Product range

Chicken
Pork
Turkey
Specials

Chicken

The Chicken (Gallus gallus, sometimes G. gallus domesticus) is a domesticated fowl likely descended from the wild Indian and southeast Asian Red Junglefowl (Gallus gallus) and the related Grey Junglefowl (G. sonneratii).

Traditionally it has been widely accepted that the Chicken was descended solely from the former, as hybrids of both wild types tended toward sterility; but recent genetic work has revealed that the genotype for yellow skin present in the domestic fowl is not present in what is otherwise its closest kin, the Red Junglefowl. It is deemed most likely, then, that the yellow skin trait in domestic birds originated in the Grey Junglefowl.

The Chicken is one of the most common and widespread domestic animals. With a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird. Humans keep chickens primarily as a source of food, with both their meat and their eggs consumed.


Southeast Asian Red Junglefowl Grey Junglefowl

Chicken as a meat has been depicted in Babylonian carvings from around 600 BC. Chicken was one of the most common meats available in the Middle Ages.

It was widely believed to be easily digested and considered to be one of the most neutral foodstuffs. It was eaten over most of the Eastern hemisphere and a number of different kinds of chicken such as capons, pullets and hens were eaten. It was one of the basic ingredients in the so-called white dish, a stew usually consisting of chicken and fried onions cooked in milk and seasoned with spices and sugar.
Typically, the muscle tissue (breast, legs, thigh, etc), livers, hearts, and gizzard are processed for food. Chicken feet are commonly eaten, especially in French and Chinese cuisine. Chicken wings refers to a serving of the wing sections of a chicken.
Raw chicken can be frozen for up to two months without significant changes in flavour or texture. Chicken is typically eaten cooked as when raw it often contains salmonella; raw or rare chicken dishes appear in Ethiopian cuisine.
Chicken can be cooked in innumerable ways; it can be made into sausages, put in salads, grilled, breaded and deep-fried, or used in various curries. There is significant variation in cooking methods amongst cultures; historically common methods include roasting, baking and frying. Today, chickens are also cooked by deep frying and prepared as fast food as Fried Chicken, chicken nuggets or Buffalo wings.

Turkey

The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird raised for food. The modern domesticated turkey descends from the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), one of the two species of turkey (genus Meleagris); however, in the past the ocellated turkey (Meleagris ocellata) was also domesticated. Despite the name, turkeys have no relation to the country of Turkey and are originaly from North America.

The turkey is reared throughout temperate parts of the world, and is a popular form of poultry. The female domesticated turkey is referred to as a hen and the chick as a poult. In the United States, the male is referred to as a tom, whilst in Europe, the male is a stag.
The great majority of domesticated turkeys have white feathers, although brown or bronze-feathered varieties are also raised. The fleshy protuberance attached to the underside of the beak is known as a "wattle".

Meleagris gallopavo Wild Turkey Domesticated American turkey


Domesticated turkeys

Turkeys are traditionally eaten as the main course of large feasts at Christmas in much of the world, as well as Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, though this tradition has its origins in modern times, rather than colonial as is often supposed. It has also displaced, to a certain extent, the traditional Christmas roast goose or beef of Britain and Europe. While eating turkey was once mainly restricted to special occasions such as these, turkey is now eaten year-round and forms a regular part of many diets.

In countries where turkey is popular, it is available commonly in supermarkets. Turkeys are sold sliced and ground, as well as "whole" in a manner similar to chicken with the head, feet, and feathers removed. Frozen whole turkeys remain popular. Ground turkey is sold just as ground beef, and is frequently marketed as a healthy beef substitute. Without proper preparation, turkey is usually considered to end up less moist than, for example, chicken or duck. Leftovers from roast turkey are generally served as cold cuts on Boxing Day. In Israel, turkey, rather than lamb is usually the choice meat used to make shawarma.

