18 BULLETIN 467, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
COOKING. 
The purpose of cooking poultry is the same as with any other mate- 
rial, namély, to produce chemical and physical changes which improve 
the flavor and texture and to destroy any microorganisms which may 
be present. The heat of cooking softens the fibers and connective 
tissues which form the greater part of poultry flesh, and thus gives 
the digestive juices a better chance to act upon them. On the other 
hand, the protein (nitrogenous substance found in the lean of meat) 
is hardened by the strong heat, much as white of egg, which it 
resembles in chemical composition, hardens in boiling. Protein thus 
hardened or coagulated may be somewhat less readily though not 
less thoroughly digested than slightly cooked or raw protein; for most 
persons, however, this disadvantage in the cooked meat is more than 
offset by what custom makes them consider its more attractive taste 
and appearance. The fats, too, are affected by the heat; being 
melted out from the flesh to some extent, they make it appear more 
juicy. : 
Boiling, stewing, roasting, broiling, and frying are the methods of 
cooking ordinarily used with poultry, as with other meats. 
In boiling and stewing the heat reaches the flesh through the water 
in which it is placed, and the chief difference between the two lies in — 
the amount of heat applied at one time. The choice to be made — 
between them should depend on whether the flesh only is to be used 
or also the water in which it is cooked. If the flesh only, the bird 
should be boiled ; that is, plunged into water which is already at or near 
the boiling point and allowed to stay at that temperature for from 10 to 
20 minutes. This exposure to the greater heat will cause the protein 
near the surface to harden and form a sort of coating which the juices 
of the interior can not so readily pass. Later the pot should be setin | 
a cooler place and the meat be left in water slightly below the boilmg — 
point until the desired changes have taken place in its imner parts. 
When, on the other hand, the water also is to be used, the bird should 
be stewed; that is, put into water while it is still below the boiling — 
point and kept there until thoroughly cooked, since at a moderate ~ 
temperature no impervious coating of coagulated protein will form, — 
and part of the juices, etc., will escape from the meat into the water. 
In roasting and broiling poultry the heat reaches the meat through 
the air instead of through water. The dry heat causes the protein — 
near the surface to harden, thus partially preventing the escape of | 
the juices; it also Gauses the meat to brown on the surface, and thus ~ 
produces a new and appetizing flavor. If recourse is had to basting, or 
pouring the escaped juices over the hot meat, a coating is formed over” 
the surface, which aids in keeping in the remainder of the juices and | 
increases the ‘‘browned”’ flavor. The larger the fowl, the longer the - 
