Both
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
and
New World quail include edible species. The
common quail used to be much favoured in
French cooking, but quail for the table are now more likely to be domesticated
Japanese quail. The common quail is also part of
Polish cuisine
Polish cuisine ( pl, kuchnia polska) is a style of cooking and food preparation originating in or widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and it shares many similariti ...
,
Maltese cuisine
Maltese cuisine reflects Maltese history; it shows strong Italian influences as well as influences from Spanish, French, Provençal, and other Mediterranean cuisines, with some later British culinary influence. Having to import most of its foo ...
,
Portuguese cuisine
The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others.
''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...
,
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...
,
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...
, and
Indian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, he ...
. Quail are commonly eaten complete with the bones, since these are easily chewed and the small size of the bird makes it inconvenient to remove them.
Quail that have fed on
hemlock (e.g., during migration) may induce
acute kidney injury due to accumulation of toxic substances from the hemlock in the meat; this problem is referred to as "
coturnism
Coturnism is an illness featuring muscle tenderness and rhabdomyolysis (muscle cell breakdown) after consuming quail (usually common quail, ''Coturnix coturnix'', from which the name derives) that have fed on poisonous plants.
Causes
From case ...
".
A persistent myth holds that it is impossible to eat quail every day for a month. This has been the subject of a number of proposition bets; however, it has been achieved on several occasions.
This "every-day-for-a-month" estimation may have been derived from a
Biblical passage about quail. The children of Israel, having become tired of eating
manna
Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follow ...
, demanded flesh to eat. God then gave them quail, but with this warning: "Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; ''but'' even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which ''is'' among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?" (Numbers 11:19-20, KJV). Later in the passage, we are told, "And while the flesh ''was'' yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague" (Numbers 11:33, KJV).
A 19th-century recipe from
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
for ''Codornices a la española'' (Spanish-style quail) was prepared by stuffing quails with a mixture of mushroom, green onion, parsley, butter, lemon juice and thyme. The birds were brushed with
lard
Lard is a semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering the fatty tissue of a pig.[Lard]
entry in the o ...
, bread crumbs and beaten eggs and finished in the oven. A savory
pie
A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients. Sweet pies may be filled with fruit (as in an apple pie), nuts ( pecan pie), brown sugar ( sugar pie), swe ...
could be made with quail,
salt pork, eggs and fresh herbs.
Kosher status
Only certain species of quail are considered
kosher
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
. The
Orthodox Union
The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...
certifies
''Coturnix coturnix'' as kosher based upon the
masorah of Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft.
[http://thejewishheritage.weebly.com/new-blog/the-intricacies-of-quail-rabbi-chaim-loike (retrieved July 19, 2020)]
See also
*
Quail eggs
Quail eggs are eaten and considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, and North America. In Japanese cuisine, they are sometimes used raw or cooked as ''tamago'' in sushi and often found in ''bento'' lunches.
In ...
References
{{cuisine
Meat by animal
Cuisine of the Southern United States
Cuisine of the Western United States
French cuisine
Indian cuisine
Italian cuisine
Japanese cuisine
Maltese cuisine
Mexican cuisine
Polish cuisine
Portuguese cuisine
Spanish cuisine