How many different types of foie gras are there

A.� Duck foie gras is more widely available than goose and is more rustic and robust.

Goose foie gras is creamier and lighter in texture.

Raw foie gras is raw lobes (livers) of foie gras, usually supplied vacuum-packed.

Cooked foie gras (mi-cuit or cuit) is available in tins, jars or vacuum-packed. The difference is that mi-cuit needs to be kept chilled for a limited period, cuit can be stored for much longer packed in jars or cans. The latter is sometimes described as "en conserve".

�Pate de foie gras contains a minimum of 50 per cent foie gras surrounded by forecemeat. (In France, this sometimes means the whole foie gras is encased in pastry).

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Q.� How much does it cost

A.� Prices vary widely, but as a guide, Harrod's range from �12.95 for 75g of duck foie gras to �89.95 for 420g goose foie gras with truffles.

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Q.� What exactly is it

A.� Foie gras, literally "fat liver", is produced by giving ducks and geese so much food that their livers expand enormously. The process of fattening the birds, "le gavage",�dates back to the Egyptians, who noted how migratory birds naturally fed themselves before long journeys. Later, the Roman stuffed their geese with figs. In the south-west France and Alsace, foie gras was once produced only during the winter months when the birds were fed with maize left over from the autumn harvest: foie gras in France is still synonymous with Christmas. Duck foie gras is a relatively new phenomenon - only about 30 years old.

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Q.� Is it cruel

A.� A Frenchman once described foie gras, "the supreme fruit of gastronomy", yet to others it is "one of the cruellest forms of food produced in the world today". Retail sales rise by about 50 per cent at Christmas, and it is a regular on many restaurant menus. Sidney Smith, an 18th century clergyman, once declared that heaven was eating pate de fois gras to the sound of trumpets.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals estimates that 80 per cent of ducks are kept in individual cages in French factory farms. Many are force-fed by penumatic pumps that inject up to a kilogram and a half of maize and a fat in seconds, several times a day for up to three weeks.� An EU report into the production methods has concluded�that "force-feeding as currently practised is detrimental to the welfare of the birds". In June 1999, a committee of the Council of Europe agreed to phase out the use of individual cages.

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By Katharine MacColl