Poultry

Poultry should be fresh, with moist flesh and skin, but not at all slimy. It does not really have a smell unless it is going off, when it smells sweet and slightly sickly. You can buy poultry whole or jointed. (Bones you cut away or that are unused at the end of cooking can be covered in water and boiled with vegetables for about 1 hour to make a good stock.) Look out for accredited farming symbols on labelling.

Where to buy Butchers, supermarkets, some farm shops and farmers’ markets. Farm-reared birds are often tastier, but if you are on a budget and are cooking a recipe with bags of other seasonings and ingredients you can use a conventionally-reared bird. Check for the country of origin.