separation into the white and dark portions. The composition of the two meats is as follows:
Water in Fat-free Meat
Water. Substance. Fat. Protein. Bases.
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.
White meat, 61.38 75.08 18.25 17.06 .37
Dark meat, 59.48 78.44 24.16 15.94 1.03
The above data show that there is a notable difference in the composition of the white and the dark meat. The white meat has much less fat and a correspondingly larger quantity of protein. The quantity of water in the two classes of meat is not very different although there is a slightly less quantity in the dark meat. The dark meat has a much larger proportion of meat bases but as these bases are often considered of little value and sometimes degenerate into poisonous constituents it is seen from this point of view that the white meat is to be preferred to the dark meat.
Preserved Chicken.—Practically the only methods of preserving chickens are the canning processes which have already been described and cold storage. Chickens may be canned in the same way as has been described for beef and in that way may be kept for a certain length of time without notable deterioration. The pickling if chicken is not very extensively practiced nor is it cured in the ordinary sense of the word, that is, by the addition of salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, and wood smoke. Chicken may also be put up in the form of potted chicken, which has already been described. Practically the only methods which are in vogue and which can be commended for preserving chicken are sterilizing or canning and cold storage. These methods, when not unduly prolonged, are open to no reasonable objection. The preserving of chickens with spices and condiments may also, perhaps, be considered as desirable provided no harmful chemical preservatives are employed. The temptation, however, to employ such preservatives is so great as not to be always resisted.
Adulteration of Potted Chicken and Turkey.—Perhaps there is no other form of potted meat, with the possible exception of pâté de foie gras, where such an opulent field for sophistication is found as in the case of potted chicken and turkey. The average composition of ten samples of alleged potted chicken and turkey, found upon the market, is shown in the following table:
Water, 58.52 percent
Water in fat-free substance, 71.24 "
Fat, 17.98 "
Protein, 19.12 "
Meat bases, .96 "
Glycogen, .26 "
Total ash, 2.67 "
Of which sodium chlorid, 1.05 "
All but one of the ten samples contained starch but not in very considerable quantities, the largest amount being 4.13 percent.
None of the samples contained saltpeter. This is an interesting point because of the claim of the packers that saltpeter is used solely for preservation
