Tastes like chicken

When trying to describe the flavor of meat the listener has never eaten, a common declaration is that it tastes like chicken. The expression has been used so often that it has become somewhat of a cliché. As a result, the phrase also sometimes gets used for incongruous humor, by being deployed for foods or situations to which it has no real relevance.

The expression has made its way into popular culture in a variety of contexts. It is perhaps best known for its use by Paul Hogan in the film "Crocodile Dundee", where it is used to describe snake meat. The phrase has made modern appearances in the media, such as in The Lion King, Six Days Seven Nights, "The Matrix", "Stargate", Surf's Up, Babylon 5 (where it is found to taste nothing like Spoo), the initial season of the reality television show "" and it has been spoofed in "Loaded Weapon 1".

As an explanation of why unusual meats would taste more like chicken than common alternatives such as beef or pork, different possibilities have been offered. One suggestion is that chicken has a bland taste because fat contributes more flavor than muscle (especially in the case of a lean cut such as a skinless chicken breast), making it a generic choice for comparison. Also, chicken reportedly has lower levels of glutamates that contribute to the "savory" aspect of taste sometimes known as umami; processing or tenderizing other meats would also lower glutamate levels and make them taste more like chicken.

Another suggestion, made by Joe Staton of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, is that meat flavors are fixed based on the evolutionary origin of the animal. Accordingly, birds (the most numerous form of meat by type) would naturally taste more like chicken than mammals. Furthermore, based on evidence for dinosaurs as the ancestors of birds, reptile meat might also taste somewhat like chicken. Seafood, however, would logically have a more distinctive flavor. Staton's study of the question was published in the Annals of Improbable Research.

Animals that are said to taste like chicken

*Alligator
*Fried spider
*Frog legs
*Green iguana
*Huhu beetle
*Mopane worms
*Mountain chicken
*Opossum
*Rabbit (especially domestic rabbit)
*Rattlesnake
*Squirrel
*Turkey

References

*Spice, Byron. " [http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20000717chicken1.asp Mmm, tastes like chicken: Common ancestors could account for phenomenon] ". "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette", July 17, 2000.
*Staton, Joe. " [http://www.improb.com/airchives/paperair/volume4/v4i4/chicken.htm Tastes Like Chicken?] " "Annals of Improbable Research" 4:4, 1998.