PREPARATION OF POULTRY PRODUCTS 319 



likely to be consumed at once, is scalded (that being the cheaper 

 method), while that which takes longer to reach the market and is 

 not so likely to find ready sale, and may have to go into cold storage, 

 is dry picked (that being the method which best insures its keeping). 



At bottom it is not so much a question of method as of good 

 work by either method. Good poultry marketed in good condition 

 will bring about the same price scalded or dry picked, when the 

 demand is brisk, but when trade is dull, poultry dressed by the 

 method not favored in a market is hard to move on that market. 



Importance of proper cooliag. In respect to its effect on quality, 

 cooling is the most important part of the preparation of poultry 

 for food. Enormous quantities of good poultry are damaged 

 or spoiled entirely because not properly cooled when killed. The 

 object of cooling is to remove the animal heat and check decom- 

 position. The sooner the body is cooled, the longer it will keep 

 and the better will be the texture and flavor of the meat. In cold 

 weather, poultry may be cooled in the air (dry cooled). When the 

 temperature is too high for rapid cooling in the air, poultry is 

 cooled first in water of the ordinary temperature at which it comes 

 from the well or hydrant, and then in ice water. Cooling the warm 

 body suddenly in ice water is less effective than beginning with 

 water of a higher temperature. It is supposed that too rapid chill- 

 ing at the surface diminishes its conductivity and allows the animal 

 heat inside to start decomposition more actively. Whenever it can be 

 done, dry cooling is preferred to cooling in water. When the days 

 are warm and the nights cool it is usual to put poultry into water 

 in barrels, tubs, or tanks as soon as killed, and at night to hang it 

 up or place it on racks to finish cooling. The killing should always 

 be timed so as to give poultry sufficient time to cool before being 

 packed. When it is to be shipped only a few hundred miles or packed 

 in ice, cooling for a night and a part of a day (according to the time 

 of killing) should be enough. If the poultry is to be shipped dry 

 packed for a long distance, it should be more thoroughly cooled. 

 It is of much more importance that poultry should be well cooled 

 before a long shipment than that it should be started on its journey 

 quickly. The condition of the poultry at the start is a more important 

 factor in its keeping than the time in transit. Packers nearly a week 

 from their market cool poultry two or three days before shipping. 



