The word "squab" probably comes from Scandinavia; the Swedish word skvabb means "loose, fat flesh".[3] The term formerly applied to all dove and pigeon species (such as the wood pigeon, the mourning dove, the extinct-in-the-wild socorro dove, and the now extinct passenger pigeon,[4][5]) and their meat. More recently, squab meat comes almost entirely from domesticated pigeons. The meat of dove and pigeon gamebirds hunted primarily for sport is rarely called "squab".[4]
The practice of domesticating pigeons as livestock may have originated in North Africa; historically, many societies have consumed squabs or pigeons, including ancient Egypt (still common in modern Egypt), Rome, China, India (Northeast),[6] and medieval Europe. Although squab has been consumed throughout much of recorded history, it is generally regarded[citation needed] as exotic, not as a contemporary staple food; there are more records of its preparation for the wealthy than for the poor.
The modern squab industry uses utility pigeons. Squab farmers[7] raise the young until they are roughly a month old (when they reach adult size but have not yet flown) before slaughter.
History
A pair of king pigeons. Large breast muscles are common in utility pigeons.
The practice of domesticating pigeon as livestock may have come from the North Africa;[8] historically, squabs or pigeons have been consumed in many civilizations, including ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, and Medieval Europe.[4]:211 Doves are considered kosher, though are not as common in the Jewish diet as they were in ancient times. Texts about methods of raising pigeons for their meat date as far back as AD 60 in Spain.[9] Such birds were hunted for their meat because it was a cheap and readily available source of protein.[4]
In the Tierra de Campos, a resource-poor region of north-western Spain, squab meat was an important supplement to grain crops from at least Roman times. Caelius Aurelianus, an Ancient Roman physician, regarded the meat as a cure for headaches, but by the 16th century, squab was believed to cause headaches.[9]
From the Middle Ages, a dovecote (French pigeonnier) was a common outbuilding on an estate that aimed to be self-sufficient.[4] The dovecote was considered a "living pantry",[9] a source of meat for unexpected guests, and was important as a supplementary source of income from the sale of surplus birds.[11] Dovecotes were introduced to South America and Africa by Mediterranean colonists. In medieval England, squab meat was highly valued, although its availability depended on the season.[12]
In England, pigeon meat was eaten when other food was rationed during World War II and remains associated with wartime shortages and poverty. This was parodied in an episode of the sitcom Dad's Army, "Getting the Bird".[13][14] Nevertheless, many people continue to eat it, especially the older generation.
Husbandry
Squab have been commercially raised in North America since the early 1900s. As of 1986, annual production in the United States and Canada was one and a half million squabs per year.[15]
Pigeons, unlike other poultry, form pair bonds to breed, and squabs must be brooded and fed by both parents until they are four weeks old; a pair of pigeons may produce 15 squabs per year.[15] Ten pairs can produce eight squabs each month without being fed by their keepers.[16] Pigeons which are accustomed to their dovecote may forage and return there to rest and breed.[9] Industrially raised pigeons have young which weigh 1.3 pounds (0.59kg) when of age, as opposed to traditionally raised pigeons, which weigh 0.5 pounds (0.23kg).[9]
Utility pigeons have been artificially selected for weight gain, quick growth, health when kept in large numbers, and health of their infants.[17] For a greater yield, commercially raised squab may be produced in a two-nest system, where the mother lays two new eggs in a second nest while her offspring are still growing in the first nest,[16] fed crop milk by both parents.[18] Establishing two breeding lines has been suggested as another strategy for greater yield, where one breeding line is selected for prolificacy and the other for "parental performance",[19] which, according to Aggrey and Cheng, is "vital" for squab growth after the age of two weeks.[15]
Meleg estimates that 15–20% of eggs fail to hatch in well-maintained pigeon lofts.[20] Egg size is important for the squab's initial size and for mortality at hatching,[citation needed] but becomes less important as the squab ages. Aggrey and Cheng feel that the hatched weight of squabs is not a good indicator of their weight at four weeks old.[15]
Squabs reach adult size, but are not yet ready to fly (making them easier to catch) after roughly a month; at this point, they are slaughtered.[4][9][16]
There is some variation in nutritional content depending on the breed of utility pigeon used for squabbing.[21]
A large volume of squab is served at Chinese American restaurants.
