10 Fun Facts About Chicken

When it comes to both popularity and variety, there are few foods that can compete with chicken. As a staple in the diet of billions of people around the globe, chicken is enjoyed and revered primarily because of the many ways it can be cooked. Whether it be grilled, broiled, or fried, the possibilities are nearly endless when it comes to creating a mouth-watering serving of chicken.

It’s true, here at Pitco we are a group of fried chicken fanatics. In order to spread our love for this wildly popular poultry, we wanted to share 10 fun facts about chicken that you might not have known.

1) Americans consume 8 billion chickens per year alone.

To give you an idea of how large that number truly is, that translates to an astonishing 21,917,808 chickens eaten per day. How many pounds of chicken does the average American consume in a year, you ask? Over 80 pounds!

2) Over 100 million pounds of chicken wings were eaten over the 2012 Super Bowl weekend.

According to the National Chicken Council, it was reported that more than 1.25 billion chicken wing portions were consumed over the course of that three-day span.

4) Chicken is high in nutritional value.

In every 100 grams of chicken, there are about 30 different nutritional substances that the body benefits from. One of its best attributes is that it’s high in protein (38 grams in every cup to be exact).

5) In Gainesville, Georgia it’s illegal to eat fried chicken with a fork.

This city in the Peach State refers to itself as the ‘Poultry Capital of the World’, and well, they take their chicken pretty seriously. In 1961, there was a law enacted that forbids the consumption of this fried delicacy with anything but your hands. And, believe it or not, there has been one arrest thanks to this law. Would you believe that a 91-year old was arrested on a prank thanks to this fried chicken infraction?

6) The record for the largest serving of fried chicken is a whopping 2,493 pounds.

Celebrating their 70th anniversary, the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food restaurant chain unveiled an 8-feet tall and 9-feet wide bucket that carried over a ton of fried chicken back in the summer of 2010. I wonder if the Colonel had any leftovers?

7) In 1950, a 10-foot wide frying pan was built for the Delmarva Chicken Festival.

This frying pan was eight inches deep, weighed 650 pounds, and held 180 gallons of cooking oil. This two-day festival, which celebrated the importance of chicken production on Delaware’s Delmarva Peninsula, produced approximately four tons of chicken quarters. An astounding 800 were fried at a time!

8) More than half of soup manufacturers’ revenue is thanks to Chicken Noodle Soup.

When you’re not feeling quite your best, we all know this is the quintessential soup for getting healthy. Did you know that the chicken in this beloved soup comes from Stewing Hens? This particular member of the poultry family has less tender meat that is best used for stewing.

9) Chickens were likely first domesticated in Southeast Asia around 5,400 years ago.

There has been archaeological evidence that suggests the presence of wild chickens to a 12,000-year-old site located in northern China. Today, there are nearly 24 billion chickens worldwide, a number that has more than doubled since 1990.

10) The chicken wing originated in Buffalo, New York.

While deep-fried chicken wings had been popular in southern states, the idea to cook these wings in hot sauce originated in this city located in western New York. The invention of ‘Buffalo Wings’ dates back to 1964 at the Anchor Bar which has now expanded to 14 locations across North America thanks to it’s famous culinary creation.

Do you love fried chicken as much as we do? Learn more about the latest fried chicken trends, tips, and equipment solutions geared to increase your commercial kitchen’s output and profitability.