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History of
Foie Gras
Foie Gras is a
recipe based on the fatty liver of a goose or duck. As the liver
needs to be fatter than would normally be the case, the bird is
force-fed cooked maize (corn) for two or three weeks prior to it
being slaughtered.
Both the foie
gras recipes and the method of force feeding a bird to produce
the fatty liver are commonly thought to be French. In fact, the
ancient Romans produced foie gras and research indicates that
they learned it from the Egyptians, who produced it thousands of
years ago. The historical explanation is that Egyptians noticed
the rich taste of the livers of migrating geese, which stopped
in the Nile region to eat large amounts of figs before
continuing their migration north. To reproduce this taste, they
began force feeding domesticated geese with figs. The Egyptians
also used this technique for calves.
From the
Egyptians, this process spread to the Greeks and then the
Romans, although how this happened is subject to discussion. The
most accepted theory is that it was carried by Hebrews, who were
slaves under the Egyptians and subsequently travelled widely.
The Hebrews also used this method to produce cooking fat, as due
to religious reasons they were unable to use pork fat.
In ancient Rome,
the Latin phrase for the fatty liver produced by this
force-feeding with figs was "Jecur Ficatum", which means "liver
caused by figs". This was later shortened to Ficatum, which is
the source of the French word for liver "foie". Nowadays, the
birds are fed corn (maize) instead of figs, and few but
linguists know that the French word "foie" has its origins in
this ancient process.
Many people are
concerned about the use of force-feeding in the production of
foie gras. This has led to a strong movement to ban the
production of foie gras, which has resulted in its production
being made illegal in some countries.
For more
information, click on the
Foie Gras Recipe Home.
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