◎ The historical origin of foie gras:
About 4000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians who loved geese flourished because of the Nile culture, which led many Egyptians to emigrate to different places for many different reasons (hehe! In order to taste their beloved hometown flavor on the road, these Egyptians tried their best to store goose oil and some things to eat on the road, and found that geese had more uses than just raising and slaughtering them to eat.
However, along the way, it was the Romans who really found the foie gras delicious, but it was more than 200 years ago. In the record, the Romans ate foie gras with figs (I wonder what it was like? ), such a dish was also regarded as a rare delicacy by Julius Caesar. It's good to eat figs with them, but it hasn't changed at all, so it's the Jews in Central Europe who have really made great progress in cooking methods. At that time, only they knew how to cook delicious foie gras, but because eating animal viscera is not allowed by Jewish religious law and tastes delicious, it is not necessarily an interesting thing to repair it in order to eat the old people in the quilt family, so Jews also lost the opportunity to promote such delicious foie gras.
However, the delicious foie gras is still spread to Alsace in northwest France and rural areas in southwest France by the people. Some people began to develop some methods to cook delicious foie gras and make goose paste and aspic, which is unparalleled when eaten with French bread.
This simple and delicious quality makes goose food spread everywhere. Of course, this goose has never had a good life since then. In the period of Louis XVI in France, foie gras was presented to the court for the French emperor Louis XV to taste. I didn't expect it to be good, but I fell in love with this delicious food after tasting it. Since then, foie gras has become very famous, and everyone wants to try what makes the big boss happy. Of course, good things can't be hidden from everyone. Since then, not only from the royal family and musicians, but also from the common people, everyone praised it, thus laying the foundation for the noble and delicious foie gras.
◎ Feeding process of geese and ducks;
Although they are famous, geese and ducks can't get fat after being praised a few words, so the French can't take this matter lightly, which is related to the well-being of the whole people. Therefore, the French national agricultural research unit stepped forward and took on this important task. Through various technical cooperation and experiments, a kind of duck Mulard (English is Mallard Duck, a wild duck in the northern hemisphere, which often changes with the seasons) was selected from France.
Because geese do the same thing, we are talking about ducks here. During the period of 14 weeks after hatching, these lovely ducks are kept in the open space, just like wild ducks, so that they can grow in the natural environment, make them happy and increase their resistance and activity. After 14 weeks, the ducks were moved to a cool indoor space and forced to feed specially prepared corn syrup twice a day for two weeks. There is not much difference between geese and ducks in the initial feeding process, except that geese must be fed corn syrup for four weeks after 14 weeks and three times a day.
In the process of supplementary feeding, it is necessary to consider that geese and ducks are prone to neurological death under forced feeding. Therefore, in the whole process, all geese and ducks are fed in a man-to-man manner, and they must be constantly photographed to listen to music to help them swallow and calm down. This high labor cost is the main reason for the high price of foie gras and duck liver. At present, the way of making foie gras and duck liver in France has not changed, but many companies just transfer geese to some low-cost countries, such as Ruggie, where 90% of geese are only raised in Hungary. However, the breeding and breeding of ducks are maintained in France to cope with the huge domestic demand market. In fact, due to the low price, low feeding difficulty and large output of duck liver, the consumption of French duck liver products has far exceeded that of foie gras products, and it has become a substitute for foie gras, accounting for 80% of the market, and foie gras is still synonymous with noble and rare.
◎ How to select and distinguish duck foie gras;
If there is such an opportunity, you can find some fresh or frozen duck liver and goose liver. When duck liver and goose liver are put together, they can be clearly distinguished from each other in appearance size and color. In addition, the important factor that distinguishes them is taste.
Size: Generally speaking, foie gras is bigger than duck liver. A complete foie gras is about 700-800g, and the weight of duck liver is about 450-600g.
Color: Goose liver is ivory with light pink or light golden yellow, which varies according to the feed, while duck liver tends to be khaki.
In addition, generally speaking, the color of the label can also distinguish duck liver (ivory label) or goose liver (gold label).
Taste: The taste of foie gras is delicate, dense, rich and juicy, and the entrance has a feeling of satiny and melting, which is why it is praised by gourmets. The taste of duck liver is not as delicate as that of foie gras, but its rich fragrance has some pastoral flavor, and its price is civilian, which makes duck liver have quite a few fans. Seeing this, there must be many people who want to know how to buy fresh ducks and foie gras in China, even if they know how to cook them, yes! This is the reason for introducing liver sauce next. Because most people can buy cooked foie gras or duck liver sauce, they can be packaged in glass or tin cans. In order to preserve its flavor, it is recommended to carefully look at the storage temperature required on the packaging and make it clear whether it is room temperature or cold storage.
Generally, the processed foie gras is divided into whole foie gras, pure foie gras with foie gras blocks or foie gras mixed with other foie gras, and the price is different from that of foie gras containing truffles, but the bigger and more complete foie gras, the higher the price. If the price of common foie gras in the market is acceptable at first glance, most of it is mixed with some other liver sauces, which may be duck liver, chicken liver or pig liver. The price of this kind of foie gras depends on the proportion of pure foie gras. The higher the proportion of foie gras, the more expensive it is.
However, another kind of foie gras containing truffles is as rare and expensive as foie gras, because truffles grow underground and are hard to find. It has a unique flavor, so stuffing it in foie gras can enhance the flavor of foie gras, and the price is higher than that of foie gras without truffles.
◎ Enjoy mode:
If it is fresh or frozen foie gras, it is recommended to cut it into small pieces directly after cooking. If it is a product of foie gras type, just open the jar and carefully take out the foie gras before eating, cut it into pieces and put it on toast or bread. Try not to wipe it off like jam. The bread with it is only a supporting role. Try not to have a bunch of ingredients in it to affect the flavor of foie gras. The simpler the bread, the better. After all these things are done, it's up to you to enjoy it slowly or wolf it down. The point is to enjoy the original flavor of liver sauce. In addition, it is suggested that a serrated knife can be used to cut liver sauce. In order to keep the slices complete and beautiful, the blade can be soaked with hot water and wiped clean after each slice is cut, so as to avoid wasting this excellent liver sauce in the next knife.
◎ Wine Matching:
If strawberries and unsweetened champagne are a perfect match, then the expensive sweet white wine in Suttern, Bordeaux, France is the best partner to match the fine foie gras. Perhaps everyone will wonder why this extremely sweet white wine should be used to match this delicate and dense foie gras. Of course, there are also some reasons. Imagine that when the rich and dense foie gras melts in your mouth, it is full of fat and greasy taste. It is necessary to introduce another kind of wine, which has considerable contrast in taste, but does not conflict with each other to highlight their characteristics. Sauternes' sweet white wine has a similar rich and strong taste, but it is biased towards the characteristics of honey and fruit, which can make the taste buds in such a thick and continuous state, but it is replaced by another feeling. This reciprocating conversion can make every mouthful of foie gras and sweet white wine impact the taste again and fully enjoy this excellent taste feast. In addition, some unsweetened champagne and white wine are also good choices. Generally speaking, when the foie gras is mixed with some other liver sauces and matched with red wine, there will not be much taste conflict. You can also try.
◎ Health effects:
Although French people consume a lot of fat and alcohol in their daily diet, compared with people who pay attention to a balanced diet in other countries, their cardiovascular diseases are still less. In fact, duck oil and goose oil are unsaturated fatty acids. Statistics show that in Nordic countries, people who eat grape seed oil, olive oil or goose oil have a lower risk of heart disease than those who regularly eat dairy products.