Foie Gras

Appears in

Professional Garde Manger: A Comprehensive Guide to Cold Food Preparation

By Jaclyn Pestka , Wayne Gisslen and Lou Sackett

Published 2010

About

Foie gras ranks along with caviar and truffles as one of the Western world’s most expensive and luxurious foods. The French term foie gras literally means “fat liver,” and that is a good description. Foie gras [FWAH grah] is defined as the enlarged liver of a goose or duck that is the result of accelerated feeding of a high-calorie diet.

When an animal consumes more calories than it expends, the extra calories are converted into fat. Some of this fat is distributed through the interior of its muscles and is evident as marbling. Some of the fat forms on the exterior of the animal’s muscles and is visible as deposit fat. However, when geese and ducks consume many calories over a short period, much of the fat also forms within their livers. These grow abnormally large and acquire an unusually pale color. When harvested and correctly prepared, these livers have a delicious, mild, buttery flavor and a rich, smooth mouthfeel.