WHETHER one loves or loathes them, chicken nuggets are one of the most readily available fast foods worldwide; from fried food stalls at pasar malam to international chain outlets, chicken nuggets sell well.
Having said that, where did these boneless breadcrumbed (or battered) lumps of fried chicken first come from? Did they come from a food science laboratory in an American university, as some have claimed online?
VERDICT:
TRUE
Yes, this is true. Not to ruffle any feathers, but one of the world’s most popular fast food items was created in an American university lab in the 1960s.
A Smithsonian Magazine article citing food writer Maryn McKenna states that the chicken nugget was the brainchild of Cornell University’s Robert C. Baker.
McKenna writes that in 1963, Baker and his colleague Joseph Marshall proposed a first-ever “chicken stick” made of ground, blended and frozen chicken.
“Keeping the stick together without a sausage-like skin and keeping the breading on through freezing and frying were major advances,” said McKenna.
As quoted in the Smithsonian, McKenna said it appears to have inspired many subsequent creations of what is now called comminuted chicken.
The term “comminuted” chicken refers to meat that has been minced, ground, mashed and stuck together.
Meanwhile, anthropologist Steve Striffler explains in a History.com article that the demands on the poultry industry in the 1950s and 1960s inspired Baker’s creation of chicken nuggets.
“Robert C. Baker was both a product of changes in the poultry world and a driver of those changes. Industry leaders quickly realised that real profit would not so much come from producing more chicken, but by doing more to chicken,” he said.
Their wide availability might be linked to Baker’s decision not to patent the recipe for chicken nuggets but to distribute them to industry players.
After that, the rest, as they say, is history.
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