foie gras

What Is Foie Gras?

Filed under: Dining

Foie gras (pronounced ˈfwä-ˈgrä, French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened, typically through gavage (force-feeding) corn. It is a delicacy in French cuisine. Foie gras' flavor is described as rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike that of a regular duck or goose liver. Foie gras is sold whole, or is prepared into mousse, parfait, or pâté, and often is served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak.

France is the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations, the United States, and China. Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial and considered by some to be cruel. A number of countries and other jurisdictions have laws against force feeding or the sale of foie gras.

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Protests Prompt A Menu Change at Posh English Restaurant

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

A particularly violent assault by animal rights protesters have caused a British restaurant to make a menu change. The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Midsummer House in Cambridge that including gluing the restaurant door locks, spraypainting slogans on the walls and damaging the windows with glass etching fluid to protest the restaurant's serving of foie gras. The Michelin-starred restaurant has removed the goose liver delicacy from the menu.

Decanter also reports that the department store group House of Frasier last year banned foie gras sales sales after protests by Advocates for Animals. In the U.S., California will phase out production of foie gras b 2012 and Chicago has banned the delicacy in the city's restaurant. Back in England, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals last year said that nearly two-thirds of UK consumers polled want the food banned.

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Tags: animal rights, expire-images:2009-2-23, foie gras, FoieGras, geese, midsummer house, proteests

Chicago Bans Foie Gras

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

As Nick reported at Slashfood, the city of Chicago has decided to ban foie gras from being sold by retailers and at restaurants. Any establishment or person who violates the ban will be fined $500, according to the New York Times. The legislature has been considering this ban for some time now in the face of mounting concern over the ethics of force-feeding ducks until their livers reach 10 times the normal size. The ban, adopted by a vote of 48-to-1 will take effect in 90 days, so any Chicago residents should take in their favorite dish at Rick Tramonto's Tru before it goes off the menu.