Foie Gras

A French term meaning ‘fat liver’. The livers of force-fed geese or ducks that are put through a process called ‘gavage’. They are funnel fed a diet of corn, which is poured directly into the stomach, resulting in large amounts of fat being deposited in the livers, causing them to expand. The birds are fattened over a period of 4–5 months, by which time the livers will have expanded up to 10 times their normal size and weigh between 1–1.5 kg. The practice of force feeding is prohibited in many countries around the world.