There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
chicken breast sound exciting.

Tom

wrote:
> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> chicken breast sound exciting.
>
> Tom


They are adding chicken bouillon to get the weight up -- water is a
*lot* cheaper than chicken, then they pretend they are doing you a
favor. It does make it more flavorful, but mostly it makes it salty
and difficult to fry.

Bob

On May 13, 4:36 pm, " >
wrote:
> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> chicken breast sound exciting.
>
Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem

I bought a "whole" chicken at that chain store which included
"giblets", but when I opened the chicken there were no giblets. I
guess chicken livers bring more per pound than the whole chicken, so
the supplier probably shorted them. I contacted their customer
service, but never heard back. I hate to bug the local store, since
they are only hard working people who are not paid very much, and
really only stock the shelves.

Tom

> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. *When
> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
> product. *"I won't pay chicken prices for water," *"I'm the cook, I
> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. * Resistance may
> be futile, but maybe not. *It's worth trying. * * -aem

aem wrote:
> On May 13, 4:36 pm, " >
> wrote:
>> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
>> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
>> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
>> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
>> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
>> chicken breast sound exciting.
>>
> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
> be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem
>


I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little
supermarket -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less
than 1/2% retained water" on the label. (It's kind of sad that they
have to label that the meat is *not* adulterated.)

I cooked one and it didn't shrink much and it wasn't salty. It
tasted like cardboard, like a chicken breast is supposed to. :-) I
can work with that. Now if I can just find some dark meat packaged
by these folks.

Bob

wrote:
> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> chicken breast sound exciting.
>
> Tom

I'm very much with you on favoring thigh meat, and I won't buy 'enhanced'
anything. I didn't realize they'd stooped so low as to add water to
chicken, and will look closely next time I'm in the market.

Keith



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ---

On 5/13/2010 8:44 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
> aem wrote:
>> On May 13, 4:36 pm, " >
>> wrote:
>>> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
>>> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
>>> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
>>> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
>>> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
>>> chicken breast sound exciting.
>>>
>> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
>> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
>> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
>> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
>> be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem
>>
>
>
> I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little supermarket
> -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less than 1/2%
> retained water" on the label. (It's kind of sad that they have to label
> that the meat is *not* adulterated.)
>
> I cooked one and it didn't shrink much and it wasn't salty. It tasted
> like cardboard, like a chicken breast is supposed to. :-) I can work
> with that. Now if I can just find some dark meat packaged by these folks.
>
> Bob

There is a evil local small chain here where all of their chicken is
labeled and sold like that. They definitely have all of the usual
chicken parts. Surprised yours only has the breasts.

George wrote:
> On 5/13/2010 8:44 PM, zxcvbob wrote:
>> aem wrote:
>>> On May 13, 4:36 pm, " >
>>> wrote:
>>>> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
>>>> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
>>>> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
>>>> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
>>>> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
>>>> chicken breast sound exciting.
>>>>
>>> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
>>> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
>>> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
>>> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
>>> be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem
>>>
>>
>>
>> I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little supermarket
>> -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less than 1/2%
>> retained water" on the label. (It's kind of sad that they have to label
>> that the meat is *not* adulterated.)
>>
>> I cooked one and it didn't shrink much and it wasn't salty. It tasted
>> like cardboard, like a chicken breast is supposed to. :-) I can work
>> with that. Now if I can just find some dark meat packaged by these folks.
>>
>> Bob
>
> There is a evil local small chain here where all of their chicken is
> labeled and sold like that. They definitely have all of the usual
> chicken parts. Surprised yours only has the breasts.
>
>


They probably do have the other parts. Breasts were on sale for
88¢ per pound, so I didn't even look for thighs or whole birds.

Bob

On Thu, 13 May 2010 16:36:27 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth?

"Broth" means it contains animal juice. That's slightly better than
your typical water + salt + trisodium phosphate. The broth helps
make an otherwise tasteless breast taste more like chicken.

The real question is, where did they get the chicken broth to flavor
the tasteless chicken? Why not just sell the tasty chicken in the
first place?

