Confit (, ) (from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

word '' confire'', literally "to preserve") is any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period as a method of preservation. Confit, as a cooking term, describes when food is cooked in grease, oil, or sugar water (syrup), at a lower temperature, as opposed to deep frying. While deep frying typically takes place at temperatures of , confit preparations are done at a much lower temperature, such as an oil temperature of around , or sometimes even cooler. The term is usually used in modern cuisine to mean long, slow cooking in oil or fat at low temperatures, many having no element of preservation, such as in dishes like confit potatoes. For meat, this method requires the meat to be salted as part of the preservation process. After salting and cooking in fat, confit can last for several months or years when sealed and stored in a cool, dark place. Confit is a specialty of southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

Etymology

The word comes from the French verb ''confire'' (to preserve), which in turn comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word (''conficere''), meaning "to do, to produce, to make, to prepare." The French verb was first applied in medieval times to fruits cooked and preserved in sugar.

Fruit confit

Fruit confit are candied fruit (whole fruit, or pieces thereof) preserved in sugar. The fruit must be fully infused with sugar to its core; larger fruit takes considerably longer than smaller ones to candy. Thus, while small fruit such as cherries are ''confits'' whole, it is quite rare to see whole large fruit, such as

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". The ...

''confits'' since the time and energy involved in producing large ''fruit confits'' makes them quite expensive.

Meat confit

Confit of

goose A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...

(''confit d'oie'') and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a fo ...

('' confit de canard'') are usually prepared from the legs of the bird. The meat is salted and seasoned with herbs and slowly cooked submerged in its own rendered fat (never to exceed ), in which it is then preserved by allowing it to cool and storing it in the fat. Turkey and pork may be treated in the same manner. Meat confit is a specialty of the southwest of France (

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...

, etc.) and is used in dishes such as

cassoulet Cassoulet (, also , ; ; from Occitan and cognates with Spanish: ''cazoleta'' and Catalan: ''cassolet'') is a rich, slow-cooked stew containing meat (typically pork sausages, goose, duck and sometimes mutton), pork skin () and white beans ( ...

. Confit preparations originated as a means of preserving meat without refrigeration. In a restaurant context, confit is usually served after further preparation. Whole confit leg is baked to crisp the skin or added to a casserole-type dish. Confit duck leg is used to make rillettes.

History

The traditional meat for confit includes waterfowl such as goose, duck, and pork. Duck gizzards are also commonly cooked in the confit method. Varying forms of this delicacy thrive throughout southern France. "Confit country" is the area of Occitan France, where goose fat is used for cooking, as opposed to olive oil, which is used in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border ...

, where olives were plentiful and thus cheap. Confit country is divided roughly into regions where one type of meat predominates the confit preparations. Goose confit is associated with the

Béarn The Béarn (; ; oc, Bearn or ''Biarn''; eu, Bearno or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three B ...

and Basque regions with their classic specialties of

and garbure, hearty and earthy dishes of confit and beans. Saintonge and Brantôme feature duck confit, often with potatoes and

truffle A truffle is the Sporocarp (veggie), fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber (fungus), Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truf ...

s. Non-waterfowl meats are frequently treated to the confit process but are not classically considered true confits. The French refer only to duck, and goose confits as true confits; other meats poached in duck or goose fat are considered ''en confit'' ("in confit"). For example, chicken cooked in goose fat is called ''poulet en confit''.Plummer, Paul. ''Sensual Preservation: The Art of Confit''. Pork is often confit and shredded to create rillettes.

Condiment confit

Italian cooking uses several "condiment confits," such as onion confit, chili confit, and garlic confit.

References

External links

* {{Food preservation Charcuterie Cooking techniques Culinary terminology Food preservation French cuisine Garde manger Jams and jellies Occitan cuisine