Quails as food facts for kids

Quail grilled in Vietnam

Quail are small birds that are eaten as food all over the world. Both types of quail, those from the Old World (like Europe and Asia) and those from the New World (like the Americas), have species that people enjoy eating. Quail meat is popular in many countries, including France, Poland, Italy, Mexico, and India. Because quail are small, their bones are soft and easy to chew, so people often eat the whole bird without removing the bones.

Eating Quail Safely

Sometimes, quail can eat a poisonous plant called hemlock. If people then eat these quail, they can get very sick. This sickness is called "coturnism". It happens because the quail's meat can contain harmful substances from the hemlock plant. This can cause problems like kidney damage. So, it's important to make sure quail are safe to eat.

A Common Myth About Quail

There's a long-standing myth that you can't eat quail every day for a whole month. However, this isn't true! People have actually done it many times. This idea might have come from an old story in the Bible. In that story, people were given quail to eat for a long time, but they became sick because they complained and didn't appreciate what they had. This led to the idea that eating quail for too long could be bad, but it's just a story, not a rule about the meat itself.

Quail in Cooking and History

Quail meat and eggs are very good for you because they are full of protein. People have been cooking quail for a long time. For example, in the 1800s, there was a recipe from California called Codornices a la española, which means "Spanish style quail". For this dish, quails were stuffed with a mix of mushrooms, green onions, parsley, butter, lemon juice, and thyme. Then, they were brushed with lard, bread crumbs, and beaten eggs before being baked in an oven. People also used to make savory pies with quail, salt pork, eggs, and fresh herbs.

Kosher Quail

For people who follow kosher dietary laws, only certain types of quail are allowed to be eaten. One species, the Coturnix Coturnix, is considered kosher by some religious authorities.

Images for kids

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  Quail with sauce

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  Fried quail with inserted quail eggs in the Philippines