Duck Was Too Good for Foie Gras PDF Print E-mail

Foie Gras

Historical records show that foie gras is as old as the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Romans. The ancients discovered that geese and ducks tended to overfeed themselves in order to get ready for their long migratory journeys, often to a different continent, producing a fattened liver. The method used to fatten the liver of the duck is what is so controversial. The pronunciation of the word is more like Fwaah Graw, not Foy Graw, as is often heard.

Very few ancient recipes have survived, but cookbooks with foie gras recipes appear in Europe, and especially France in the 1500s. The Art of Cooking, the only surviving ancient Roman cookbook dating back to the fourth or fifth century, references two recipes for foie gras. La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise printed in 1746 gives a simple and rather short recipe for “Ragout de Foies gras”. The great Jules Gouffe however, in his 1867 book, Le livre de la Grande Cuisine offers no less than fifteen ways of preparing foie gras. In the late nineteenth century, foie gras became a real industry making France the uncontested champion it is today.

It seems most of the people who consider the forced-feeding methods to be cruelty are those that have been introduced to the delicacy the last couple decades, such as, Americans. As a matter of fact, some cities in the US have even outlawed the selling of the delicacy after deciding the method of forced feeding by inserting a metal tube down the ducks throat to give them grain at least 2 to 3 times a day for about a month was cruel and torturous to the birds. The duck will have an increase of its liver size at least 10X its original size before being slaughtered.

Foie Gras is on the menu at practically every French and most Italian restaurants in Thailand. There must be a thousand ways to prepare and dress the dish as every chef has his own concoction or creative recipe for it. Usually it is served as an appetizer and the price can be a bit pricey, especially if it is pressed goose liver, not just duck.