How do you choose your foie gras?

With the holiday season approaching and foie gras being invited to every table, it is not always easy to find your way around the available offer. Maison Dubernet helps you to see more clearly when choosing your foie gras!

Duck or goose?

There are two types of foie gras from duck or goose, with different typicities and characteristics. It is mainly a matter of taste:

• The duck foie gras Foie gras: this is the most popular foie gras among consumers. It represents 95% of French production. It has a powerful and rustic aromatic character. It is slightly less expensive than goose foie gras.
• The goose foie gras The foie gras: a product reputed to be more refined than duck foie gras. With a firmer and rosier texture than its acolyte, its flavours are also softer and more subtle. In this sense, it lends itself more to more sophisticated combinations.

How to cook foie gras?

The foies gras on the market have undergone different cooking methods that directly influence their organoleptic qualities, their uses and their conservation:

• Raw foie gras : this is the freshest foie gras because it has not been cooked at all. It is most often used for cooking, either fried or in a terrine for homemade foie gras. Once purchased, it can be kept for a maximum of one week in the refrigerator.

• The semi-cooked foie gras (semi-preserved): foie gras subjected to a gentle preparation method with low temperature cooking (pasteurisation between 70° and 85°). Ready to eat, it is generally sold in jars or trays and must be kept in a cool place for 6 months. This undercooking allows the foie gras to keep its fat and therefore its smoothness.

• Cooked (canned) foie gras : canned foie gras is cooked at high temperature (sterilization at over 100°). Therefore, it can be preserved at room temperature for several years. It can mature pleasantly with time and has a more typical taste. It is the ideal foie gras to make a gift as it is easily transported.

Whole, foie gras or block?

Foie gras is sold under three trade names which determine its composition, and therefore its quality and price:

• Block of foie gras: a preparation made from emulsified foie gras and water. The block of foie gras may include pieces - minimum 30% for duck and 50% for goose - and will then be called " Block of foie gras with pieces ".
• Foie gras : refers to a preparation composed of pieces from different lobes of foie gras (3 at most) agglomerated and seasoned. It can be recognized by its marbled appearance when cut.
• Whole foie gras: whole foie gras is the cream of foie gras and the most appreciated by connoisseurs. It is most often made from a whole foie gras from the same animal. When cut, it has a uniform texture and colour. It is the top-of-the-range product and therefore the most expensive.

Finding a good foie gras: signs that don't deceive

After choosing your type of foie gras, it will be a matter of finding the best piece! To do this, a certain number of clues will guide you in acquiring a foie gras of choice, especially since little information is generally present on the labels. It's better to have a look!

• Theorigin: even if the origin has no direct impact on the quality of the foie gras, it is better to prefer a French foie gras. Eastern European countries, such as Romania, export their foie gras which will then be processed at destination. The fewer intermediaries, the better!
• Quality labels: a certain number of labels guarantee the quality of foie gras by strict rules, from breeding to manufacturing to marketing. Maison Dubernet offers labels of the " IGP " (Protected Geographical Indication) type: " foie gras duck from the South West" and " Périgord geese".

• Appearance: a beautiful fresh foie gras must have a uniform color, without spots or bruises, varying from beige to ivory through rosé, depending on the animal's diet. To the touch, it must be neither too firm nor too soft: supple and resistant at the same time, the foie gras must return to its original shape.
• Weight: too big a foie gras is not necessarily ideal! It would make too much fat when cooked. Count about 500g for a duck foie gras and 750g for goose. A reasonably sized liver will not melt too much during cooking.

Discover the whole range of foies gras Maison Dubernet on La Halle des Gourmets !