Foie gras is a popular and a well-known delicacy in French cuisine.  By French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fatted by force-feeding corn, usually boiled with fat to facilitate ingestion; although in Spain and other countries outside France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding.  French law also states that  “Foie gras belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France.”

It is considered as a luxury or delicacy item, extremely fatty with a rich buttery flavor and smooth texture.  It easily melts, so while it is often prepared with high heat such as pan seared, cooking it this way can be tricky. Foie Gras has two types:  foie goose is considered the more refined with milder flavor, and duck foie gras can have somewhat more gamy flavor, though it is slightly less fatty and better suited for high-heat cooking.

The technique of gavage dates back as far as back 2500 B.C., when the ancient Egyptian began keeping birds for food and deliberately fattened the birds through force-feeding. The knowledge of foie gras production may have been brought to France centuries earlier; however, the delicacy was popularized in the seventeenth century by chefs associated with the French Court.  In the year 1788, the governor of Alsace traded a pate de foie gras with King Louis XVI for some real estate in Picardy. The Sun King was so enamored by the dish that he began introducing Strasbourg foie gras throughout Europe. This was the origin of how foie gras became associatedwith French food and culture as it stillis today.  Presently, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of foie gras, though it is produced and consumed worldwide, particularly in other European nations, Canada and China.