Usually considered a delicacy, squab is tender, moist and richer in taste than many commonly consumed poultry meats, but there is relatively little meat per bird, the meat being concentrated in the breast.[4][22] Squab is dark meat, and the skin is fatty, like that of duck.[4] The meat is very lean, easily digestible, and "rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins".[9] It has been described as having a "silky" texture, as it is very tender and fine-grained.[9][23] It has a milder taste than other game,[24] and has been described as having a mild berry flavor.[9] Squab's flavor lends itself to complex red or white wines.[24] The 1997 edition of the Joy of Cooking cautions that if squab is cooked beyond medium-rare, its flavor becomes 'distinctly "livery"'.[25]
In the 14th century humorism book Health Regime, squab was regarded as a "hot and moist" food, whereas the meat of older pigeons was regarded as hot, dry, and "barely edible".[9] The Roman cookbook Apicius recommended sauces with a combined sweet and sour flavor to accompany roasted or braised squab. In 1607, a recipe book from a monastery in Salamanca, Spain, suggested cooking squab with pork fat or bitter limes. There is less information about traditional recipes incorporating squab or pigeon used by commoners, but there is evidence they were "handed down from generation to generation".[9]
In the 15th century, the Italian friar Luca Pacioli wrote a book of "culinary secrets" which included "How to Kill a Squab by Hitting with a Feather on the Head".[26] Indeed, squab would serve as a culinary staple in Italy, including in Umbrian and Tuscan cuisine since before the Medieval era.[10] In 18th century France, pigeons à la crapaudine ("toad-like squab") was a popular "dish of skill" for both rich and poor, in which the squab was arranged so that it looked like a frog, with the breast forming the frog's "face". Religious dietary laws once prohibited meat on fast days, but allowed frog's meat, as it was a water dweller. Pigeons à la crapaudine played with that convention, and is still part of French traditional cuisine.[27][28]
A 19th-century recipe from California for Pastales de pollos y pichones (Chicken and squab pastry) was as a savory pie with alternating layers of chicken and squab with a picadillo of minced veal, bacon, ham fried in lard with onion, mushrooms, apples, artichokes. tomatoes and seasonings layer.[29]
Commercially raised birds "take only half as long to cook" as traditionally raised birds, and are suitable for roasting, grilling, or searing, whereas the traditionally raised birds are better suited to casseroles and slow-cooked stews.[9] The meat from older and wild pigeons is much tougher than squab, and requires a long period of stewing or roasting to tenderize.[4] The consumption of squab probably stems from both the relative ease of catching birds which have not yet fledged,[4] and that unfledged birds have more tender meat.[30] Once a squab has fledged, its weight decreases significantly.[31]
Today, squab is part of the cuisine of many countries, including China, France, Egypt, the United States, Italy, Northern Africa, and several Asian countries.[21][32] Typical dishes include breast of squab (sometimes as the French salmis), Egyptian Mahshi (stuffed with rice or Freekeh and herbs), Assamese pigeon curry[33] and the Moroccanpastilla.[34] In Spain and France, squab is also preserved as a confit.[9] Demand for squab is increasing in Nigeria, despite being more expensive than beef, pork or chicken, as pigeons can quickly be raised to table weight and are easy to keep, providing diseases are controlled, as young pigeons are especially susceptible to disease.[citation needed]
Dressed squab displayed for sale in Hong Kong
In the United States, squab is "increasingly a specialty item", as the larger and cheaper chicken has mostly displaced it.[35] In 1942, MFK Fisher quipped in How to Cook a Wolf, "It is not easy to find pigeons, these days. Most of the ones you know about in the city are working for the government."[36] However, squab produced from specially raised utility pigeons continues to grace the menus of American haute cuisine restaurants such as Le Cirque and the French Laundry,[22][37] and has enjoyed endorsements from some celebrity chefs.[4] Accordingly, squab is often sold for much higher prices than other poultry, sometimes as high as eight USD per pound.[4]
In Indian cuisine, squab features prominently in the Northeast,[38] such as in the Assamese cuisine.[39] Pigeon is usually cooked as curry and is sometimes cooked with banana blossom.[40][33] It is popular among both the tribal[41][42] and non-tribal populations. Pigeon meat is associated with strength, and the pre-colonial Kamarupa Yatra also recommends it for health.[6] Pigeon is sacrificed in some Hindu temples, especially in the Shakta tradition, such as in the Kamakhya temple in India,[43][44] after which it can be eaten. A similar practice is followed in Nepal too.[45] Pigeon curry is often reserved for special occasions.[46]
In Chinese cuisine, squab is a part of celebratory banquets for holidays such as Chinese New Year, usually served deep-fried.[4] Cantonese-style pigeon is typically braised in soy sauce, rice wine and star anise then roasted with crispy skin and tender meat.[47] Squabs are sold live in Chinese marketplaces to assure freshness,[48] but they can also be dressed in two styles. "Chinese-style" (Buddhist slaughter) birds retain their head and feet, whereas "New York-dressed" (Confucian slaughter) birds retain their entrails, head and feet.[23] The greatest volume of U.S. squab is currently sold within Chinatowns.[4]:213
Despite the relative ease of raising pigeons, squab is "not usually considered" in terms of its potential for food security.[16] In parts of the world, squab meat is thought of as distasteful by some consumers because they view feral pigeons as unsanitary urban pests.[32] However, squab meat is regarded as safer than some other poultry products as it harbors fewer pathogens,[49][50] and may be served between medium and well done.[49]
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, eggs or feathers. The practice of raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes. The term also includes waterfowls of the family Anatidae but does not include wild birds hunted for food known as game or quarry.
