THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502220051
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
``I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he is unable to have a chicken in his pot every Sunday.''
- Henry IV, former king of France
BY HENRY'S STANDARDS, Americans are living in prosperity, indeed. Not only is a chicken likely to be in every pot on Sunday, but chances are good there's a chicken, or part of one, on every plate the other six days of the week, too.
As dinnertime ripples through the land, from Bangor, Maine, to Baja, Calif., so too does the cry:
``Chicken for dinner - again?''
In 1974, the average American ate 39.6 pounds of chicken. In 1994, per-capita consumption had risen to about 73 pounds, according to the National Broiler Council, a trade association for the industry in the U.S.
No wonder we are chickened out.
How much baked chicken, broiled chicken, grilled chicken, fried chicken, creamed chicken, smothered chicken, chicken cacciatore, chicken chow mein, chicken curry, chicken in wine, chicken in a basket, chicken in a bucket, chicken at a banquet can a person eat?
Low in price, low in fat and highly versatile, chicken became the entree of choice in the 1970s, when Americans were warned about the health risks of a diet rich in red meat.
Chicken made that news easier to swallow. Kids like chicken. And dressed up fancy, chicken can impress even the boss at a glamorous dinner party.
There almost isn't anything chicken can't do.
It can even become a high-fat food, if you're not careful. And it can dry out quickly, if you're not on guard.
Inside are some innovative recipes, along with tips for avoiding foul-ups with chicken. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
EATING WELL MAGAZINE
Consumption of chicken has soared becaues of its versatility, low
price and low fat.
by CNB