What’s the best bread to eat foie gras with?  I’m told by a French person it should be sweeter than regular bread.

From ‘The New Making of a Cook’. Madeleine Kamman has an exposition on foi gras. Her suggested pairing is her recipe for classic French bread. She even stresses in the pairing that the bread is unsweetened. I am at a loss to imagine what French bread your acquaintance has in mind. Sweet Frrench recipes tend to be high fat. Why would one pair extra fat goose liver with such? There are as many ways to eat French food as there are Frenchmen. I think you are on firm culinary ground to serve it to your own preference.

I’m with Gene on this one, go with your own preference.  For what it’s worth, the Flavor Bible lists plenty of fruit (apples, cherries, figs, grapes, stone fruit), plus sugar (only a dash), as good pairings with foie gras.  It also lists plenty of acids- basalmic, et al, so perhaps an overnight in the fridge might be appropriate

Gene - 10 December 2011 01:42 AM

Why would one pair extra fat goose liver with such?

That was my thought, too, Gene, particularly since one of her suggestions was brioche.  I thought if I went this route, I’d try to make the lowest fat brioche possible.  Her other suggestion was Hawaiian bread, which I think is essentially the same as Portuguese Sweet Bread.  Reinhart’s recipe for the latter includes lemon and orange flavorings, which I suspect would be lousy with foie gras.

I’ve never had foie gras, so I don’t have any personal preferences.

Thanks!

Julie - 10 December 2011 08:18 PM

I’m with Gene on this one, go with your own preference.  For what it’s worth, the Flavor Bible lists plenty of fruit (apples, cherries, figs, grapes, stone fruit), plus sugar (only a dash), as good pairings with foie gras.  It also lists plenty of acids- basalmic, et al, so perhaps an overnight in the fridge might be appropriate

Flavor Bible, great thought!  I just bought that for my Kindle last week.  When my friend said that “we” eat foie gras is this certain way, I gathered she was speaking for all the French.  Appears not!  I guess if your own family does something one particular way, you tend to assume that everyone else does too.

Thank you

If you get a chance I would recommend Kamman’s section on foi gras. She has some nice comments about the history and good information on selecting and preparing. I am not a great fan myself but it appears from her instruction that not all foi gras is created equal.

Gene - 10 December 2011 11:45 PM

If you get a chance I would recommend Kamman’s section on foi gras. She has some nice comments about the history and good information on selecting and preparing. I am not a great fan myself but it appears from her instruction that not all foi gras is created equal.

I’ll take a look at that, thanks Gene.  I’m sorta skeptical that I’ll like it much…my perceptions are highly influence by knowing what something is.