We Learn the Difference Between a “Gallina” and a “Pollo”

 

In Ecuador, gallina and pollo are both Spanish words for “chicken”.

If I remember correctly, it was explained to us that a gallina is a living chicken and a pollo is a dead chicken, for eating. But we were also told that a pollito is a little chicken which is still very much alive. Work that out!!

We’ve found that buying chicken to cook here in Ecuador is not always straightforward. You can buy it in supermarkets already in a plastic bag probably processed in a factory somewhere, and we tried it but weren’t all that impressed.

You can buy chickens from shops where they sit at room temperature and you can sometimes buy them in shops where they sit in a refrigerator.

We have normally opted for the refrigerated version until we worked out that often those chickens have been pre-frozen and are now thawing in the refrigerator. As we like to cut up and freeze our own chicken, pre-frozen, pre-thawed chicken is not an option due to food safety concerns.

So we decided to buy fresh, unrefrigerated chicken from the lady from whom we normally buy the refrigerated, but pre-frozen chickens, as we knew that the fresh chickens were normally delivered shortly before we usually arrived.

I asked for a couple of fresh pollos and she said that those were not pollos but gallinas. I asked what was the difference, and from what we could understand she said that the gallinas were tougher, raised in the country and had a stronger flavour, and that we probably really wanted pollos.

So I bought the pollos, but later had opportunity to ask a local person (who spoke English) about chickens, and the difference between pollos and gallinas and how they are processed, etc. She didn’t know of any difference but thought that the lady at the shop probably preferred to sell pre-frozen ones as they would weigh more due to having more water in them and therefore she would get a better price for them.

So today I went to the chicken lady and asked for 2 gallinas. She checked that I wanted gallinas and not pollos, then chose 2 from the plastic bin they’d arrived in that morning, and then proceeded to put them into a plastic bag for me.

Usually when I buy pollos from her, she takes off the head and the feet without asking (I’ve trained her well!), and weighs them on the scales, but this time I got the whole bird at a set price, she didn’t remove the offending body parts and I got a free liver or kidney (I tried not to look!) thrown in.

The gallinas did look a little different from the pollos, scrawny rather than plump, but I figured I’d check them out properly when I got home.

I had to psyche myself up to dissect them as they still had their heads and feet and probably their intestines (big yuk!) still inside, and normally those are gone by the time I get them.

I surprised myself by being able to cut off the heads, necks and feet without batting an eyelid. I was pretty pleased with myself and thought, maybe this proves I’m becoming Ecuadorian!

The wings, drums, etc, also were not a problem. Until I turned the chicken over to cut off the breast and realised that along with the usual array of intestines, there were unformed eggs inside!!!! Aaaarrrgghhh!

Apparently this is a delicacy in Ecuador, but I’m afraid It’s not one that Brendan and I appreciate.

Maybe that’s the real difference between a pollo and a gallina!

I think I’ll stick to pollos in future!

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