Poaching is a cooking technique that involves heating food submerged in a liquid, such as water, milk, stock or wine. Poaching is differentiated from the other "moist heat" cooking methods, such as simmering and boiling, in that it uses a relatively lower temperature. This temperature range makes it particularly suitable for delicate food, such as eggs, poultry, fish and fruit, which might easily fall apart or dry out using other cooking methods. Poaching is often considered a healthy cooking method because it does not use fat for cooking or flavoring the food.
Belgian cuisine is widely varied among regions, while also reflecting the cuisines of neighbouring France, Germany and the Netherlands. It is characterised by the combination of French cuisine with the more hearty Flemish fare. Outside the country, Belgium is best known for its chocolate, waffles, fries and beer.
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Pilaf, pilav or pilau is a rice dish, usually sautéed, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere to each other.
Pâté is a forcemeat. Originally, the dish was cooked in a pastry case; in more recent times it is more usually cooked without pastry in a terrine. Various ingredients are used, which may include meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices, wine and brandy.
Eastern European cuisine encompasses many different cultures, ethnicities, languages, and histories of Eastern Europe.
Schmaltz is rendered (clarified) chicken or goose fat. It is an integral part of traditional Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, where it has been used for centuries in a wide array of dishes, such as chicken soup, latkes, matzah brei, chopped liver, matzah balls, fried chicken, and many others, as a cooking fat, spread, or flavor enhancer.
Assamese cuisine is the cuisine of the Indian state of Assam. It is a style of cooking that is a confluence of cooking habits of the hills that favour fermentation and drying as forms of preservation and those from the plains that provide extremely wide variety of fresh vegetables and greens, and an abundance of fish and meat. Both are centred on the main ingredient — rice. It is a mixture of different indigenous styles with considerable regional variations and some external influences. The traditional way of cooking and the cuisine of Assam is very similar to South-East Asian countries such as Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and others. The cuisine is characterized by very little use of spices, little cooking over fire, and strong flavours due mainly to the use of endemic exotic fruits and vegetables that are either fresh, dried or fermented. Fish is widely used, and birds like duck, pigeon, squab, etc. are very popular, which are often paired with a main vegetable or ingredient; beef used to be eaten before British colonialism, and some continue to do so. Preparations are rarely elaborate. The practice of bhuna, the gentle frying of spices before the addition of the main ingredients so common in Indian cooking, is absent in the cuisine of Assam. The preferred oil for cooking is the pungent mustard oil.
In cooking and gastronomy, duck or duckling is the meat of several species of bird in the family Anatidae, found in both fresh and salt water. Duck is eaten in many cuisines around the world. It is a high-fat, high-protein meat rich in iron. Duckling nominally comes from a juvenile animal, but may be simply a menu name.
Pastilla is a meat or seafood pie in Maghrebi cuisine made with warqa dough (ورقة), which is similar to filo. It is a specialty of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, where its variation is known as malsouka. It has more recently been spread by emigrants to France, Israel, and North America.
Pigeon keeping or pigeon fancying is the art and science of breeding domestic pigeons. People have practiced pigeon keeping for at least 5,000 years and in almost every part of the world. In that time, humans have substantially altered the morphology and the behaviour of the domesticated descendants of the rock dove to suit their needs for food, aesthetic satisfaction and entertainment.
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat and chicken eggs have become prevalent in numerous cuisines.
Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Broiler chickens are most commonly used.
Squab pie is a traditional dish from South West England, with early records showing it was associated with Cornwall, Devon and Gloucestershire. Although the name suggests it contains squab, in fact it contains mutton and apples. The pie was eaten around the world in the 1900s, though outside South West England it generally did contain pigeon.
Pigeon pie is a savoury game pie made of pigeon meat and various other ingredients traditional to French cuisine and present in other European cuisines. It has been eaten at least as early as 1670 in French cuisine.
Kedjenou is a spicy stew that is slow-cooked in a sealed canari over fire or coals and prepared with chicken or guinea hen and vegetables. It is a traditional and popular dish of the cuisine of Côte d'Ivoire.
References
↑ "Game Birds". All Q'd Up. 2014-06-23. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
↑ Parzen, Jeremy (Fall 2004). "Please Play with Your Food: An Incomplete Survey of Culinary Wonders in Italian Renaissance Cookery". Gastronomica. 4 (4): 25–33. doi:10.1525/gfc.2004.4.4.25.
↑ Davis, Jennifer J. (February 2009). "Masters of Disguise: French Cooks Between Art and Nature, 1651–1793". Gastronomica. 9 (1): 36–49. doi:10.1525/gfc.2009.9.1.36.
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