For the Record: Sex On Toast

I used to think the idea of eating animal liver was dirty, but then again I also used to think boys were dirty. I had resisted its lure for as long as I possibly could, but on this night I would give it a shot. What did I have to lose? I wasn't paying for the meal. I was out with a boy I couldn't stand, but who thought he might win me over by being flashy. Fine. I'm only too glad I ordered the mousse of foie gras with cress. Though not terribly nice to look at, after one bite and I was hooked. I forgot all about who I was with, where I was, what I was saying. I'm actually pretty sure I wasn't saying anything. Or at least trying not to. I wanted to savour every instant that I had this tiny heap of goodness on my plate.Thinking back to my opening thought, to some extent, I was right. It is kinda dirty. With every bite of my new found love for foie gras, I was still fully conscious of the fact that the poor goose whom this liver once belonged to, had a funnel shoved down its throat and was forced to eat well after it was full. Is that why I was so enraptured by the idea of consuming it? Because some part of my moral ethic refuses to fully accept that I have no part in this torture? What is it about indulging in what is seen as tabboo that makes it that more enjoyable? For so long I wouldn't even dare entertain the idea of it, and now? How did I end up feeling like a nympho?

An Overfed Goose

Blame the geese! They did it to themselves! The overfed goose dates back to Egyptian times, attested in a wall mural from 2500BC, and most likely before. Those clever Egyptians, were the first to notice that the geese who took up residence by the Nile, gorged themselves on figs in preparation for their return migration up North. The liver would store excess fat which would act as a source of energy during the long flight. The Egyptians must have already been eating geese for I can't see why else they might think to cut open an innocent bird. Either way, what's important is that someone put a and b together and realized that they could overfeed their geese on the farm. So, the Egyptians began to force feed their geese with figs, and so began the plight of the overstuffed goose. Judging from the way things turned out, it would seem that the geese had bitten off more than they could chew. I guess no one was asking them to be discreet about it.

The Egyptians weren't very discreet either. Soon the Jews picked up the technique and being the adaptable people they are ran off with the goods and distributed the knowledge of fattened goose liver throughout the Roman world.The Romans being the gracious hosts they were, tried to take all the credit by giving it a name. Jecur ficatum: Liver caused by figs. Kinda lengthy, it was later simplified to ficatum, the word to which the French word foie owes its etymology. The Romans even bothered to write a few recipes, attested in The Art of Cooking which dates back to the fifth century.

Nowadays, the art of foie gras is championed by the French. It can be either made of goose or duck, and despite all the technologies of the modern world, is still a rather tedious process. But you know the French, they've got time. Only the males are used. Interesting. Goslings and ducklings live happily outdoors until their grown. For weeks (3 for geese and 2 for ducks) the adult birds are fed three times a day with cooked corn. That doesn't sound so bad. I might get sick of figs, but could never get sick of corn. Oooh did I mention they're force fed? Yeah, all those images of a funnel shoved down a goose's throat (the French call it gavage) put me off the idea for about ten minutes. For all you haters, see below, I found a link that made me feel better, I hope it'll make you feel better too.

How it ended

After my night out with foie gras, I decided that experience wasn't enough. I needed more. I couldn't afford the mousse of foie gras. Heck, at that point I couldn't even afford a pack of cigarettes. I stood in the duck section contemplating theft, but ended up settling for a pate of duck. It did contain foie gras, but like most of the drugs in MTL, it also contained a myriad of other unnecessary ingredients. Duck hearts, duck meat... I felt like I was picking up a cheap prostitute. Still, I'd rather have a little than nothing at all. Once home, I whipped in some cream to loosen up the texture, seasoned it, and let it refrigerate overnight. It wasn't half bad. A rather cheap thrill. That night, I went to bed saying a prayer for the goose somewhere in France overdosing on feed, just so that I could get another hit.

Things you should know:

1. Why can't we be civilized? It's not all doom and gloom nowadays for the foie-gras goose
   
   TED talks: Dan Barber's foie gras parable
   
   
2. There are different types of foie gras.
   
   Goose is rich and subtle, duck is stronger in taste and aroma, with less richness. Pate is thicker than mousse which is lightened with cream or egg.
   
   
3. There are different cooking methods
   
   mi-cuit: half cooked or semi-conserve: in conserve
   
   
4. When serving
   
   It must be refrigerated before serving. That said, it can't be too cold.
   Try it with greens and don't gild the lily. It's fine with crusty bread or small toast.
   
   
5. DIY: good luck finding duck liver in your local super market
   
   Yes you can make it yourself if you like. Here's a fine recipe courtesy of the food network:
   Foie Gras and Truffle Mousse.