Foie gras!
My next adventure takes me to the Musee du Foie Gras (foie gras museum), which is the only one of its kind here in France. As we are smack-dab in the heart of foie gras country here in the South West of France, it is only fitting that they should have a museum. Who knew, but the ancient Egyptians were actually the ones who came up with the idea of force feeding geese and it is thanks to the Romans that this idea exists today. There are actually hieroglyphics that depict this process, cool huh?
Here’s the story: long, long ago, the Ancient Egyptians noticed that geese and ducks ate very large amounts of food before migrating to Northern Europe every year. This overeating, which would expand the volume of their liver by 7-8 times, would give them the necessary energy to make the long journey. At the end of their migration, the liver would return to its normal size. Thus the goose liver used for foie gras is not a sick liver. The process of expanding the liver is part of their normal life process; well, that is if they were actually still migrating and not being raised for food.
The farm we visited was very clean and picturesque. All the geese are raise in the open air with plenty of room to roam. It seemed that these chunky geese prefer lying around to much exercise though.
The geese are fed the old fashion way using a funnel and massaging the throat by hand to help the grains down. The geese are fed three to five times daily for a month once they reach the appropriate age.
After our tour of the museum we watched a short video detailing operations on the farm and then we were off to the tasting. My husband was hoping for something extravagant since he hadn’t eaten all day but we were rationed out one taste each of the various kinds of delicacies they were offering. We tasted foie gras fed with figs, foie gras fed with corn, and one of their specialties: magret (the best part of the duck) stuffed with foie gras. As I have never been much of a fan of liver of any sort, I was a bit apprehensive to taste these treats, but as promised to the cheese queen, I ate up. The foie gras fed with figs was my least favorite; I preferred the variety fed with corn which was a bit saltier and creamier in consistency. The stuffed magret was tasty too. Starr (my husband) and Kyoko (friend, translator, and helper on these food adventures) loved everything. There are lots of photos, so maybe Jill will include more than one this time. Au Revoir.
Next time we will be tasting cheeses of the Aquitane region and giving some history of the area, there will be more foie gras too.
Here’s the story: long, long ago, the Ancient Egyptians noticed that geese and ducks ate very large amounts of food before migrating to Northern Europe every year. This overeating, which would expand the volume of their liver by 7-8 times, would give them the necessary energy to make the long journey. At the end of their migration, the liver would return to its normal size. Thus the goose liver used for foie gras is not a sick liver. The process of expanding the liver is part of their normal life process; well, that is if they were actually still migrating and not being raised for food.
The farm we visited was very clean and picturesque. All the geese are raise in the open air with plenty of room to roam. It seemed that these chunky geese prefer lying around to much exercise though.
The geese are fed the old fashion way using a funnel and massaging the throat by hand to help the grains down. The geese are fed three to five times daily for a month once they reach the appropriate age.
After our tour of the museum we watched a short video detailing operations on the farm and then we were off to the tasting. My husband was hoping for something extravagant since he hadn’t eaten all day but we were rationed out one taste each of the various kinds of delicacies they were offering. We tasted foie gras fed with figs, foie gras fed with corn, and one of their specialties: magret (the best part of the duck) stuffed with foie gras. As I have never been much of a fan of liver of any sort, I was a bit apprehensive to taste these treats, but as promised to the cheese queen, I ate up. The foie gras fed with figs was my least favorite; I preferred the variety fed with corn which was a bit saltier and creamier in consistency. The stuffed magret was tasty too. Starr (my husband) and Kyoko (friend, translator, and helper on these food adventures) loved everything. There are lots of photos, so maybe Jill will include more than one this time. Au Revoir.
Next time we will be tasting cheeses of the Aquitane region and giving some history of the area, there will be more foie gras too.
posted by The Cheese Lady (Jill Erber) at 9:27 AM
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