Turkey is often found as a processed meat. It can be smoked and as such is sometimes sold as turkey ham. Twisted helices of deep fried turkey meat sold as turkey twizzlers came to prominence in the UK in 2004 when chef Jamie Oliver campaigned to have them and similar foods removed from school dinners.

Both fresh and frozen turkeys are used for cooking; as with most foods, fresh turkeys are generally preferred. Around holiday seasons, high demand for fresh turkeys often makes them difficult to purchase without ordering in advance.

Turkeys are usually baked or roasted in an oven for several hours, often while the cook prepares the rest of the meal. Sometimes, a turkey is brined before roasting to enhance flavor and moisture content. This is necessary because the dark meat cooks more slowly than the white meat, so that fully cooking the dark meat tends to dry out the breast. Brining makes it possible to fully cook the dark meat without drying the breast meat. Turkeys are sometime decorated with turkey frills prior to serving.

Turkey is generally considered healthier and less fattening than red meat.

Pork

The domestic pig (or in some areas hog) is normally given the scientific name Sus scrofa scrofa, though some taxonomists use the term S. domestica, reserving S. scrofa for the wild boar.

Pigs are believed to have been domesticated from wild boar as early as 9000 BC in the Near East and separately in China at about the same time[1]. DNA evidence from sub-fossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs in Europe shows that the first domestic pigs there had been brought from the Near East. It appears that this stimulated the domestication of European wild boar, effectively forming a third domestication event – the Near Eastern genes later died out in European pigs, and domesticated European pigs were then exported in turn to the ancient Near East.


Sus scrofa scrofa (wild Boar)

The adaptable nature and omnivorous diet of the wild boar allowed early humans to domesticate it readily. Pigs were mostly used for food, but early civilizations also used the pigs' hides for shields, bones for tools and weapons, and bristles for brushes. Pigs were brought to southeastern North America from Europe by De Soto and other early Spanish explorers. Escaped pigs became feral and were used by Native Americans as food.


Domesticated pig

Most domestic pigs have rather sparse hair covering on their skin, although woolly coated breeds are known (Mangalitsa pig), and some were popular in the past. Escaped domestic pigs have become feral in many parts of the world (for example, New Zealand) and have caused substantial environmental damage.


Mangalitsa pig (Wooly Pig)

Health

As mentioned in the pages concerning Quality, we produce according to the strict regulations of HACCP. This means everything possible is done to provide you with a good, tasty and healthy product.

Poultry has the least Fat and Cholesterol contents of all meat. It also contains valuable protein and a lot of iron. Also the contents of Vitamin B and Vitamin A makes poultry an important nutrition.

Iron: The Iron found in poultry is responsible for the production of blood cells and the transport of oxygen. The lack of iron can cause tiredness and loss of concentration. Lack of Iron is also responsible for the brain not getting enough oxygen.

Protein: Protein is an important structural material for the body. Poultry meat has, depending on the species, a Protein count between 18 and 24 percent. Pure muscle meat, like turkey- or chicken snitzel contains 24% Protein. Because of its high biological value, animal protein is easily absorpt by the human body.

Less Fat / Cholesterol: Especially Turkey- and chicken meat have a small fat percentage (7-10g/100g). That causes the Cholesterol count to be far less in comparison to other meat products. Poultry meat also contains a high percentage of unsaturated fats (Unsaturated fats are the 'good guys', because they reduce your cholesterol level)

Poultry Meat such as Chicken and/or Turkey is the ideal protein source due to its low calories and fat content;

By removing the skin, the fat levels in chicken- and/or Turkey meat are lowered even more (the skinless chicken breast fillet has the lowest fat content of all chicken products);

Grilled chicken or Turkey can be succulent and appetizing, but also healthy;

To ensure proper cooking, the chicken and/or Turkey has to be ready to cook only after the grill has reached the optimum temperature. For chicken and turkey wings, grill time should be 10 minutes, for chicken- and turkey breast 7 to 8 minutes, and for chicken thighs 12 to 15 minutes.