PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS - A CLassical Hors 'D' Oeuvre & Cruel Delicacy
PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS
Foie gras
is the French word for “fat liver” is
a food product made of the liver of Alsace geese that has
been specially fattened. This is one of the cruellest delicacy of the world in
which Alsace geese are nailed by their feet & force fed a special diet
of corn till their liver gets bloated & fatty. Force feeding immediately
stops if any sign of sickness is observed & after recovery it starts again.
After this the bird is killed & liver is removed, cleaned & stuffed
with truffles (black or red in colour) then either poached or baked in Madeira
/ brandy.
History
As early
as 2600 BC, the ancient Egyptians learned that many birds could be fattened
through enforced overfeeding and began this practice. Whether they predominantly
sought the fattened livers of migratory bird as a delicacy
remains undetermined.
The
practice of goose fattening spread from Egypt to Roman, the Mediterranean &
so on. The earliest reference to fattened geese is from the 5th century BC
Greek versifier or poet Cratinus,
who wrote about geese-fatteners, yet Egypt maintained its repute as the source
for fattened geese. When the Spartan king Agesilaus stayed at Egypt
in 361 BC, he noted Egyptian farmers' fattened geese and calves.
After the
fall of the Roman empire, goose liver momentarily vanished from European
cuisine. Some claim that Gallic farmers preserved the foie gras tradition until
the rest of Europe rediscovered it periods later . Others claim that the folklore
was preserved by the Jews, who learned the method of enlarging a goose's liver all
through the Roman colonization of Judea or earlier from Egyptians. The Jews conceded this culinary
knowledge as they migrated farther north and west to Europe.
|
Country |
Production (tons, 2005) |
% of total |
|
|
||
|
France |
18,45 |
78.5% |
|
Hungary |
1,920 |
8.2% |
|
Bulgaria |
1,500 |
6.4% |
|
United States |
340 |
1.4% |
|
Canada |
200 |
0.9% |
|
China |
150 |
0.6% |
|
Others |
940 |
4.0% |
|
Total |
23,500 |
100% |
PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS
FACTS
q The word pâté literally means
paste.
q Foie gras entier (whole foie gras),
made of one or two whole liver lobes; either cuit (cooked), mi-cuit (semi-cooked), or frais (fresh).
q In
the year 1788, the governor of Alsace traded a pate de foie gras with King
Louis XVI for some real estate in Picardy.
q The
Sun King was so enamored by the dish that he began introducing Strasbourg foie
gras throughout Europe. This was the origin of how foie gras became associated
with French food and culture as it still is today.
q Ninety
percent of France’s foie gras is produced in the Perigord in southwest France,
by far the largest foie gras-producing region in the world.
q 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.
q Le
Cuisinier des Cuisiniers from 1853, offered no foie gras recipes, showing that
foie gras was not for everyone.
q The
nineteenth century brought greater culinary sophistication and the birth of
multiple foie gras enterprises in France, some which are still in business
today.
q Alsace
in Eastern France with its capital Strasbourg also has a long tradition of
producing foie gras and is known for its technical innovation.
PÂTÉ DE FOIE GRAS ACCOMPANIMENTS & SERVICE
Following accompaniments are served with Pâté de foie gras.
ü 1. Hot breakfast toast with crusts
removed cut into triangle, served in a napkin on doily on an under-plate.
ü 2. Truffles if not embedded in slices.
A Pâté de foie gras
is served pre-plated from right hand side of the cover on fish plate. Side knife & sometimes a small fork is the
required cutlery for cover.
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