If there are any foods that don't have much real meat, but can make people addicted, then the duck neck must be on the list!
But there are always some rumors:
"Ducks have lymph nodes on their necks, which contain a lot of hormones and toxins, and cannot be eaten!"
"Don't eat the skin of that duck's neck, the meat balls inside are lymph nodes!"
Is this really the case? Duck neck enthusiasts issued a big question mark.
First of all, the first rumor was half right, and the duck did have a pair of lymph nodes on its neck.
According to the Anatomy of Livestock and Poultry, the duck's lymph nodes are 1.5 to 2 centimeters long, long in the shape of a spindle, at the base of the neck, near the base of the duck's neck, near the duck's body.
And the fear of lymph nodes is not unreasonable. Because lymph nodes are immune organs, they are prone to bacteria and viruses, and there are risks to food safety.
However, having lymph nodes does not mean that duck neck cannot be eaten.
After a standardized commercial slaughter treatment, immune organs or tissues such as lymph nodes are discarded.
Even if the remaining part of the lymph nodes, after sufficient high temperature heating, a small amount of consumption will not cause significant damage to the body.
Then another rumor will not be broken. Those lumps of "small meat balls" are not lymph nodes, but thymus tissue of ducks.
Image source: Network
Compared with lymph nodes, thymus tissue itself is not easily filled with bacteria and viruses.
Although it is also related to immune function, its main function is to induce hematopoietic stem cells to differentiate into T cells, which are not normally in direct contact with pathogens.
If you really care about these glands and tissues, then you can remove the skin. And the skin is rich in fat, do not eat the skin, but also consume less calories.
If you often eat a packaged duck neck snack, then there is no such trouble, what are you waiting for, open it and eat it!
Image source: giphy.com
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Curious Tour Stop 064
This article is co-authored by experts
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bibliography
CHEN Yaoxing. Anatomy of Livestock and Poultry (3rd Edition) [M]. Beijing:China Agricultural University Press,2010.]
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