Generality
There guinea fowl or Guinea fowl hen is an avian breed belonging to the Order Galliformes, Numididae family, Genus Numidian; there are three species: the meleagris (common guinea fowl), la mitrata (guinea fowl mitrata) and the cristata (guinea fowl with tuft). Among all, the most bred is undoubtedly the common guinea fowl, zoologically framed with the binomial nomenclature of Numida meleagris.
The guinea fowl, or rather its wild ancestor, is a gallinaceous native of Numidia or Africa Augustine, a province of the ancient Roman Empire currently identifiable with North Africa; in these areas, the guinea fowl still lives in the wild. Its massive diffusion on the European continent it took place before the 13th century AD, while, by sailors and maritime merchants, it was introduced into the Americas only from the 14th century onwards.
The guinea fowl is medium to large in size, larger than the hen and about the size of the pheasant or the adult rooster. The color of the plumage is dark, ranging from black to gray to blue, and pigmented with white spots. NB: The domestic guinea fowl has a lighter plumage than the wild one, so much so that the S. Domingo and Jamaica breeds have an almost candid colored whole breast. From the morphological point of view, the guinea fowl has a short, convex beak, curved towards the tip and covered by a membrane at the base; the nostrils are placed laterally and are internally divided by a cartilage. The head is at times covered with feathers and at times naked (variable aspect), above provided with a bobbed callous tubercle and below, on the throat, with light or dark red fleshy "carnuncles". The legs of the guinea fowl are smooth, without spurs both in the male and in the female, and provided with three front toes joined by a membrane; behind the tarsus there is a fourth posterior finger which rests with the nail on the ground. The tail of the guinea fowl is short and hanging.
The guinea fowl has gregarious habits; during the day it usually haunts the water sources while at night it tends to seek shelter (in the bush, on the branches, or in the elevated hen house). It is curious to learn that, despite its larger size, the guinea fowl has a shorter intestinal tube than the hen, partly justifying the greater need for food that characterizes it. The membranes which, placed between the toes of the legs, would indicate a certain propensity for water, as well as the brevity of the wings, highlight the animal's unfamiliarity in flight. The guinea fowl feeds mainly on worms and seeds.
In captivity, the guinea fowl is NOT easy to breed; it has a particularly combative character and, except for an associated growth since chicks, it does not coexist with chickens and hens which, following the clashes, are regularly damaged. By managing to achieve a certain harmony in the chicken coop, it is still possible to hybridize guinea fowl with hens, but not with pheasants (wild and otherwise). Despite being characterized by its North African origins, the guinea fowl brilliantly tolerates much lower temperatures than the supra-equatorial ones, which is why its breeding is quite important also in the Italian peninsula.
Gastronomic aspects and nutritional characteristics of guinea fowl meat
The guinea fowl is consumed meat and eggs (which it produces up to a dozen at a time.
From an organoleptic and gustatory point of view, guinea fowl meat is a sort of compromise between that of pheasant and that of chicken or turkey. The difference in texture and flavor between the wild guinea fowl and the bred guinea fowl is however considerable.
While the eggs are consumed exactly like those of hen or turkey (or quail or duck or goose), guinea fowl meat (especially if caught and not reared) would need a good aging treatment and, sometimes, even of a short marinating process. Guinea fowl is very suitable for cooking in the oven and grilling. Appropriately and MINUTLY boned, it forms the basis for composing rolls of great value, especially if enriched with its (hard-boiled) eggs, spinach and other boiled vegetables. In Emilia-Romagna and in the north of the Marche, guinea fowl (like the old hen, the ossobuco and the beef muscle, as well as celery, carrots and onion) is an ALMOST irreplaceable ingredient for the formulation of the meat broth (necessary for cooking tortellini, cappelletti, passatelli and more). The breast of guinea fowl can represent a valid substitute for that of the other more frequently used avian species, even if the retail price is certainly less accessible.
From the nutritional point of view, the meat of the guinea fowl is almost comparable to that of the other avian species; a greater (albeit slight) fatness of the muscle is evident, while the skin is decidedly more full-bodied; after all, this is why guinea fowl is frequently intended for making meat broth.
The energy intake of guinea fowl, on the whole, is rather moderate and unequivocally places it among lean meats. Proteins are abundant and of high biological value, characterized by the prevalence of amino acids: glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and lysine; the limiting one is tryptophan.
The fats contained in the meat of the guinea fowl are few; on the other hand, the skin is very rich in it, as well as in cholesterol. The fatty acids of the meat are well distributed and with a slight prevalence of the monounsaturated ones.
From the saline point of view, a fair amount of iron is appreciated, while for what concerns vitamins (as for other meats) the content in water-soluble molecules of group B stands out, especially niacin (vitamin PP). NB: Guinea fowl is also a good source of cobalamin (vitamin B12), essential for the prevention of some fetal complications in pregnant women.
Nutritional values
Nutritional composition of Guinea fowl - Reference values of the INRAN Food Composition Tables
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