Chicken Crossing

Posted on September 6, 2020 by vanbraman

Today I finished another great book about food history, so I will share a few thought that wandered through my mind as I read the book.

Why did the chicken cross the world? Andrew lawler, food history, CivilizationWhy Did the Chicken Cross the World? : The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization by Andrew Lawler is a great history of the chicken.

Gallus Gallus - Red Jungle Fowl - Taronga Zoo - Sydney, Australia - Crowing CockThe history of the chicken starts with the Red Jungle Fowl (Gallus gallus). I took this picture at the Taronaga Zoo in Sydney, Australia.  This bird is the ancestor of all modern chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus). See: Chickens: Ancient and Modern

Chicken coop - Chicken Production - Egg Production - Small Town AmericaThe book details the history of how the chicken spread around the world. It also talks about how studying chickens in different areas of the world can also track civilization and how groups of people have migrated from place to place.

The book also looks at the science behind the chicken industry and current trends in production and distribution.

Almost 30 years ago I did some work at a chicken processing plant in Oklahoma. At the time it had all the latest innovations, but many things have changed since then.

Chickens are raised almost everywhere in the world today. However, they are not the same everywhere as chickens have adapted to local conditions and needs. In the US most chickens are raised on big chicken farms, but there are movements to raise chickens in better conditions. The standard chicken breeds today also do not have much flavor and there are some growers raising heritage breeds or new breeds with more flavor.

Farm Fresh Eggs, Brown Eggs, Country Eggs, ChickensEggs are also important when you look at the history of the chicken. Eggs are not only for food, but have other uses as well. Most eggs are brown and white, but we had some chickens when I was growing up that laid eggs that I remember as being a bluish green.

Half Chicken, Chips, Potatoes, nando'sI could share a lot of pictures of chicken dishes, but the one that I am missing the most is a good chicken plate from Nando’s. The proliferation of fast food chicken chains around the world has led to the standardization of chicken production in many countries.

There are a lot more things I could talk about from this book but I will close with some of the great chapter titles in this book:

Nature’s Mr. Potato Head

Thrilla in Manilla

Sweater Girls of the Barnyard

Gallus Archipelago

Can you guess which chapter is about cock fighting?

If you like food history I would definitely recommend this book.

One final question: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Steven

Posted in Animals, Books, Culture, Food, History | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Austen Puzzles

Posted on September 5, 2020 by vanbraman

Today I finished reading a great book about the works of Jane Austen. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of Jane Austen.

What matters in janes austen? puzzles, literature, jane austenWhat Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan answers some interesting questions you may have when reading Jane Austen’s novels.

Penguin Classics, Jane Austen, 200th anniversary of death, novelsMullan looks at many topics that would have been easily comprehended by readers at the time Austen wrote the books, but may not be as easily understood by us today.

Jane Austen Suite, Audleys Wood Hotel, Jane Austen, Austen Country, BasingstokeHe also looks at the writing style of Austen and how to better understand the meaning behind some of what she wrote.

Here are some of the great chapter titles:

How Much Does Age Matter?

Do you know the only Austen couple where the wife is older than the husband?

Why is the Weather Important?

How does weather play a part in the books? I think we all can think of some weather   related scenes.

What Do the Characters Call Each Other?

This brings back memories of Miss Bennet, Miss Elizabeth Bennet, etc…

How husbands and wives address each other is also covered.

How Much Money is Enough?

Why so much emphasis on how much money someone has. This is definitely something people would know and it would help them place people in society. It also helps you to understand why young women must marry well.  The chapter also covers inheritance and what entailment means.

What Do Characters Read?

I definitely wanted to know this. What books were new at the time, how did they get their books and what was proper to read are all covered in this chapter.

Of course, these are only 5 of the 20 chapters. There were many other things that were covered in the book.

I really enjoyed this book and it helped me understand a few things that I hadn’t realized that I didn’t understand.

Jane on the Brain, Jane Austen, Wendy Jones, Social IntelligenceI have read several other books about Jane Austen in the past including Jane on the Brain: Exploring the Science of Social Intelligence with Jane Austen by Wendy Jones. This book changed how I see the characters. The last few times I have watched the movies I have seen Mr. Darcy in a new light. Try watching one of the movies or reading the book while thinking that he is an introvert. It will change your perspective of him.

For more of what I wrote about this book click on: Jane on the Brain

Jane Austen, BBC Movies, Pride and Predjudice, Emma, Jane AustenWhile reading What Matters… I realized that I have not read Pride and Prejudice for quite some time and I remember more of the movie story than the actual book. I now need to read the book again to better understand what I just read 🙂 The question now is which of my copies do I read.

I will list a few other posts I have written about Jane Austen that you may also enjoy.

A Janeite Journey

Jane Austen Country – Includes pictures from a visit to where she lived

Jane Austen – Two Hundred Years

There are also some other posts where I mention Jane Austen like First Lines or when I have picked up some of her works along with other books.

Now back to reading. I need to finish some of what I am reading now so I can read Pride and Prejudice again.

Steven

Posted in Books, Culture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment