The foie gras sector is much more than breeding moulard ducks for their livers. The comparison with the pig is inevitable, as everything is taken advantage of. Each part of the duck is transformed into highly appreciated gastronomic delicacies: Caramelised thighs, pickled breast, preserved gizzards, stuffed necks, mousse, pâtés with various pairings – classical, innovative or very imaginative. The production is concentrated in the Empordà, La Selva and El Gironès regions.
The first attempt to set up duck farms to obtain foie gras in the counties of Girona was in 1976, but it was not until 1982 that the sector was consolidated. It was then that a group of young entrepreneurs started the current industry, smuggling in moulard duck chicks purchased on the other side of the French border. This hybrid breed, a cross between a female Peking duck and a male Muscovy, musk or Barbary duck (native to the Andes), adapted well to our region. In fact, ducks and geese are part of the ancestral poultry breeding tradition of Girona: families used to fatten them up for the main local saint’s days celebrations and for the long Christmas festivals.
Foie gras with the 2018-2019 Girona Excel·lent seal
Foie-gras extra
Collverd, a company created in 1980 in L’Empordà, near the Aiguamolls Park, breeds its ducks for fourteen weeks in the open air. With a special microclimate, a cereal-based diet and surgical manipulation, they obtain natural, fresh, whole foie-gras. Its colour and weight are ideal and it is compact, with a silky texture and a sweet, toasted, salty taste.
Foie-gras mi-cuit
For the preparation of half-cooked foie-gras (mi-cuit), the basic way to prepare foie-gras, liver of the highest quality is needed. Collverd has managed to fine-tune the production of this traditional culinary jewel. It is cooked for just the right length of time in a bain-marie, with only salt and pepper added, to produce this sweet, soft, delicately-flavoured, aromatic delicacy.
Foie-gras in salt
Foie-gras in salt, prepared according to an old, very delicate technique, is one of Collverd’s star products. The oldest company in Catalonia and one of the first in Spain dedicated to raising ducks to obtain their liver, wanted to give this product an evocative name and chose Celler (wine cellar). Today, Foie-gras Celler is the best-known brand of this traditional uncooked preparation of foie-gras.
Foie-gret
The word magret refers exclusively to the breasts of ducks bred for foie-gras. What we refer to as “duck ham” is one of the products obtained from magret, probably the most widespread. Foie-gret goes far beyond the tenderness of cooked ham, since it incorporates foie-gras, and the result is a delicious, soft product that melts in the mouth.
The foie gras tasting jury.
André Bonnaure
Chef expert in foie gras and duck
Pere Arpa
Chef of the Ca l’Arpa restaurant, Banyoles
Isaac Gelabert
Gastronomic promoter and director of the Lactium fair
Isabel Juncà
Chef of Ca l’Enric restaurant, the Vall de Bianya
