Foie gras is torched and made into a brulee at the Sent Sovi restaurant in Saratoga, Calif. Foie gras is back on the menu in California after a federal judge ruled the health code doesn’t prevent the rich dish from being brought in from out of state.

Gavage-based foie gras production is controversial due to the animal welfare consequences of the force-feeding procedure, intensive housing and husbandry, an enlarged liver and the potential for being detrimental to human health. Some countries find foie gras to be “morally objectionable”.

Foie gras can be ethical, but the foie gras industry cannot, at least not without some massive overhauls. Many will say that the taste is worth the suffering, or that prices would go up if foie gras was only available seasonally and in reduced quantities. Economics shouldn’t hold sway over nature, however.

The farm’s green rolling hills are covered with olive, oak, fruit and nut trees, which provide ample food for migrating geese. As a result, their livers grow 10 times bigger, with large deposits of fat — which is what makes foie gras so rich. …

The production of foie gras is so cruel and horrifying that it has been banned in 16 countries. This force-feeding causes the birds’ livers to become diseased and swell up to 10 times their normal size. The diseased liver is foie gras, and restaurants include it on their menus as a “delicacy.”

Foie gras is rich in nutrients like vitamin B12, vitamin A, copper, and iron. It’s also high in calories and fat. That said, the fat is a healthy combination of unsaturated and saturated fat.

Raw foie gras, sometimes called foie gras cru, is usually sold as a whole bird’s liver, or in a few large pieces. This raw, unrefined foie gras is never eaten without some form of curing or cooking. Chefs might use raw foie gras to make sauces, or they prepare the raw liver and cure it into a more refined pate.

Regardless of your feelings on this force-feeding, called gavage in the industry, it’s unquestionably an expensive process that adds substantial feed and labor costs to the livestock owner. It’s that labor cost—coupled with a limited supply of fatty livers for the market—that makes foie gras so pricey.

With what should I serve my foie gras? Foie gras combines very well with farmhouse bread, sandwich bread, brioche and canapé crackers. You can toast them for more flavor. If you like sweet and savory combinations, we recommend serving it with a bread containing fruit and/or nuts.

After the foie, a spinach salad with a warm shallot dressing or an endive/radicchio salad with some citrus would be more appropriate. A little bitterness to offset and compliment the richness of the foie.

Ready-made foie gras has the best flavor when served slightly chilled or at room temperature. Foie gras goes well with honey and fruit preserves, or you can simply serve on the toast slices.

Foie gras can be easily served plain on a piece of bread as an appetizer. You may want to add fruits and sauces if you incorporate it into a meal. If you serve both goose and duck foie gras, start with the goose. The fuller flavor of the duck liver can overpower the creamy, delicate taste of the goose liver.

Foie gras is banned state-wide in California, and in New York City. It’s also illegal to produce and/or import in Australia, Argentina, Israel, India, and many parts of Europe.

All of our ready-to-eat foie gras is delightfully versatile. Serve it simply with toasted brioche and a sprinkling of flake salt, on a hunk of baguette with fig jam, or on a slice of crisp apple.

A sweet white wine or a dry white wine

• A sweet white wine or a dry white wine.
• Foie gras goes perfectly with a soft white wine, especially if it is served with a sweet condiment such as onion or fig jam.
• A red wine.
• Foie gras is more and more served with red wine.
• A champagne.
• Foie gras can also be served with champagne.

Champagne and vodka are classic pairings for caviar. The former matches luxury with luxury, while the latter speaks to the common homelands for both products. Champagne’s acidity and bubbles and vodka’s crisp booziness are perfect foils for the richness and saltiness of cured roe.

Champagne and Caviar

• Dom Perignon is the ultimate splurge and most frequently selected for champagne and caviar pairings.
• Krug Champagne is another favorite among caviar connoisseurs.
• Taittinger can accompany both domestic and imported caviar from every price range.

To produce “foie gras” (the French term means “fatty liver”), workers ram pipes down the throats of male ducks twice each day, pumping up to 2.2 pounds of grain and fat into their stomachs, or geese three times a day, up to 4 pounds daily, in a process known as “gavage.” The force-feeding causes the birds’ livers to …

The price of foie gras can vary depending on origins, animal (goose being more expensive than duck) and manufacturing process, but you’re generally looking at around $40-80 per pound.

Paté can come from a variety of sources such as poultry, game, beef, seafood, lamb or pork. Foie Gras is paté made from the fattened liver of geese or ducks.

Jarred foie is usually already cooked. Usually just served sliced on toasted bread. Served with sweet wine and fruit. I’d serve it just like any other liver pate, except foie is exponentially better.

Frozen Foie Gras can keep for up to one year, but the flavor will not be as good when thawed. Fully cooked prepared products like mousses, blocs, and pates can last in the shelf for a few years (check labels).

It’s already cooked in the can, and any further searing or cooking will cause it to be overdone. If it were mi-cuit (half-cooked), you could sear it, but that’s contraband in this country. I served the whole duck foie gras from france (in a vacuum glass jar) a few weeks ago.

To extract the foie gras more easily from the can, open both ends and use one end to push the foie gras through the cylinder or tunnel. If the foie gras was in a glass jar, dip the blade of a knife in hot water, wipe it off and slide it between the glass walls of the jar and the foie gras.

Take a wooden spoon or a butter knife with the straight edge facing the lid. Give the lid of the jar a couple of firm taps. This can have the effect of disrupting the seal. After tapping, try to open the jar again.

In order to remove a flat lid, you will need to break the vacuum seal which, sometimes, is not easy.

1. To lift the flat lid off the Mason jar use a butter knife blade.
2. Store canned food in the Mason jars without screw bands on them.
3. To break the vacuum seal and to lift the flat lid – use a butter knife blade as a lever.

If you are using a Kilner® Clip Top Jar, place the rubber seals onto the top of the jar and close the clips. Place the jar in a large pan and cover the whole jar with water. Bring to the boil for 30 minutes. Once boiled, leave the water and jars to cool completely before removing.

An airtight vacuum seal forms when the jars cool, shutting microbes out. Once canned, most pickles keep for up to one year. Before use, wash jars in hot, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Heating softens the sealing compound, helping it form an airtight seal with the jar.

Put the canner or pot on the stove filled with water; let water come to a boil. Use the tongs to put the jars in the boiling water to sterilize them. Let the jars sit in the boiling water for 10 minutes, then remove them onto a clean dish towel. Turn the burner off but leave the canner and water for sealing the jars.