the meat for these goods is pre- 

 pared in essentially' the same way as if it were to be used imme- 

 diately, and then is treated much as any other canned meat product, 

 the object being to sterilize the can contents and exclude the air, 

 with the microorganisms always present in it. If sterilization is not 

 complete, there is, of course, danger of decomposition and its attend- 

 ant evils. Another possible but slight danger is that of poisoning 

 from improper tin and solder, but this is not so great with meats 

 as with fruits and vegetables, in which the acids aid in the formation 

 of dangerous substances. There is no reason why canned poultry, 

 properly put up, should not be just as healthful as fresh, for which 

 it is often a most convenient substitute. 



Within the last few years it has become fairly common for house- 

 keepers, especially in rural regions where it is difficult to obtain 



