Yes......
I have a friend who raises pastured chickens....just the smell when cooking is different.
They are CHICKENS!
Linda C

Yes, I agree. Those hormone laden, caged raised chickens on steroids who get so fat so quickly they have heart attacks and who suffer broken legs from the weight of their own bodies, well, they just don't taste as good.

Add that salt and water they inject darned near everything with and it's no wonder the food experts are finding that the nutritional values in food are declining at an alarming rate.

Annie

Yup, no question that most supermarket birds aren't as good. If you have access to more naturally raised poultry, try a simple recipe like roast chicken and you'll be amazed at the difference.

Another alternative is kosher birds. They aren't processed as much as the mass market birds, although the koshering process involves salt, so you might need to cut back on the salt in the recipe.

Here's one area where supporting your local organic chicken farmer is good for the environment, good for the economy, and (last but not least) good for your palate!

I have to agree with everything that has been said so far. Chicken in the store tastes no where near what it used to taste like when I was younger. I'm guilty of buying Purdue and Safeway, Giant or Wegmans store brand when on sale due to cost savings but it does taste different to me now. There are farms in my area where I can buy fresh but it is more expensive (at least where I live). I'm all for helping the farmer and buying food from off the land but sometimes money is tight and I have to do what I have to do.

Ditto what everyone else said. I've been moaning and groaning about pork for years too. And store bought beef. I'm scrimping, saving (and robbing Peter) to get 1/4 of a cow again this year.

No, chicken is still as flavorful as it was in my childhood but I am fortunate to be able to buy it from poultry stalls at our farmers' markets and small ethnic markets. Most of those poultry farms don't apply for Organic certification, due to cost and the mountains of paperwork but that suits me fine because I know where the chickens lived, what they ate and when they were killed and the vendors know me.

I also believe the lack of bones is a factor. If you look at chicken recipes in old cookbooks, the majority start out with the first ingredient being "one chicken, cut in pieces". Not boneless, skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast tenders but a bird full of bones full of flavor.

And you can't convince me that freezing doesn't play a role in the lack of moisture and flavor in today's birds. We don't need to read a scientific study of the effects of freezing on animal cells to illustrate the difference between a fresh never-frozen-or-super-chilled chicken and one that has been. That "fresh" grocery store chicken has most likely been flash frozen and defrosted at some point before the consumer buys it but only seafood is required to be labelled "previously frozen" in the U.S., not poultry or meat.

I had a free range organic turkey for Thanksgiving one year too, and that tasted totally different--yummy. Smaller bird though, but for my small family that was fine. I'll bet Ms. Annie's ducks are pretty darn good too.

I'm glad to see others as well find chicken less flavorful. Perhaps I am not losing my taste after all.

Other foods that to me are notable for a terrible loss in flavor are:
tomatoes, strawberries, peaches, and grapes. These are just the first to come to mind.

RB

I agree on all of those items too, Bob. I refuse to eat a tomato that is out of season here, they are so bad that I might as well eat the styrofoam they are packed on. Strawberries are good here for about a month, other than that, it's much like eating compressed air by the time they are shipped all the way across the U.S. (or further). Grocery store peaches normally taste like nothing so I don't bother.

Yes, food is cheap and readily available, but it doesn't taste as good any more.

Annie

I agree.
I butcher my own chickens and they're awesome!
Even the older "stewing" hens taste wonderful. Texture is another story, but that can be dealt with through cooking methods. Unfortunately, I don't want to raise chicken for the meat (these are "old" egg layers that we eat because I refuse to waste the meat), so I do buy some chicken, but I can definitely see, taste and feel the difference. Store bought birds have no muscle tone due to living conditions. Free-range birds actually have to walk around and build muscle, and they get to eat what they naturally eat. Greens, bugs, etc. and are healthier for it.

The taste AND texture of store-bought meat is horrid. I can't eat beef and rarely eat pork from the store.

I wonder if I can grow my own shrimp and how they would vary in flavor??!?!? Hmmmmm......

Deanna

Last weekend I stewed a pasture raised bird and made chicken and dumplings which I ate the rest of the week after taking some to my mom. I could really taste more of a chicken-y flavor from this bird, especially since the ingredients were so few to flavor the chicken and broth - just a little salt and pepper and some parsley.

My friend the Chicken Lady is my source for pasture raised chicken and eggs. But there is a higher cost for them. So I won't be buying one every week, but I'll buy from her when she has them ready and I can afford them. She slaughters a group of 25 each time and processes them by herself with the help of her little 7 yr. old daughter. I try to stretch that little chickie just as far as I can!

