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Frog legs (French:Cuisses de grenouille) are the muscularhindlimbs offrogs that are consumed asfood byhumans in somecuisines. Frog legs are rich inprotein,omega-3 fatty acids,vitamin A, andpotassium.[1] They are often said totaste like chicken[2] because of the mild flavor, with a texture most similar tochicken wings.[3] The taste and texture of frog meat are approximately between chicken and fish.[4] Frog muscles do not resolverigor mortis as quickly asskeletal muscles fromwarm-blooded animals (chicken, for example) do, so heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch.
InFrench cuisine, they are considered a nationaldelicacy.[5][6] Other parts of the world that eat frog legs includeSingapore,Southern China,Cambodia,Vietnam,Thailand,Indonesia,Northeast India,Korea,Northern Italy, theAlentejo region ofPortugal,Spain,Albania,Slovenia,Romania,Bulgaria, NorthwesternGreece,Odesa Oblast ofUkraine,South Africa, and theSouthern regions of theUnited States.[citation needed]
As of 2014, the world's largest exporter of edible frogs isIndonesia, followed byChina.[needs update?] InBrazil,Mexico, and theCaribbean, many frogs are still caught wild.Edible frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, including Vietnam. Ethical concerns have been raised about the trade due to minimal transparency or regulation over supply chains, disruption of ecosystems, and inhumane treatment during slaughter.[7]
Frog legs, orcuisses de grenouille as it is known inFrance, are a traditional dish particularly found in the region of theDombes (département ofAin). Eaten for over a thousand years, they have been part of the national diet of France.[6] Roughly 4,000 tonnes of frog legs are consumed every year in France.[8]
In culinary environment, frogs are known inChinese astiánjī (Chinese:田鸡, literally 'field chicken'). Frog legs (traditional Chinese:田雞腿;simplified Chinese:田鸡腿;pinyin:Tiánjī tuǐ) are also eaten in China, but are generally restricted to Southern Chinese cuisine traditions such asCantonese andSichuan cuisine.Bullfrogs andpig frogs are farmed on a large scale in some areas of China, such asSichuan.[9]
InChinese cuisine, frog legs are usuallystir-fried and mixed with light spices, stewed,fried, or made intocongee.
InIndonesian cuisine, frog-leg soup is known asswikee orswike, most probably brought by theChinese community in Indonesia and popular inChinese Indonesian cuisine.[10]Swikee is mainly frog-leg soup with a strong taste of garlic, gingers, and fermented soya beans (tauco), accompanied by celery or parsley leaves.Swikee is a typical dish fromPurwodadi, Grobogan inCentral Java province. Frog legs are also fried in margarine andsweet soy sauce or tomato sauce, battered and deep fried, or grilled. Frog eggs are also served in banana leaves (pepes telur kodok). The dried and crispy fried frog skin is also consumed askrupuk crackers; the taste is similar to fried fish skin.[11]
Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of frog meat, exporting more than 5,000 tonnes of frog meat each year, mostly to France,Belgium, andLuxembourg.[12] Most of the supply of frog legs in Western Europe originates from frog farms in Indonesia; however, there is concern that frog legs from Indonesia are poached from wild populations, which may endanger wild amphibians.[12]
Frogs are a common food in the northern part ofItaly, especially throughoutPiemonte andLombardy and within these two regions especially in the Vercelli area in Piemonte and in the Pavia and Lomellina areas in Lombardy. In these places, frogs are part of the ancient culinary tradition and a typicalstaple food. The consumption of frogs is mainly related to the availability of animals due to the rural activities and typical agriculture in these places.[13]
The large presence of frogs is mainly due to the agriculture typical of these areas which have always been known for theirrice. The large cultivation of rice means that there is a large presence of artificial water channels used to flood rice fields during the growing season, which makes a perfect habitat for frogs. During the growth period when fields stay flooded, and even more during the draining of the fields, farmers and others often gather to go frog hunting armed with nets. Some towns even organize collective hunting sessions and games.[citation needed]
Frogs have gained much culinary relevance in these areas, with many rural towns hosting food festivals calledsagre – centered on frogs – where frogs are prepared in various ways. They typically take place during the rice-harvesting periods. With frog consumption closely connected to rice production and being the native land of the Italian dishrisotto, one of the most common dishes is frog risotto,risotto alle rane. Other local frog dishes include them being dipped in egg batter, breadcrumbed and then fried, or in soups and stews.
