Duck Insights

Duck nutrition facts

USDA nutritional information shows that White Pekin duckling breast is lower in fat and calories than most other meats!

Duck is actually used as medicine

• Duck has cool and cold properties and is used in treating yang related illnesses.
• Used to help the Lungs and Kidney.
• Has several healing properties:
  • Promotes water flow; relieve chronic nephritis and edema; heal swelling.
  • Duck eggs reduce heat in lungs and relieve cough.
  • Preserved duck eggs alleviate intoxication and clear large intestine heat.

The demand for duck is growing by the millions

There has a been a steady rise in the amount of ducks processed in the US:

• 1999 22.9 million
• 2000 23.5 million
• 2001 26.1 million
• 2003 stats to be available in 2005,
  but trends indicate more growth.

Taste is critical

• With any meal the most important part of the meal is, how good is the food.
• As any cook will tell you, the higher the quality of ingredients
  the better the dish.

The same applies to purchasing meat products

According to the US Agriculture Grader’s guide on how to “Buy Poultry With Confidence,” Grade A poultry:

• Are fully fleshed and meaty; have a good conformation, a
  normal shape;
• Are free of disjointed or broken bones;
• Have a well-developed and well-distributed layer of fat in the skin;
• Are free of pinfeathers, exposed flesh, and discolorations; and,
• In the case of whole carcasses, have no missing parts.

The rise of the Pekin duck

• The origin of the dish, Peking Duck, dates back to the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago.
• Cooks from all over China traveled to the capital Beijing to
  cook for the Emperor. It was a prestigious occupation as
  only the best chefs could enter the palace kitchens.
• It was in these kitchens where Peking Duck was first
  created and crafted to perfection by palace chefs.
• The breed of the white pekin duck was used to create this
  culinary delight.

The advantages of pekin duck

• Pekin ducks are the leanest of all ducks.
• They also have a milder taste than other breeds, making them more palatable to most Americans.

The Pekin duck comes to America

• The Pekin duck was introduced to the United States from
  China in 1873,
• Within a few years Eastport became the unofficial capital of
  Long Island duck farming.
• By 1900, 29 farms dotted the Eastport landscape, whittled to
  15 by the late 1940s when Long Island produced 6.5 million
  of the ducks going to market.

Pekin duck farms move away

• Pollution pressures of the late 1960s and early '70s put most
  of the duck farms out of business. The farmers were forced to build pollution pits to divert the duck waste from waterways.
• Almost all ducks are now farmed outside of Long Island.
• Why?
• More rural areas offer better environments than this borough of NYC.

Today’s Pekin duck

• Several major breeders offer their own variety of pekin duck
  and other ducks.
• But what makes the best duck?