Foie gras is a famous French delicacy that causes a lot of controversy among animal advocates and foodies. This is a pate made from goose or duck liver. But in order to get real foie gras, you need to fatten the bird in a certain way - for this, force feeding is used, as a result of which the animal becomes several times larger than the norm.
Feeding poultry for foie gras
The culinary process of making foie gras is simple, the main thing is to take a suitable poultry liver. It should be very fat and large - in nature, such internal organs are not found in geese or ducks. To achieve this result, the bird is forcibly fattened and its movements are limited so that energy is not wasted in vain.
For this, goose or duck chicks (only males) are chosen, fed for the first month in the usual way, and when they grow up a little, they are locked in cramped cages, where the birds can hardly move. For them, a special feed is created with a large amount of protein (for the growth of internal organs) and starch (so that growth is more active). They are forced to feed them, since voluntarily no animal will eat as much. To do this, they take long feeding tubes and literally push food down the throat with them. They give about two kilograms of feed per day, which is ten times more than the norm. As a result, the birds gain weight at a rapid pace; after a few weeks, they can be several times larger than their normal peers. The liver of poor geese and ducks also grows tenfold and becomes fatty.
Cooking foie gras
For the preparation of foie gras, take the fresh liver of a fattened poultry. In some cases, it is served raw, but more often it is cooked either until half-baked or to the end. Pieces of liver are boiled, fried, ground to make pâté or terrine - baked pâté. There are canned foie gras. The dish is served cold, regardless of the cooking method. The French recommend eating foie gras with white dessert wine, which emphasizes the rich liver taste. There is almost no difference between duck and goose liver, although gourmets claim that they can distinguish them: in their opinion, foie gras from duck has a stronger aroma, and from goose - a delicate taste with creamy notes.
Foie gras is a common delicacy not only in France, but also in other countries. Due to the complex and expensive procedure for preparing the liver, this is a rare and expensive product, on a par with truffles and black caviar.
It may seem that such a liver is very unhealthy and contains a lot of cholesterol. However, this is not the case - foie gras contains unsaturated fatty acids, which lower the level of “bad” cholesterol in the blood and even reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Some researchers believe that it is precisely the use of the liver that can explain the longevity of the French in the southwestern provinces, where this delicacy is most often eaten.
Animal welfare societies are trying to ban foie gras, outraged by the abuse of birds, and farmers argue that ducks and geese do not feel uncomfortable, as they tend to overeat.