Add shrimp and corn to the list of things that no longer have good flavor. :(

Deanna, here in Michigan there's a guy in Lansing that has what I understand is the only indoor shrimp farming operation in the United States.

I say if he can do it, you can do it. I don't know how long it would take you to save enough money to pay off the equipment, though. (grin)

Annie

Not sure I'd want to do it indoors. Stinky!
But, our climate is a LOT milder than yours so maybe outside!!
I love shrimp. It might be something to look into.
Gee, I've already got a wide spot in the creek.....

Deanna

American industrial farming, whether of animals or plants, has managed to produce food that is not only tasteless but toxic. Aside from the hormones and antibiotics, factory raised animals, for instance, lack CLA (Conjugated Linoleic acid), a fatty acid found in the fat of animals that helps people who eat that meat maintain lean body mass and protects against a number of cancers. Once animals are taken off grass, CLA disappears. Ruminants that are fed grains develop alkaline rather than acid stomachs, which allows virulent strains of E. coli to develop.

Any effort consumers can make to support farming more in synch with nature will help farmers, animals, and consumers. No wonder Europeans don't want American farm products.

Just adding my voice and vote for meat, eggs, produce from local farmers or in your own back yard. Last winter a friend and I raised 56 pastured chickens (we started with 60 chicks)on organic grains with no hormones or antibiotics. They dressed out at 5-6 lbs each and cost about $8.20 each, which doesn't include twice daily labor or equipment. That's a lot more expensive than a Purdue bird, but about 1/3 of the cost of a D'Artignan pasture-raised chicken. And the taste has been terrific.
For those reading this thread with interest, if you haven't yet read Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, you ought to try it.

As a couple of others have said,,most stores primarily have skinless and boneless cuts of chicken. I have been frustrated at small grocery I have to shop that often do not have packages of whole breast. The bone & skin is what gives the flavor. I don't understand taking it off..obviously they use it elsewhere and our chicken dishes are tasteless. Buying "homegrown" is not always possible, but certainly the best option.

Most all items in the grocery are NOT what they used to be. Smaller packages, carrots are sawed down to baby carrots so they can toss shreds in the salad bags which recently are mostly carrots. We're told we don't eat enough fruits & vegetables....the processing to unfavorable products is the main reason. We go after taste..sadly the highly processed foods don't lack it!!

We actually made a comparison of two roasted chickens cooked the same way at the same time: one from Whole Foods and the other Perdue. I was really hoping that they'd be about the same, but the WF won hands down. It was both texture and taste. We only buy the WF now.

*sigh* we need a WholeFoods in Calgary!

We raised free-range organic chickens for several years and never made a profit. Once we started actually loosing a lot of money, we gave it up. We couldn't get people to pay what it cost us to raise them, much less a little more so we could profit by the endeavor.

We still have some of those vac/packed in our freezer and they still taste amazing! We even gave up raising the layers for eggs because again, people wouldn't pay what they cost to feed. (Even though they are free-range, they need grain also - especially in the winter.)

carmen, you are right, my dozen fat red hens cost more to feed than I can ever get out of the eggs, so I just have enough for the family and don't try to sell any.

Here in Michigan they could free range all winter and they'd both starve AND freeze. I put them inside for the winter, they still get the table scraps and scratch grains, there are no bugs or seeds to find anyway. They have constant access to an outdoor pen, wire on both top and bottom to keep the neighbor's dogs, the local coyotes, skunks, raccoons and whatever else out. I give them fresh water every day but they seem to prefer to just peck the snow.

I did raise a couple dozen ducks, but by the time I bought the ducks, fed them for 10 weeks, bought fencing for their pen, tubs for their water so they could submerge their heads, etc., and a couple of bucks each to slaughter and clean, they cost about $9 a duck. They cost more than that at the local Evil Empire, but not much. And that's before you factor in my time....

People want cheap food and many (maybe even most) are not willing to pay extra for better food. Plus, in my area, a lot of people already raise their own, so they aren't going to buy it from me. Some things, like turkeys, are cheaper to buy from the Amish than they are to raise myself!

Annie

This is an educational and timely thread. I recently bought some sliced roasted turkey breast (supposedly from a real turkey breast, not from a deli case). It had no taste whatsoever. All I could taste was the salt and mayo in the sandwich.

I also bought some fresh from the farm eggs from a new farmer's market. I felt like I was tasting eggs for the first time, they were so good.

I will be paying more attention to what I buy since I am lucky enough to have a choice.