2 questions on cooling

I don't cook chicken frozen but I will cook it when it is within a half hour of being totally thawed.

This is a recipe for corn syrup

Ingredients

* 2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup water
* 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
* 1 pinch salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Reduce heat to a simmer and put cover for 3 minutes to get sugar crystals off the sides of the pan.
4. Uncover and simmer, stirring often, until it reaches the soft ball stage.
5. Cool and store in a covered container at room temperature.
6. Your syrup should keep for about 2 months.
7. Makes about 2 cups.

Hello Neelie

Always defrost chicken meat as much as possible. Note that the goal is to get all meat parts to at least a temperature of around 90 degrees Celsius to ensure that all germs are killed. The bigger the chicken body, the longer it takes to reach 90 degrees C. All around.

If you have 500 grams of small chicken cuts - even when frozen - that through and through heating is done in minutes. If you have a chicken body of 1,5 kg in one single piece, it can take up to a full hour to get the inside meat to that temperature.

Other European syrups you can use are : apple syrup (slightly "sour"), sugar beet syrup (very sweet) , and imported syrups like maple.

Always defrost meat thoroughly, chicken is the worst to gamble with so don't skip and take a risk cook it properly and always wash your hands after handling and wash your board and knife if you intend to prepare other things afterwards.

Most things aren't good substitutes for corn syrup. Corn syrup is light in color and only slightly sweet. Most things like honey, molasses, affect both color and taste, as well as consistency. Corn syrup is widely not available outside of the US, as it is almost never sold in a pure form, but rather has bits and bobs of everything in it - so is not accepted by many countries food testing boards. In Germany (for example) people recommend either rice syrup or glucose syrup - so binding, slightly sweet and mostly otherwise flavor and color neutral.

Thanks to everyone who helped me, think I'll continue to totally defrost my chicken! Re the corn syrup, I'm visiting my niece in September, and she lives in Sarasota in USA, so I think I'll buy the real stuff when I'm there.

Can you not find anywhere on line to buy it Neelie?
Check ebay I know you can buy it off the uk site.

Hi again, I've checked out Ebay, and 1pt (20 fl oz) will cost approx 13 dollars which includes postage, this would be the postage within England. How does this compare with the price in USA, maybe I'll wait until September.... Also roughly what's the shelf life of corn syrup please?
Thanks

Guess it just depends how much you want the stuff really doesn't it

ACH Food Companies, Inc., the conglomerate that owns and markets Karo syrup, says, "Karo syrup is safe to eat for an indefinite period of time, whether it has been opened or not opened. Light corn syrup may turn slightly yellow with age, but this is normal and not harmful. Storage conditions affect product quality. Before or after opening, Karo syrup may be stored at room temperature. Bottles may be refrigerated after opening, however, the syrup will be thicker and slower to pour."

To us, 10 years fits within an "indefinite period," so we're not going to argue with ACH Food Companies.

Sink or deep pan of cold water—Thaw frozen uncooked poultry by completely covering with cold water. Change the water often to keep it cold. Keep poultry in its original wrapper during thawing, or place in a resealable, heavy-duty plastic bag. Allow 30 minutes per pound to thaw.

Never thaw meat at room temperature on the counter, as bacteria can multiply rapidly, leading to potential food poisoning. Don’t refreeze thawed chicken or turkey.

Bacteria grows at temperatures between 40 F and 140 F

Thank you very much for the info.

NOhelp4u, has sent me a recipe to make corn syrup, so for now I'll try that, then when I can I will buy some. Thanks to everyone for their advice.