McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets have now grown into such a vital fast-food staple that you would think nuggets have been around forever – or at least as long as the Golden Arches have stood. But in fact, the oddly styled pieces of crispy chicken have been around for about four decades.
The Origins Of Chicken Nuggets
The first versions of the nuggets appeared during the California Gold Rush in the year 1850. A century later, delicious chicken nuggets were actually presented in the world of gastronomy, getting their special name thanks to the surprising and tasty resemblance of shape & color with real gold chicken nuggets.
In fact, it’s true, the tiny golden cubes of chicken meat covered with yummy crispy breadcrumbs are quite similar to gold! How appetizing they’re & how different their taste is: traditional, with fresh cheese, ham & even sesame!
Exceptional nuggets taste and natural composition! It is the great food dish to give a touch of celebration to a family lunch, or to eat this chicken dish as a snack with friends, perhaps this dish served with a sweet-and-sour mixture of sauce or with pieces of cheese.
The History Of Modern Chicken Nuggets
We All Eat Very few people know this thing that chicken nuggets are a relatively new food product on the market, & its invention is the result of the work of the American scientist named ‘Robert Baker’.
Robert Baker was born at the beginning of the 20th century, & during his university period, he studied different plant varieties. Baker returned to office at his home Cornell University, where Baker began to research the particularities of chicken meat cubes and became extremely interested in how people cook & eat this type of meat.
Baker made the first portion of chicken nuggets by adding the minced chicken fillet with a special cuisine additive that made the delicious minced meat thicker & much more adherent.
For frying, the great scientist invented and used a special type of breading, which did not lose its crunchy texture properties & did not crumble after freezing. Robert Baker’s food dish did not immediately become famous, even though the great scientist did not get a patent for the food recipe or even tried to keep the recipe in secret.
Unwilling to make a profit from his yummy invention, Baker devoted his whole life to science: he founded the Institute of Food Science & Marketing at Cornell University, and then later began to participate in research at the school of Food Technologies.
What Chicken Nuggets are Made Out Of?
It is worth remembering that frozen chicken cubes of nuggets appeared on the world food market not long ago, especially in the eighties of the 20th century. The real chicken nuggets come from the chicken breast.
This part of the fried chicken is known to be extremely dry, that is why it’s rarely ordered by visitors of the restaurants. At this point of time the creative food lovers and entrepreneurs decided to grind the breast into special minced meat, and then bread & fry the meat, which made the nuggets meat juicy & tender.
Modern chicken nuggets differ a bit in their composition from their chicken predecessors, but the principle of making is always the same. The chicken carcass is cut & the carcass is then transported along the machine’s conveyor belt.
The nuggets are prepared using the breast, ribs & fresh cuttings. Afterwards, the small pieces of the chicken carcass are then minced. Later, the spices and marinade are included in the forcemeat. The resulting nuggets filling is formed into small pieces, covered with the oil & breading.
At the end, the chicken nuggets are a bit raw inside, & the final heat takes place directly in the cooking points – bars & restaurants.