Fat Livers

The Livers of Geese that have been caged tightly, so that they can make no movement, and which have been kept in a very high temperature, much higher than that of the atmosphere — geese which have been deprived of every ray of light — are used for the famous dish, Foies Gras. The French first discovered this manner of caging Geese, doing it at their ancient stronghold of Strasbourg. At Toulouse the Livers of tame Ducks were treated in the same manner. The Creoles, descendants of the French, brought over the custom to the old French colony of Louisiana, whence it has spread to all portions of the United States. Before the war, on the spot now known as the New Orleans Fair Grounds, there was a famous Foie Gras farm. It was kept by an old Creole woman, and she made a fortune from the profits. She followed the old French method of caging the Geese so tightly that often, as in Strasbourg, the feet were nailed down to prevent the least movement. The farm closed in 1861. While the Livers of the Geese or Ducks become soft and fat under this treatment, the rest of the body suffers, and becomes so very fat that the Goose flesh is good for nothing, or, as the Creoles say, ‘Plus bonne a rien.’ Foies Gras are now sold in cans in every large grocery establishment in the United States. They come already cooked, in such shape that they can easily be made into any of the delectable dishes that so delight the old Creole or French bon vivants.The most famous of these is the