-sw

On Thu, 13 May 2010 17:41:27 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

> I bought a "whole" chicken at that chain store which included
> "giblets", but when I opened the chicken there were no giblets. I
> guess chicken livers bring more per pound than the whole chicken, so
> the supplier probably shorted them. I contacted their customer
> service, but never heard back. I hate to bug the local store, since
> they are only hard working people who are not paid very much, and
> really only stock the shelves.

Giblets are often optional, even if says it has giblets. It's the
nature of the processing line. Sometimes you get 3 hearts and no
liver, other times you get 6 livers (I got 6 in a duck once).
sometimes you don't get either if it was one of the last off the
line and a bunch of greenish/diseased livers were discarded earlier
that hour.

I wouldn't make a big deal out of one chicken's worth of giblets.
If you really wanted giblets, you can buy them separately in bulk
(except the necks).

-sw

On Thu, 13 May 2010 19:44:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:

> I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little
> supermarket -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less
> than 1/2% retained water" on the label. (It's kind of sad that they
> have to label that the meat is *not* adulterated.)

That's a law. The maximum is quite high, 5-7% IIRC. It's water
from the cleaning process. I'm .5% water when I get out of the
shower, too. But then I'm not frozen to 26F and sold as "fresh
never frozen" immediately.

CostCo sells Goldkist unadulterated chicken. 10lbs at a time, but
Cryovaced into 1.5lb portions.

-sw

In article
>,
" > wrote:

> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth? Does this make them more flavorful, and
> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> chicken breast sound exciting.
>
> Tom

Salt-flavored water. I refuse to pay for salt water or someone else's
idea of what flavor I like.

--
Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Updated 4-24-2010 with food story and pictures

On May 13, 9:54*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Thu, 13 May 2010 19:44:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
> > I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little
> > supermarket -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less
> > than 1/2% retained water" on the label. *(It's kind of sad that they
> > have to label that the meat is *not* adulterated.)
>
> That's a law. *The maximum is quite high, 5-7% IIRC. *It's water
> from the cleaning process. I'm .5% water when I get out of the
> shower, too. *But then I'm not frozen to 26F and sold as "fresh
> never frozen" immediately.
>
You're more like 60% water
>
> -sw

--Bryan

On Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:09 -0700 (PDT), aem >
wrote:

> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
> be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem

Funny how people are all a-twitter about plumped up chicken breasts
(although when push comes to shove they like chicken thighs better),
but they are not complaining loudly about enhanced scallops.... up to
25% water according to the other thread.

--
Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

On May 13, 9:32*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
> On Thu, 13 May 2010 16:36:27 -0700 (PDT),
> wrote:
>
> > There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> > breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> > water, and calling it broth?
>
> "Broth" means it contains animal juice. *That's slightly better than
> your typical water + salt + trisodium phosphate. *

You mean sodium triphosphate. not trisodium phosphate. Trisodium
phosphate is that stuff you wash painted walls with, the stuff that
will only dissolve in fairly hot water. It also works great for
stripping off built up floor finish, especially when mixed with
ammonia. I wouldn't eat it.
>
> -sw

--Bryan

sf wrote:
> On Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:09 -0700 (PDT), aem >
> wrote:
>
>> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
>> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
>> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for water," "I'm the cook, I
>> don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. Resistance may
>> be futile, but maybe not. It's worth trying. -aem
>
> Funny how people are all a-twitter about plumped up chicken breasts
> (although when push comes to shove they like chicken thighs better),
> but they are not complaining loudly about enhanced scallops.... up to
> 25% water according to the other thread.
>


Some of us hardly ever eat scallops. (they're just circles punched
from stingray wings with a sharpened pipe nipple anyway)

Bob

On May 14, 9:13*am, Food Snob® > wrote:
> On May 13, 9:32*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 13 May 2010 16:36:27 -0700 (PDT),
> > wrote:
>
> > > There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> > > breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> > > water, and calling it broth?
>
> > "Broth" means it contains animal juice. *That's slightly better than
> > your typical water + salt + trisodium phosphate. *
>
> You mean sodium triphosphate. not trisodium phosphate. *Trisodium
> phosphate is that stuff you wash painted walls with, the stuff that
> will only dissolve in fairly hot water. *It also works great for
> stripping off built up floor finish, especially when mixed with
> ammonia. *I wouldn't eat it.

