On Food and Cooking

cold-water bath or cold-air blast. Prolonged
water-chilling can add a significant amount of
water to the carcass: U.S. regulations allow 5–
12% of chicken weight to be absorbed water,
or several ounces in a 4-pound bird. By
contrast, air-chilling, which is standard in
much of Europe and Scandinavia, actually
removes water, so that the flesh becomes
more concentrated and the skin will brown
more readily.
Kosher and halal meats are processed
according to Jewish and Muslim religious
laws respectively, which among other things
require a brief period of salting. These
practices don’t allow meat birds to be scalded
before plucking, so their skin is often torn.
The plucked carcasses are then salted for 30–
60 minutes and briefly rinsed in cold water;
like air-chilled birds, they absorb little if any
extraneous moisture. Salting makes meat fats
more prone to oxidation and the development
of off flavors, so kosher and halal meats don’t