confit

Confit ( , ; ) (from the French word , 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 the process of cooking food in fat, whether it be grease or oil, at a lower temperature compared 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 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.

Confit ( , ; ) (from the French word , 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 the process of cooking food in fat, whether it be grease or oil, at a lower temperature compared 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 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. ==Etymology== The word comes from the French verb confire (to preserve), which in turn comes from the Latin 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 is 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 confits since the time and energy involved in producing large fruit confits makes them quite expensive. ==Meat confit== Confit of goose (confit d'oie) or duck (confit de canard) is 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, Dordogne, and other areas) and is used in dishes such as cassoulet. 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. ==Condiment confit== Italian cooking uses several "condiment confits", such as onion confit, chili confit, and garlic confit. ==See also== Maceration (food) Confit byaldi Fruit preserves Philippine adobo Potted meat Rendang ==Further reading== Larousse gastronomique: the encyclopedia of food, wine & cookery, Ed. Charlotte Turgeon and Nina Froud. New York: Crown Publishers, 1961. The English translation of the 1938 edition. . James, Kenneth. Escoffier: The King of Chefs. Hambledon and London: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

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