From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
A barnyard fowl that could rightly be called the best of all birds named poultry. Among domesticated fowl, it's the single most important source of food the entire world over. There are many hundreds of varieties of hens: the White Cornish and the White Rock in America; the Light Sussex in England; the Faverolles and Bresse in France. The way that breeds have been developed is a closely guarded secret. Birds are rated by how many days it takes to reach a certain weight. In five weeks, the American Cobb 500 will reach 41⁄2 pounds (2 kg) and Britain's Ross 1 can reach a thumping 5 pounds (2.2 kg). See also capon, laying hen, temperature.
