Toronto: Chickens

Whole-headed chicken, Chinatown, Toronto, Ontario. June 2016.

In Toronto, you gotcher chickens:

• Whole-headed
• Half old 
• Black
• Air-chilled

"Half old." Refers to the sale of half of a chicken that was old? Or refers to a whole chicken that was middle-aged? Or adolescent?

Half old chicken, Chinatown, Toronto, Ontario. June 2016.

Ah, I thought, when I saw the black chicken. I've seen this before on Food Channel's Chopped.

Black chicken, Chinatown, Toronto, Ontario. June 2016.

And then there was the "air-chilled" chicken:

Air-chilled chicken, downtown Toronto, Ontario. June 2016.

The "air-chilled" chicken label puzzled me. A euphemism for formerly frozen? Or simply refrigerated and never frozen? But I have since educated myself and, holy giblets, who knew?

A video explanation below:

Hint: the video isn't talking about the fresh breeze those free-range hens are getting out in the pasture.

Georgia: Georgians Are Not Afraid of Electricity

Georgians are not afraid of electricity like we Americans are.

Men and women regularly fix electrical things with pliers, tape, and I don't know what else.

My host, Irakli, opened up a power strip, fiddled with its guts, applied some tape on its cord, put it all back together again, and plugged in a radio.

Rustavi: Irakli fixes a powerstrip

Rustavi: Irakli fixes a powerstrip

Speaking of guts, my hostess, Neli, cleaned up a dead chicken while Irakli worked above. Did I know unlaid eggs were in a hen when it was butchered? I guess if I'd thought about it, I'd have maybe said yes. But I didn't, so I was morbidly scientifically interested in seeing this.

It's the damndest thing.

Rustavi: Eggs in hen

Rustavi: Eggs in hen

Rustavi: Eggs in hen

I didn't know this, but Neli uses these unlaid eggs in a special soup she makes of chicken broth, flour, milk and herbs. The soup I ate earlier today, from a different chicken.