Both

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

and

New World quail The New World quail are small birds, that despite their similar appearance and habits to the Old World quail, belong to a different family known as the Odontophoridae. In contrast, the Old World quail are in the Phasianidae family, sharing only a ...

include edible species. The

common quail The common quail (''Coturnix coturnix''), or European quail, is a small ground-nesting game bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is mainly migratory, breeding in the western Palearctic and wintering in Africa and southern India. With its ...

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,

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, Mexican,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

and

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

. 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. Quails were domesticated in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. China is also the largest producer of quail meat in the world. Quail that have fed on hemlock (e.g., during migration) may induce

acute kidney injury Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in renal function, kidney function that develops within seven days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. ...

due to accumulation of toxic substances from the hemlock in the meat; this problem is referred to as " coturnism". A persistent assumption 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. A 19th-century recipe from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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 Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

, 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), fruit preserves ( jam tart ...

could be made with quail,

salt pork Salt pork is salt-cured pork. It is usually prepared from pork belly, or, less commonly, fatback. Salt pork typically resembles uncut side bacon, but is fattier, being made from the lowest part of the belly, and saltier, as the cure is stronge ...

, eggs and fresh herbs.

In history

Quails were eaten back in ancient times ,in the letter of Shepsi to his mother, one of the Egyptian letters to the dead, he wrote reminding her of all the good deeds he performed during her lifetime. Saying … you said to me, your son, “you shall bring me some quails that I may eat them” and I, your son, then brought you seven quails and you ate them …,

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, ), from the Ashke ...

. 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 f ...

certifies ''Coturnix coturnix'' as kosher based upon the masorah of Rabbi Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft.

References

{{Meat, state=collapsed Quails Birds as food Chinese cuisine Cuisine of the Southern United States Cuisine of the Western United States French cuisine Egyptian cuisine Indian cuisine Italian cuisine Japanese cuisine Maltese cuisine Mexican cuisine Polish cuisine Portuguese cuisine Spanish cuisine Romani cuisine Types of food

In history

Kosher status

See also

References