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Foie Gras

Foie gras [fwä grä] (French for "fat liver") is the liver of a duck or goose that has been overfed. Along with truffles and caviar, foie gras is considered one of the greatest delicacies in the world of French cuisine. It is very rich and buttery, with a delicate flavor unlike regular duck or goose liver.

Ancient times

As far back as 2500 BC, it is possible that the Egyptians sought the fattened livers of migratory birds as a delicacy. They soon learned that many birds could be fattened through overfeeding and began the practice of overfeeding captive geese. In the necropolis of Saqqara, the tomb of Mereruka, an important royal official, contains a bas relief of a scene in which slaves grasp geese around the necks in order to push pellets down their throats. By their sides stand tables piled with more pellets, probably made from roast grain, and a flask for moistening the feed before giving it to the geese.

The practice of geese-fattening spread from Egypt to the Mediterranean. The earliest reference to fattened geese comes in 5th century BC from the Greek poet Cratinus, who wrote of "geese-fatteners". But Egypt yet maintained its reputation as a source for fattened geese. When the Spartan king Agesilaus visited Egypt in 361 BC, he was greeted with "fattened geese and calves," the riches of Egyptian farmers.

However, it was not until the Roman period that foie gras was ever mentioned as a distinct food, to which Romans gave the name iecur ficatum. Iecur means liver and ficatum draws its root from ficus, meaning fig in Latin. Pliny the Elder credits the Roman gastronome Apicius, to whom the sole surviving Roman cookbook is attributed, with feeding dried figs to geese to enlarge their livers. Hence the term iecur ficatum, fig-stuffed liver. Ficatum was so closely associated with animal liver that it became the root for foie in French, higado in Spanish, and fegato in Italian, all meaning liver in each respective language. The idea of feeding figs to enlarge goose liver may have been derived from Hellenistic Alexandria, since much of Roman luxury cuisine owes its inspirations to the Greeks.

France is now the "home" of foie gras. 80% of the world production (16370 tonnes in 2003, 96% in duck and the rest in goose), and 98% of the transformation, occur in France [1]. 30,000 people are involved in the industry with 90% residing in the Périgord (Dordogne) and Midi-Pyrénées régions in the southwest, as well as in the east (Alsace). The European Union recognizes the foie gras produced according to traditional farming methods (label rouge) in southwestern France with a geographical indication of provenance.

Presentation

Foie gras, in France, exists in some different legally-defined presentations, from the high-end to the low-end:

• foie gras entier (entire foie gras), made of one or two whole liver lobes; it can be cooked (cuit), semi-cooked (mi-cuit), or fresh (frais);

• foie gras, made of pieces of livers reassembled together;

• bloc de foie gras, a fully-cooked, molded block made of 98% or more foie gras; if termed avec morceaux ("with pieces"), it must contain at least 50% of pieces of foie gras for goose, and 30% for duck.

In addition, there exist pâté de foie gras, mousse de foie gras (both must be made with 50% or more of foie gras), parfait de foie gras (75% or more foie gras) and other preparations (no legal obligation). Fully cooked preparations are generally sold in metallic or glass cans for long-term conservation. Whole fresh foie gras is not usually available, except in some producers' markets in the producing regions. Frozen whole foiegras are sometimes sold in French supermarkets.

French foie gras preparation is generally over low heat (terrine) as the traditional goose foie gras suffers from too much fat melt. The American palate, used to the more accessible duck foie gras, has more recipes and plate preparations that serve foie gras hot. The recent (in French culinary tradition) introduction of duck foei gras has resulted in some recipes crossing back from America to France. In other parts of the world foie gras is served in exotic dishes such as foie gras sushi or alongside steak tartare.

Foie gras may be flavored with truffles or liquors such as armagnac. It is commonly served accompanied by crusty bread or toast. It is often served with a dessert wine such as Sauternes as the rich sweet flavours go well together, a classic example of wine and food matching. Some people, on the other hand, prefer it with a dry white wine, such as those from Alsace. Accompaniments may include onion jam.

Consumption

Foie gras is a luxury dish. Many in France only consume foie gras on special occasions, such as Christmas or New Year's Day eve réveillon dinners, though the recent increased availability of foie gras has made it a less exceptional dish. In some areas of France foie gras is a year round pleasure.

Duck foie gras is the cheaper and, since a change of production methods in the 1950s, by far the most common kind. The taste of duck foie gras is often referred to as musky with a subtle bitterness. Goose foiegras is noted for being less gamey and smoother.

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It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Foie Gras ".