On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 350
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maizeproductionmadeiteconomicalto
force-feedfowlandgeneratethenecessary
fat.Intheageofcanningandrefrigeration,
confitsarestillmadeasaconvenient,longkeepingingredientthatlendsitsdistinctive
flavortosalads,stews,andsoups.
ThetraditionalFrenchconfitismadeby
saltingpiecesofmeatforaday,sometimes
alongwithherbsandspices,thendryingthem,
immersingtheminfat,andheatingvery
graduallyandgentlyforseveralhours.The
meat,oftenstillpinkorredinside(p.149),is
thendrained,placedinasterilizedcontainer
overanadditionalsprinklingofsalt,thefat
skimmedfromanyspoilage-pronemeat
juices,reheated,andthenpouredoverthe
meat.Sealedandstoredinacoolplace,the
confitkeepsforseveralmonths,andcanbe
reheatedperiodicallytoextenditsusefullife.
Thesmallbutrealriskthatbotulism
bacteriacouldgrowinthislow-oxygen
environmentisreducedbytheseconddoseof
salt,bystoragetemperaturesbelow40ºF/4ºC,
andbytheadditionofnitrateornitritetothe
salt.Mostmodernversionsoftheconfitare
eithercannedorarerefrigeratedforsafetyand
madetobeeatenwithinafewdays,sothey’re
saltedmildly,moreforflavorandcolorthan
forpreservation.
Theflavorofatraditionalconfitissaidto
improveoverthecourseofseveralmonths.
Thoughthecookingpresumablykillsbacteria
andinactivatesallenzymesinthemeat,there
willcertainlybebiochemicalchangesinthe
meatovertime,andthefatwilloxidize.A
slightrancidityispartoftheflavorofa
traditionalconfit.
FoodWords:Confit
These days the wordconfitisusedloosely
to describe just about anything cooked
slowly and gently to a rich, succulent
consistency: onions in olive oil, for
example, or shrimp cooked and stored
