Faux Gras

Politically correct foie gras was never likely to appeal to the French, until, that is, it appeared to taste better than the traditional product based on the forced feeding of birds. A Spanish farmer, Eduardo Sousa, has shown that geese and ducks allowed to gorge themselves make for a far tastier liver pate. Their livers still swell, but only to two or three times their normal size, rather than the six to ten times caused by artificial means.

The real thing

Sousa is still marketing his paté as ‘foie gras’, claiming that because it is superior to the traditional product, how it is created is irrelevant. British supermarkets, mindful of trades descriptions rules and the general level of hostility to products based on the old forced feeding methods, call the unforced product ‘faux gras’. It probably lacks the smooth taste of the traditional foie gras, but it is also a great deal cheaper and much less controversial.

From our May 2008 e-newsletter