Yiles! What a molecule!! My basic chemistry knowlege at first caused
me to think (now I know Na has a valence of +1, how on earth do they
get three phosphate ions of valence -1 to bond to them?), but thanks
to Google and Wikipedia, I now know:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_triphosphate

"Food Applications

It is common in food production as E number E451[citation needed]. In
foods, STPP is used to retain moisture. Many governments regulate the
quantities allowed in foods, as it can substantially increase the sale
weight of seafood in particular.

Many people find STPP [sodium triphosphate] to add an unpleasant taste
to food, particularly delicate seafood. The taste tends to be slightly
sharp and soapy and is particularly detectable in mild-tasting foods.
The increased water holding properties can also lead to a more diluted
flavor in the food."

None for me, thanks!

John Kuthe...

zxcvbob wrote on Fri, 14 May 2010 09:23:50 -0500:

> sf wrote:
>> On Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:09 -0700 (PDT), aem >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. When
>>> somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
>>> product. "I won't pay chicken prices for
>>> water," "I'm the cook, I don't want somebody else flavoring
>>> my chicken," etc. Resistance may be futile, but maybe not.
>>> It's worth trying. -aem
>>
>> Funny how people are all a-twitter about plumped up chicken
>> breasts (although when push comes to shove they like chicken thighs
>> better), but they are not complaining loudly about
>> enhanced scallops.... up to 25% water according to the other thread.
>>
> Some of us hardly ever eat scallops. (they're just circles
> punched from stingray wings with a sharpened pipe nipple
> anyway)

That's rather a sweeping statement! It's not usually sting-ray but
smaller species that are used for ersatz scallops. I seem to remember
that the fish was called a skate when I was growing up in Britain. Real
scallops are quite expensive but easily obtained and very good!

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On May 14, 7:45*am, sf > wrote:
> On Thu, 13 May 2010 17:12:09 -0700 (PDT), aem >
> wrote:
>
> > Go to that store and ring the bell in the meat department. *When
> > somebody appears, complain loudly about their decision to carry the
> > product. *"I won't pay chicken prices for water," *"I'm the cook, I
> > don't want somebody else flavoring my chicken," etc. * Resistance may
> > be futile, but maybe not. *It's worth trying. * * -aem
>
> Funny how people are all a-twitter about plumped up chicken breasts
> (although when push comes to shove they like chicken thighs better),
> but they are not complaining loudly about enhanced scallops.... up to
> 25% water according to the other thread.
>
> --
> Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

==
My neighbor paid for his wife's "breast enhancement" and she rewarded
him by running off with a younger man who liked her new enhanced
features. Beware of "enhancements". that plump things up.
==

On Fri, 14 May 2010 04:57:51 -0700 (PDT), Food Snob® wrote:

> On May 13, 9:54*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>> On Thu, 13 May 2010 19:44:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
>>> I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little
>>> supermarket -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less
>>> than 1/2% retained water" on the label. *(It's kind of sad that they
>>> have to label that the meat is *not* adulterated.)
>>
>> That's a law. *The maximum is quite high, 5-7% IIRC. *It's water
>> from the cleaning process. I'm .5% water when I get out of the
>> shower, too. *But then I'm not frozen to 26F and sold as "fresh
>> never frozen" immediately.
>>
> You're more like 60% water

I was referring to "added water". And I'd bet I'm more like 70% on
the average moment, unless I'm drinking beer that day. I drink no
less than 2 gallons of water a day (on the rocks).

-sw

On Fri, 14 May 2010 06:45:19 -0700, sf wrote:

> Funny how people are all a-twitter about plumped up chicken breasts
> (although when push comes to shove they like chicken thighs better),
> but they are not complaining loudly about enhanced scallops.... up to
> 25% water according to the other thread.

As Americans, we eat 240 times more chicken than scallops(*)

-sw

On Fri, 14 May 2010 10:59:47 -0400, James Silverton wrote:

> zxcvbob wrote on Fri, 14 May 2010 09:23:50 -0500:
>
>> Some of us hardly ever eat scallops. (they're just circles
>> punched from stingray wings with a sharpened pipe nipple
>> anyway)
>
> That's rather a sweeping statement! It's not usually sting-ray but
> smaller species that are used for ersatz scallops. I seem to remember
> that the fish was called a skate when I was growing up in Britain. Real
> scallops are quite expensive but easily obtained and very good!

