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Foie Gras
; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding). ''Foie gras'' is a delicacy in French cuisine. Its flavour is rich, buttery, and delicate, unlike an ordinary duck or goose liver. It is sold whole or is prepared as mousse, parfait, or pâté, and may also be served as an accompaniment to another food item, such as steak. French law states, "''Foie gras'' belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France." The technique of ''gavage'' dates as far back as 2500 BC, when the ancient Egyptians began confining Anatidae, anatid birds to be forcedly fed to be fattened as a food source. Today, France is by far the largest producer and consumer of ''foie gras'', though there are producers and markets worldwide, particularly in other European nations, the United States, and China. Foie gras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foie Gras Controversy
The production of ''foie gras'' (the liver of a duck or a Toulouse Geese, goose that has been specially fattened) involves the force-feeding of birds with more food than they would eat in the wild, and more than they would voluntarily eat domestically. The feed, usually corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion), deposits large amounts of fat in the liver, thereby producing the fatty consistency sought by some gastronomes. Animal rights and welfare groups Animal rights and welfare activist groups such as the Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Legal Defense Fund,Speak Out Against Foie Gras L214 and Four Paws, FOUR PAWS contend that foie gras production methods, and force feeding in particular, constitute Cruelty to animals, cruel and inhumane treatment of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Au Jus
''Au jus'' () is a French language, French culinary term meaning "with juice". It refers to meat dishes prepared or served together with a light broth or gravy, made from the fluids secreted by the meat as it is cooked. In French cuisine, cooking ''au jus'' is a natural way to enhance the flavour of dishes, mainly chicken, veal, and lamb. In Cuisine of the United States, American cuisine, the term is sometimes used to refer to a light sauce for beef recipes, which may be served with the food or placed on the side for dipping. Ingredients and preparation To prepare a natural ''jus'', the cook may skim off the fat from the juices left after cooking and bring the remaining meat stock and water to a boil. ''Jus'' can be frozen for six months or longer, but the flavour may suffer after this time. ''Au jus'' recipes in the United States often use soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, white or brown sugar, garlic, beets, carrots, onions, or other ingredients to make something ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Cuisine
French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In the 17th and 18th centuries, chefs François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded movements that shifted French cooking away from its foreign influences and developed France's own indigenous style. French cheese, Cheese and French wine, wine are a major part of the cuisine. They play different roles regionally and nationally, with many variations and ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws. Culinary tourism and the ''Guide Michelin'' helped to acquaint commoners with the ''cuisine bourgeoise'' of the urban elites and the peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country. Knowledg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agesilaus
Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). Although brave in combat, Agesilaus lacked the diplomatic skills to preserve Sparta's position, especially against the rising power of Thebes, which reduced Sparta to a secondary power after its victory at Leuctra in 371 BC. Despite the traditional secrecy fostered by the Spartiates, the reign of Agesilaus is particularly well-known thanks to the works of his friend Xenophon, who wrote a large history of Greece (the ''Hellenica'') covering the years 411 to 362 BC, therefore extensively dealing with Agesilaus' rule. Xenophon furthermore composed a panegyric biography of his friend, perhaps to clean his memory from the criticisms voiced against him. Another historical tradition—much more hostile to Agesilaus th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sparta
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Peloponnese. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece. Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of Classical Athens, Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of History of Athens, Athens during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), from which it emerged victorious after the Battle of Aegospotami. The decisive Battle of Leuctra against Thebes, Greece, Thebes in 371 BC ended the Spartan hegemony, although the city-state maintained its Independence, political independence until its forced integration into the Achaean League in 192 BC. The city nevertheless recovered m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cratinus
Cratinus (; 519 BC – 422 BC) was an Athenian comic poet of the Old Comedy. Life Cratinus won prizes for his plays on 27 known occasions, eight times at the City Dionysia, first probably in the mid-to-late 450s BCE (IG II2 2325. 50), and three times at the Lenaia, first probably in the early 430s (IG II2 2325. 121; just before Pherecrates and Hermippus). He was still competing in 423 BC, when his ''Pytine'' took the prize at the City Dionysia; he died shortly thereafter, at a very advanced age, about 97 years (test. 3). Little is known of his personal history. His father's name was Callimedes, and he himself was a taxiarch. The ''Suda'' accuses Cratinus of immorality, excessive cowardice, and habitual intemperance. His contemporaries offer no corroboration, except for the third charge, which is sustained by many passages of Aristophanes and other writers. They also refer the "Confession of Cratinus", which Cratinus himself seems to have treated the subject in a very amu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bas Relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane. When a relief is carved into a flat surface of stone (relief sculpture) or wood (relief carving), the field is actually lowered, leaving the unsculpted areas seeming higher. The approach requires chiselling away of the background, which can be time-intensive. On the other hand, a relief saves forming the rear of a subject, and is less fragile and more securely fixed than a sculpture in the round, especially one of a standing figure where the ankles are a potential weak point, particularly in stone. In other materials such as metal, clay, plaster stucco, ceramics or papier-mâché the form can be simply added to or raised up from the background. Monumental bronze reliefs are m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mereruka
Mereruka () served during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt as one of Egypt's most powerful officials at a time when the influence of local state noblemen was increasing in wealth and power. Mereruka held numerous titles along with that of Vizier (Ancient Egypt), Vizier, which made him the most powerful person in Egypt after the king himself.Mastaba of Mereruka from Osirisnet Among the other official positions that Mereruka held were "Director of all the king's works," "Governor of the palace," "Chief lector-priest," "Overseer of the royal record scribes," and "Inspector of the priests attached to the pyramid of Teti." He was married to Seshseshet Waatetkhethor, daughter of King Teti. His mother was named Nedjetempet and he possibly had a brother named Ihy, though this may be the same individual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saqqara
Saqqara ( : saqqāra[t], ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis, Egypt, Memphis. Saqqara contains numerous pyramids, including the Pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Pyramid, and a number of mastaba tombs. Located some south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around . Saqqara contains the oldest complete stone building complex known in history, the Pyramid of Djoser, built during the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third Dynasty. Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the entire History of ancient Egypt, Pharaonic period. It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necropolis
A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distance from a city, as opposed to tombs within cities, which were common in various places and periods of history. They are different from grave fields, which did not have structures or markers above the ground. While the word is most commonly used for ancient sites, the name was revived in the early 19th century and applied to planned city cemeteries, such as the Glasgow Necropolis. In the ancient world Egypt Ancient Egypt is noted for multiple necropoleis and they are major archaeological sites for Egyptology.. Ancient Egyptian funerary practices and beliefs about the afterlife led to the construction of several extensive necropoleis to secure and provision the dead in the hereafter. Probably the best-known one is the Giza Necropolis. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anatidae
The Anatidae are the biological family (biology), family of water birds that includes ducks, goose, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for aquatic locomotion, swimming, floating on the water surface, and, in some cases, diving in at least shallow water. The family contains around 174 species in 43 genus, genera (the magpie goose is no longer considered to be part of the Anatidae and is now placed in its own family, Anseranatidae). They are generally herbivorous and are monogamy in animals, monogamous breeders. A number of species undertake bird migration, annual migrations. A few species have been domesticated for agriculture, and many others are hunted for food and recreation. Five species have become extinct since 1600, and many more are threatened with extinction. Description and ecology The ducks, geese, and swans are small- to large-sized birds with a broad and elo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
