These days, premium ingredients like caviar and foie gras are mere clicks away from your doorstep. Yet how can one tell that they’re getting their money’s worth? The Peak enlists industry experts for advice on how to identify the best-quality ingredients.
03 Foie Gras
Foie gras comes in two main types: duck and goose. However, chef Sebastien Lepinoy of Les Amis says that duck is best seared due to its firmness. On the other hand, its goose counterpart should be served cold as a terrine because it is more delicate and unctuous.
As Lepinoy says, “a good foie gras should be firm and light-coloured, between white to yellow shade, with no trace of “hematoma†or green spots (that consist of bile from the gall bladder).â€
The best foie is often harvested in autumn and Vendee in France is the chef’s preferred source of fatty liver. The traditional method of gavage, as opposed to modern day methods which do away with force-feeding, is favoured by LePinoy so that it maintains the quality and taste of foie gras. Top grade foie gras should have a mildly sweet yet rich flavour, with a silky texture that melts in your mouth. It should also result in a clean cut when slicing due to the firmness of the liver.