I've never seen fake scallops. Has anybody seen fake scallops in
the last 3 decades? Dry sea scallops are 9-$12/lb.

-sw

On Fri, 14 May 2010 07:13:21 -0700 (PDT), Food Snob® wrote:

> On May 13, 9:32*pm, Sqwertz > wrote:
>> On Thu, 13 May 2010 16:36:27 -0700 (PDT),
>> wrote:
>>
>>> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
>>> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
>>> water, and calling it broth?
>>
>> "Broth" means it contains animal juice. *That's slightly better than
>> your typical water + salt + trisodium phosphate. *
>
> You mean sodium triphosphate. not trisodium phosphate.

No. I mean just what I said. Trust me.

-sw

James Silverton wrote:
> zxcvbob wrote on Fri, 14 May 2010 09:23:50 -0500:

>> Some of us hardly ever eat scallops. (they're just circles
>> punched from stingray wings with a sharpened pipe nipple
>> anyway)
>
> That's rather a sweeping statement! It's not usually sting-ray but
> smaller species that are used for ersatz scallops. I seem to remember
> that the fish was called a skate when I was growing up in Britain. Real
> scallops are quite expensive but easily obtained and very good!
>



Right you are! We used to harvest many bushels of them
every autumn just offshore in MA and RI, small bay scallops
whose shells were the diameter of my fist.

gloria p

On Thu, 13 May 2010 21:54:12 -0500, Sqwertz wrote:

> On Thu, 13 May 2010 19:44:09 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
>
>> I bought some chicken breasts yesterday at the corner little
>> supermarket -- I think they are Purdue brand -- and they say "less
>> than 1/2% retained water" on the label. (It's kind of sad that they
>> have to label that the meat is *not* adulterated.)
>
> That's a law. The maximum is quite high, 5-7% IIRC. It's water
> from the cleaning process. I'm .5% water when I get out of the
> shower, too. But then I'm not frozen to 26F and sold as "fresh
> never frozen" immediately.

I bought some breasts today (so I can brine and smoke them for
lunchmeat. Label says "up to 4% retained water".

The good news is that bone-in breasts w/ribs have been "on sale" for
$1/lb every other week for 2 years (regular price $1.49).

Remember when breasts were the most expensive per pound of meat?
Now they're the cheapest part of the chicken.

-sw

On May 13, 4:36*pm, " >
wrote:
> There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> water, and calling it broth?

Well, the last I heard, most breast enhancement is done using
silicone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_enhancement

> Does this make them more flavorful, and
> less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> chicken breast sound exciting.

Yes, our society has an unhealthy preoccupation with breast size. A
lot of men get excited by increased breast size.

On May 15, 3:45*am, Ostap Bender >
wrote:
> On May 13, 4:36*pm, " >
> wrote:
>
> > There was ad in the paper by my local grocery store for chicken
> > breasts which were enhanced with 15% chicken broth. Are they adding
> > water, and calling it broth?
>
> Well, the last I heard, most breast enhancement is done using
> silicone:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_enhancement
>
> > Does this make them more flavorful, and
> > less dry? I like thigh meat much better, and it always amazes me how
> > restaurants use breasts, and various toppings to increase make a
> > chicken breast sound exciting.
>
> Yes, our society has an unhealthy preoccupation with breast size. A
> lot of men get excited by increased breast size.

==
Well, at my age, any excitement is a plus.
==

In article >,
Je?us > wrote:

> >Seems wings are now the most expensive. <g> Drumsticks and split
> >breasts have been $.99 for quite awhile on sale and hindquarters are
> >even less. Thighs tend to be a little higher but wings bring in the
> >premium price.
> >
> >Who'd have thunk this 20 years ago? <g>
>
> A few weeks back I bought some frames and necks to make chicken stock
> - only afterwards did I notice the drumsticks were cheaper. No rhyme
> or reason with prices sometimes, it seems.

Indeed!

I've actually purchased cheap drumsticks to make chicken soup.
See my "Asian Soup" series in the Picasa albums...
--
Peace! Om

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. --Alex Levine