Something New: Week 18 – Foie Gras
by Ranil on Aug.18, 2009
One of my favourite pastimes is eating different foods. I like the adventure that comes with going outside of your usual food comfort zones and sampling something your palette has never tried before. It’s rare when I turn down a food I’ve never tried before simply because my philosophy has always been try everything at least once. If you don’t like it never eat it again but half the journey that comes from travelling is about trying the food. So last week I added to my eclectic list of food forays – including scorpion, balut, and freshly caught frogs – the french dish Foie Gras.
Last Saturday after almost a week of preparation and anticipation my cousin and I ventured out to La Brasserie in Darlinghurst to get our gras on. Like the French we sat outside, smoked, and drank a nice bottle of red wine. For me this would be an experience to try foie gras, but to my cousin it was also his first time trying the wonder that is escargot and also rabbit! When our orders finally arrived I must say I wasn’t disappointed.
In comparison foie gras – duck or goose liver – isn’t as bad as scorpion. It tastes far better and is easier to digest. It was creamy and light without the aftertaste that usually accompanies liver. Its texture was like pate and the taste similar but you could taste the subtle differences between the two.
Despite the pervasiveness of French restaurants around Sydney finding this dish proved to be a bit of a challenge. I believe this stems from the traditional method that is used in foie gras production. Typically ducks or geese are force feed to fatten their livers. This has led many to challenge the idea of foie gras as being extremely cruel to the animal as it involves feeding them 2 – 4 times the amount of food they would eat normally in the wild (or voluntarily for that matter) in order to build up the fatty content of their livers. The end product is a liver with a buttery consistency 4 – 6 times larger than normal size.
Many would argue that eating animals is a form of cruelty. Others argue that if animals must be reared for food than they should be treated ethically. I think the true argument should be what can make my food more tasty?
Currently Listening To:
Arcade Fire – Wake Up
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