Is it okay to eat the world’s favorite food, chicken meat with the skin?
There is no doubt that chicken meat is the most preferred animal meat in the world. It is the most consumed meat globally.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 133 million tons of chicken meat were consumed in the world in 2021.
Latin America is the third largest region in the world where chicken meat is consumed the most.
In the year 2019, an average of 32.7 kg of chicken meat was consumed here per capita. In Brazil the figure was 40.6 kg and in Argentina 40.4 kg.
Chicken meat is also popular for food because it is generally cheaper and lower in fat. Along with this, there are less religious and social problems in its use.
Chicken meat is rich in protein and an important source of vitamins and minerals.
It also contains significant levels of beneficial monounsaturated fat for human nutrition, which benefits heart health and arteries.
But there are many doubts and misconceptions about the use of this popular food.
For example, it is believed that chicken skin contains a lot of fat. So is it good to eat chicken with the skin on or should it be removed before cooking or eating?
Maria Dolores Fernández Pazos, a nutritionist at the Met Nutritional Information Center in Argentina, told BBC Mundo that ‘chicken skin contains 32% fat, meaning 32g of fat per 100g of skin.’
The nutritionist explains that of the fats in chicken skin, two-thirds are unsaturated fats that we call ‘good fats’ that help improve blood cholesterol levels.
And one third of it is saturated fat or fat which we call ‘bad fat’ or bad fat and it increases the level of bad cholesterol in the human body.
Chicken meat also contains the same amount of fat. So, nutritionists say, ‘If we eat chicken with the skin, it will increase the fat content and calorie intake by about 50%.’
For example, if we eat six ounces of skin-on chicken breast meat, we will consume (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Facts) 284 calories, with 80 percent of those calories coming from protein and 20 percent from fat. come
But this number of calories will increase greatly when we eat such amount of meat with skin. Then we would eat 386 calories, 50 percent from protein and 50 percent from fat or fat.
That’s why nutritionist Dolores Fernandez says, ‘The healthiest and most common recommendation to the public is to remove (the skin) before eating, so that the plate doesn’t add extra calories or fat.’
He further says that ‘we can recommend people who do not have any disease, have a healthy weight for their height, are physically active and have a good physical structure. Leave the skin on the chicken during cooking and remove it before eating, as the presence of the skin on the meat will help the skin dry out less during cooking and be more juicy and delicious.’
The nutritionist says, ‘No, it is not recommended to refreeze frozen chicken once it has been softened.’
“The purpose of freezing food is to prevent the growth of microorganisms in it,” she says. So by thawing the food, those microorganisms can start to grow again.’
And this advice applies to all types of meat that have been defrosted. The only safe way to refreeze them is to cook and freeze them.
Nutritionist Dolores Fernandes says, ‘By cooking and freezing food, we eliminate the presence of microorganisms and can ensure its organoleptic properties and safety.’
What is the best way to defrost chicken?
Experts say that the best way to defrost chicken is to take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge.
“Defrosting chicken meat at room temperature can increase the growth of the microorganisms we mentioned earlier and cause the meat to spoil,” he says.
Whereas in the refrigerator, the defrosting process is a little slower and it can take up to 24 hours for a whole chicken to be tender. For this we should prepare before taking the chicken out of the freezer.
Chicken should never be defrosted or tenderized at room temperature or warmed, experts said.
Why do some stores have yellow meat while others have pink meat, is one better?
According to experts, the color of chicken meat can vary depending on the pigments present in the grains used in its diet.
Grains such as corn contain higher amounts of the pigment than white sorghum or wheat, which contain less of it.
And in some countries, due to consumer preferences, natural pigments are commonly added to poultry feed to give the meat a yellow color.
But from a nutritionist’s point of view, according to Dollars Fernandez ‘there is no difference between the properties and nutrition of yellow chicken and white pink chicken. ‘
