The New Complete Book of Food

0 The New Complete Book of Food

Fat and Cholesterol Content of Roast Poultry, Meat Only (100 g/3.5 oz.)

(Continued)

Poultry Total fat (g) Saturated fat (g) Cholesterol (mg)

Turkey

light meat 3.3 1 69

dark meat 7.2 2.4 85

Beef

eye, round, lean only 3.9 1.3 52

Source: USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

Available online. UR L: http://nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/.

The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food

Broiled or roasted, with the skin removed to reduce the fat. Soups and stews should be

skimmed.

Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food

Controlled-fat, low cholesterol diet (duck, goose)

Low-protein diet

Buying This Food

Look for: Poultry with fresh, unblemished skin and clear unblemished meat. If you buy

whole fresh chickens that have not been prepacked, try to bend the breastbone—the more

flexible it is, the younger the bird and the more lean and tender the flesh.

Choose the bird that fits your needs. Young birds (broiler, fryer, capon, rock cornish

hen, duckling, young turkey, young hen, and young tom) are good for broiling, frying, and

roasting. Older birds (hen, stewing chicken, fowl, mature duck) have tougher muscle fiber,

which requires long stewing or steaming to tenderize the meat.

Avoid: Poultry whose skin is dry or discolored.

Storing This Food

Refrigerate fresh poultry immediately. Refrigeration prolongs freshness by slowing the

natural multiplication of bacteria on the surface of the chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. Left

unchecked, these bacteria will convert proteins and other substances on the surface of the

poultry to mucopolysaccharides, a slimy film. They will also convert the sulfur-containing

amino acids methionine and cystine into smelly sulfur compounds called mercaptans, which