being concentrated in the breast. Squab is dark meat, and the skin is fatty, like that of duck. The meat is very lean, easily digestible, and "rich in proteins, minerals, and vitamins". It has been described as having a "silky" texture, as it is very tender and fine-grained. It has a milder taste than other game, and has been described as having a mild berry flavor. Squab's flavor lends itself to complex red or white wines. The 1997 edition of the Joy of Cooking cautions that if squab is cooked beyond medium-rare, its flavor becomes 'distinctly "livery"'. In the 14th century humorism book Health Regime, squab was regarded as a "hot and moist" food, whereas the meat of older pigeons was regarded as hot, dry, and "barely edible". The Roman cookbook Apicius recommended sauces with a combined sweet and sour flavor to accompany roasted or braised squab. In 1607, a recipe book from a monastery suggested cooking squab with pork fat or bitter limes. There is less information about traditional recipes incorporating squab or pigeon used by commoners, but there is evidence they were "handed down from generation to generation". In the 15th century, the Italian friar Luca Pacioli wrote a book of "culinary secrets" which included "How to Kill a Squab by Hitting with a Feather on the Head". Indeed, squab would serve as a culinary staple in Italy, including in Umbrian and Tuscan cuisine since before the Medieval era. In 18th century France, pigeons à la crapaudine ("toad-like squab") was a popular "dish of skill" for both rich and poor, in which the squab was arranged so that it looked like a frog, with the breast forming the frog's "face". Religious dietary laws once prohibited meat on fast days, but allowed frog's meat, as it was a water dweller. Pigeons à la crapaudine played with that convention, and is still part of French traditional cuisine. A 19th-century recipe from California for Pastales de pollos y pichones (Chicken and squab pastry) was as a savory pie with alternating layers of chicken and squab with a picadillo of minced veal, bacon, ham fried in lard with onion, mushrooms, apples, artichokes. tomatoes and seasonings layer. Commercially raised birds "take only half as long to cook" as traditionally raised birds, and are suitable for roasting, grilling, or searing, whereas the traditionally raised birds are better suited to casseroles and slow-cooked stews. The