Duck Was Too Good for Foie Gras

Foie Gras

Historical records show that foie gras is as old as the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Romans. The
ancients discovered that geese and ducks tended to overfeed themselves in order to get ready
for their long migratory journeys, often to a different continent, producing a fattened liver. The
method used to fatten the liver of the duck is what is so controversial. The pronunciation of the
word is more like Fwaah Graw, not Foy Graw, as is often heard.

Very few ancient recipes have survived, but cookbooks with foie gras recipes appear in
Europe, and especially France in the 1500s. The Art of Cooking, the only surviving ancient
Roman cookbook dating back to the fourth or fifth century, references two recipes for foie gras.
La Cuisiniere Bourgeoise printed in 1746 gives a simple and rather short recipe for

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