Squab

Squab is the meat of an immature domestic pigeon, typically under four weeks old, often described as tasting like dark chicken; the word likely comes from the Swedish skvabb, meaning loose, fat flesh. Modern squab production uses utility pigeons bred for rapid growth, raised to about one month old, when they reach adult size but have not yet fledged and are easiest to catch; a breeding pair produces roughly 15 squabs a year, and North American production reached 1.5 million birds annually as of 1986. It has been eaten across many civilizations, including ancient Egypt and Rome, medieval Europe and Asia, and holds a place in Jewish, Arab, French, Chinese, Assamese and Indonesian cuisine; doves are kosher under Jewish dietary law and were historically used as sacrificial offerings. Today it is an increasingly specialty item commanding premium prices at upscale American restaurants, while remaining popular in Chinese cuisine and at celebratory banquets, prized for tender, moist, dark meat concentrated in the breast that is lean, easily digestible and rich in protein, minerals and vitamins.