Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-01-05
THE PATE DE F01E GRAS.
HISTORY OF THIS DELICATE DISH
20 POPULAR m FRANCE.

Dessh Of IL 0ssssest Maksr-Hov che
Goose IAvsss Are sgsAs Fsa-ApocryphaI
story Of Dumss-Ths Ysmoas Pies Of
strssbuu diving Thcm . Soul.
At Colmar, IN Alsace, died In his list
Mangold, who, In the opinion Of all save
some members OF the medical profession,
deserved well, not only Of his own coun-
try, but Of tho whole world. Cclmar,
tho antique Columbaria Of the Romans,
next.to Strasburg, is unsurpassed for the
fabrication Of "pates do foie gras" The
friends Of the late M. Mangoid, indeed,
who was for many yearB the leading
pastry cook at Colmar, claim that his
pics were even superior 10 those made at
Strasburg. M. Mangold was o poet TO
boot, and composed largo number of
local idyls, satfres, vaudevilles and songs
for music. But Il will be with his pies,
and not with his poems in his hand that
he will probably go down to postesity.
II might be desirable In the outset to
stigmatize as wholly apocryphal the story
10 which Alexandra Dumas the elder, in
his 'Dictionnaire de Cuisine, )" has given
currency as to the horrible tortures in
flictcd on the Alsatinn geese In order to
fatten their livers TO the degree required
by the pastry cooks. Starting with tho
pOstulate that tho liver Of the bird can
only he fattened by tho tumefaction Of
that organ, and that for pie making pur-
poses the goose livers should be ten or
twelve times the normal size, the author
Of Monte Cristo" goes on to say that
the wretched bipeds are nailed by their
web feet to boards, that their eyes are
put out, and that they are incessantly
stuffed with pounded nuts and deprived
of water.
srUFFING THE LIVE BIRDS.
Another alarmist, improving on Alex
andre Dumas, asserts that the nailed
down geese are placed before raging
fire and allowed to drink as much water
rs they like, thus leading to enlarge
ment Of the liver. AS matter Of fact,
the birds, like capons and turkeys, arc
no doubt systematically crammed,
usually with paste mado Of Indian
corn and millet; but there is no more
truth In the wild stories Of the nailed
down feet, the binding and the semi
roasting In front Of an ardent fire than
there Is in the tales that turtle soup is
madc Of conger eel and the sauce called
soy from cockroaches.
Toulouse, In the south Of France, Ruff
fec, In tho Charente and Nerac, In the
Bordelais, have in modern times, rivaled
Strasburg and Colmar in the making Of
"pates de foie gras;" and there are culin-
nry antquaries who maintain that
pasties Of fatted goose livers are
Gallo-Roman survival Of Apician origin.
The mode OF fattening the geese was
somewhat cruel. The birds were cooped
In solitary confinement In very narrow
L.,
gorged with maize, and, on the twenty
second day Of examining, a spoonful of
poppy oil was added to the corn; water
was freely given them, but 1t was always
mixed with sweet wort from the
brewery. At the end of forty-two days
the goose became so fat Us to be In dan
ger Of suffocation and was therefore
killed. Its proper weight should then be
about sixteen pounds, out of which the
liver should weigh thirty-two ounces.
Another quicker but more equivocal way
of fattening the geese was to mix anti
mony with the fnrinaceous paste with
which tho birds were crammed.
HOW TO MAKE THE PIE.
AtStrasburg the construction Of pate
is q serious and even solemn affair. Six
fattened livers are the ordinary pabulum
for pie; they must first be washed in
many waters and then parboiled, and are
next scrupulously trimmed so as to free
them from all fibrous substance and from
any matter approaching bitterness in
flavor. Each liver Is then cut in two,
and, out OF the dozen, three are chosen
to be beaten in mortar and passed
through q sieve with bacon, shalots,
parsley and mushrooms, so as to make q
farce" or forcemcat, which Is boiled,
and forms the basis of the pie. The other
half livers arc then larded with the finest
Perigord truflics, cut I'm the shape of
dice, and the contents Of the pie are made
to consist Of layers of liver, truffles and
forcemeat. Two hours are sufficient TO
bake this dainty dish, fit to be set before
whole congress OF kings and emperors.
When the pie Is withdrawn from the
oven the top crust should be delicately
lifted and large glass of Madeira poured
into the interior. Then II should be her
metically closed, so as to be fit to be at
once packed and dispatched to the utter
most ends of the earth.
1t remains, however, TO show how
these famous pies came to be made at
Strasburg and Colmar at all. Only 100
years have elapsed since tho French
military governor of tho province Of
Alsace, Marshal dc Contades, brought
with him to Strasburg as cook a Nor
man by the name of Close. Alsace was
already remarkable for 1t "terrines'' Of
fat goose liyers, which were preserved in
earthen pipkins with layer of clarified
butter under the cover. They were
somewhat rudely prepared, and lacked
ono supreme accessory: The artistic
Close practically exclaimed, "Pipkin,
thou shalt become a pie" He discarded
the earthen jar and Imprisoned the rich
livers in a casket Of pie tr,ist. "The body
is there" continued the enthusiastic
chef, 1--WE must now give it a soul," and
he found a spiritual element for his pie
In the exciting perfume of tho Peri
gordian truille. Close, the Norman, must
assuredly DO considered as the inventor
of the Strasburg pie. - London Daily