Fried Chicken my Comfort Food

This article discusses the history, benefits and cooking techniques of fried chicken, a popular comfort food. It also explores the different styles of fried chicken worldwide and how it has become a main dish in America's fast-food industry.

Running head: FRIED CHICKEN MY COMFORT FOOD 1
Fried Chicken my Comfort Food
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Introduction
Food that offers someone a certain emotional feeling is termed as comfort food. Those
emotions maybe applicable to certain culture or specific to a particular person. Such food may
have certain calorific value, high levels of carbohydrates or can be easily prepared. Comfort food
benefits one by giving a good feeling, being used for self-medication and can be taken during
special occasions such as thanksgiving and birthdays. My comfort food of choice is fried chicken
(Avena, Gold, & Kroll, 2012).
It was on a holiday and we were on family trip when my parents took me to a restaurant
and ordered fried chicken for us, the kind of a meal that I had no experience with. We waited for
some minutes then very delicious, luscious nicely spiced fried chicken was served in a bucket. It
was my first time eating fried chicken and up to date it has remained to be my comfort food.
History of fried chicken
Fried chicken is an American English word that was first recorded in 1830s.This is a
meal made from chicken pieces mainly from chicken broilers. It is always floured then deep, pan
or pressure fried. Chicken is always cut at the joints and leave joints intact. The origin of fried
chicken is southern states of America where it was started by Scottish immigrants. Scottish
immigrants introduced unseasoned fried chicken technique afterwards seasoning was introduced
by West African people, the methods later adopted and combined by African-Americans and
African slaves who were living in south of America (Pereira, 2016).
During and after the Second World War chicken meat was very expensive and delicious
to most people but after development of intensive chicken husbandry in late 20th century and
early 21st century the price has gone down attributable to massive fried chicken production. The
basic method of cooking fried chicken was simple, chicken was split into tiny sections covered in
a batter which usually consisting of other ingredients such as flour and milk or eggs .Such
ingredients create crust on the outer part of the chicken meat. Seasoning process can be
implemented at this point before cooking. Cooking is done by either pan frying, deep frying or
pressure cooking then fried in cooking oil (Troisi, Gabriel, Derrick, & Geisler, 2015).
Since the introduction of fried chicken in South America, fried chicken has continued to
be the top choice worldwide leading to mass chicken production and modernized technologies of

FRIED CHICKEN MY COMFORT FOOD 3
cooking which has made the meal cheaper and simpler to produce, making it to be among main
dish in Americas’ fast-food industries and is being marketed overseas (Rice, Katz, & Martha, 2011).
Most countries have obtained the taste for American fried Chicken and they have developed their
own ways of cooking the meal. Throughout the world different spices and seasoning methods are
used to add flavours but labelled based on the region spices familiarity, regional market which
brings out the difference from the original Southern America flavours of the fried chicken. Some
of the popular fried-chicken styles worldwide include; Korean, Taiwanese, Japanese and
Indonesian fried chicken (Oke, Idowu, Sobukola, Adeyeye, & Akinsola, 2017).
The secret to the best Southern America fried chicken comfort food is achieved by proper
cooking. Other processes involved before cooking include marinating where chicken is dipped in
buttermilk for few hours to add tenderness and flavours. Coating is done by repeatedly inserting
the chicken in milk and flour. Cracker crumbs or potato flakes can be used instead of flour. After
coating, the chicken is dried for a while until it produces crispier crust. Before cooking,
seasoning is done by applying plain salt or any other seasoning mixes. The exterior of properly
pan-fried chicken crispy and golden brown while the interior part is moist and soft. To avoid the
greasiness of chicken, the cooking oil should be heated enough that is at 375 degrees Fahrenheit
so that water contained in the chicken remains above the boiling point during frying. Oil is not
absorbed due to the force of steam leaving the chicken. The crispy exterior is also achieved due
to the presence of hot oil (Mike, 2015).
Fried chicken has a lot of benefits ranging from health to its convenience. Chicken is
perfect source of protein. It is filling, lean and full of amino acids which initiates comforting and
relaxing feeling in most people. Amino acids help in wound healing, growth, stabilizing sugar
levels and boosting of immune system. Fried chicken is also low in Calories, fat, Cholesterol and
sodium therefore is less likely to raise blood cholesterol or cause heart disease. Nutrients from
chicken can be easily digested and absorbed thus ensuring maximum utilization of its health
benefits. In addition to that, fried chicken is easily available and conveniently cooked at this 21st
century.

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References
Avena, N., Gold, S., & Kroll, C. (2012). Further developments in the neurobiology of food and addiction.
Nutrition, 28(4), 341-343.
Mike, S. (2015, 7 15). History of Fried Chicken & Spotlight on Chef Duff Goldman. Retrieved from
Ergochef: https://www.ergochef.com/blog/history-of-fried-chicken-spotlight-on-chef-duff-
goldman/
Oke, E. K., Idowu, M. A., Sobukola, O. P., Adeyeye, S. A., & Akinsola, A. O. (2017, 06 23). Frying of Food:
A Critical Review. Retrieved from Researchgate:
https://doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2017.1333936
Pereira, A. (2016). The internet is obsessing over this 18th century fried chicken recipe. Retrieved from
SFGATE: https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/The-internet-is-losing-it-over-this-18th-century-
8318975.php
Rice, K., Katz, H., & Martha, B. (2011, 08 10). World of a Slave: Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves
in the United States. Retrieved from ALA: http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/rusq.51n1.83
Troisi, J., Gabriel, S., Derrick, J., & Geisler, A. (2015). Threatened belonging and preference for comfort
food among the securely attached. Appetite, 58-64.