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Confit (/kɒnfi/,French pronunciation:[kɔ̃fi];Occitan:Confisat) (from theFrench wordconfire, literally "to preserve")^[1][2] is any type of food that is cooked slowly^{[citation needed]} over a long period as a method ofpreservation.^[1]

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 160–230 °C (325–450 °F), confit preparations are done at a much lower temperature, such as an oil temperature of around 90 °C (200 °F), 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 southwesternFrance.^{[citation needed]}

The word comes from the French verbconfire (to preserve), which in turn comes from theLatin word (conficere), meaning "to do, to produce, to make, to prepare."^[3] The French verb was first applied in medieval times to fruits cooked and preserved in sugar.^{[citation needed]}

Fruit confit iscandied fruit (whole fruit, or pieces thereof) preserved insugar. The fruit must be fully infused^{[citation needed]} with sugar to its core; larger fruit takes considerably longer than smaller ones to candy. Thus, while small fruit such ascherries areconfits whole, it is quite rare to see whole large fruit, such asmelonconfits since the time and energy involved in producing largefruit confits makes them quite expensive.^{[citation needed]}

Confit ofgoose (confit d'oie) orduck (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 85 °C [185 °F]), in which it is then preserved by allowing it to cool and storing it in the fat. Turkey and pork^{[citation needed]} 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 ascassoulet. Confit preparations originated as a means of preserving meat without refrigeration.^{[citation needed]}

In a restaurant context, confit is usually served after further preparation.^{[citation needed]} Whole confit leg is baked to crisp the skin or added to a casserole-type dish. Confit duck leg is used to makerillettes.^{[citation needed]}

The traditional meat for confit includes waterfowl such as goose and duck, and pork. Duckgizzards are also commonly cooked in the confit method. Varying forms of this delicacy thrive throughout southern France.^{[citation needed]}

"Confit country" is the area ofOccitan France^{[citation needed]}, where goose fat is used for cooking, as opposed to olive oil, which is used inProvence, where olives were plentiful and thus cheap.^{[citation needed]}

Confit country is divided roughly into regions where one type of meat predominates the confit preparations. Goose confit is associated with theBéarn andBasque regions with their classic specialties of cassoulet andgarbure, hearty and earthy dishes of confit and beans.Saintonge andBrantôme feature duck confit, often with potatoes andtruffles.^{[citation needed]}

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 considereden confit ("in confit"). For example, chicken cooked in goose fat is calledpoulet en confit.^[4] Pork is often confit and shredded to createrillettes.^{[citation needed]}

Italian cooking uses several "condiment confits", such as onion confit, chili confit, and garlic confit.^{[citation needed]}

• Maceration (food)
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• Rendang

• 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.ISBN 0-517-50333-6.
• James, Kenneth.Escoffier: The King of Chefs. Hambledon and London: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

• The dictionary definition ofconfit at Wiktionary

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

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