Frog legs (žabji kraki) are a popular dish inSlovenian cuisine, especially in areas of eastern Slovenia (Prekmurje and north-easternStyria).[citation needed] They are also quite popular in the country's capital,Ljubljana, and have been considered the "basis of the traditional city cuisine of Ljubljana".[14][15] Up to modern times, they have been traditionally consideredLenten food and were especially popular in spring.[14] They are also a popular traditional dish in theVipava Valley in western Slovenia and are served in numerous restaurants in theSlovenian Littoral.[15]
Frog legs are popular in some parts ofCroatia, especially in theGorski Kotar region in the northwest of the country. They are considered a specialty in theLokve municipality, where they are served cooked, fried, or in a stew, sometimes withpolenta on the side.[citation needed]
In the western part of Spain,Extremadura andCastilla y Leon, frog legs are served deep-fried. They are a delicacy among its citizens. Frog legs also have great culinary value on the sides of theEbro.[citation needed]
In Albania, frog legs are regarded as a delicacy. Frogs are mostly collected from the wild.[16]
In Greece, frog legs are particularly associated with the city ofIoannina and its adjacent lakePamvotida.[citation needed]
The capture of frog legs is usually carried out in states such asBaja California,Chihuahua,Jalisco,Sonora,Tamaulipas,Veracruz,Zacatecas, and much of theCentral Plateau of Mexico. It occurs almost year-round and the haunches are consumed fried, in soups, broths, or stews such as haunches ingreen sauce.[17]
In Romania, edible frogs are known aspui de baltă ('pond chicken'). The legs are eaten breaded and fried.[18]
Fried frog legs are a specialty of the small city ofVylkove inOdesa Oblast, Ukraine,[19] but they have also gained popularity inOdesa.
Frog legs are eaten in parts of the Southern United States, particularly in theDeep South and Gulf states where French influence is more prominent, includingSouth Carolina,Georgia,Florida,Alabama,Mississippi, andLouisiana. The legs are almost always served battered and fried. TheFellsmere Frog Leg Festival in Florida celebrates the dish every January.[20] They are also eaten in Eastern states, but not as commonly. Frog legs are a popular dish inCleveland, Ohio, especially in itsLittle Italy andAsiatown neighborhoods.[citation needed] The most common kinds of frogs eaten arebullfrogs andleopard frogs, as these are abundant in most of the country, including the South. Although the consumption of wild native frogs is generally discouraged, the harvest and cooking of invasive bullfrogs, especially in the Western US, has been encouraged as a form of control and to promote local cuisine.[21]
Some methods of cooking include egg-/cracker-crumb breading or battered. They are either fried or grilled. Deep-fried frog legs can also be found atfairs.
Raccoons,possums,partridges,prairie hens, and frogs were among the fareMark Twain recorded as part of American cuisine.[22][23][24][25]
Mountain chickens (Leptodactylus fallax) are frogs named for their habitat and flavor which are eaten inMontserrat andDominica. The frogs are now critically endangered.[26]
In 2013, archaeologists digging atBlick Mead,Wiltshire found the remains of a cooked frog leg which was served as part of a feast inc. 7,000 BC during theMesolithic era.[27] However, in the modern era frog legs are widely regarded as "repellent" in Britain.[28] "Frog" has been used as ananti-French slur in the English-speaking world since the late 18th century.[29] During the late 19th century, French restaurateurAuguste Escoffier tried to rename them "nymphs" in a vain attempt to sell them to London diners.[28] In recent decades, several British celebrity chefs have introduced frog leg dishes to their menus, notablyHeston Blumenthal, whose recipes have included frogblancmange.[30]
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InAustralia andNew Zealand, frogs are more exotic, usually eaten at Asian or French restaurants and mainly the hind legs are the priority. In Canada, they are a little more common, mainly in eastern and northeasternCanada.
Each year aboutUS$40 million worth of frog legs are traded internationally, with most countries in the world participating in this trade.[31] The world's top importers of frog legs are France, Belgium, and the United States, while the biggest international exporters are Indonesia and China.[31] While these figures do not account for domestic consumption, when production from frog farms is taken into account, it is conservatively estimated that humans consume up to 3.2 billion frogs for food around the world every year.[31]
Movement of live or unfrozen, unskinned amphibians is a potential way for deadly amphibian diseases such asBatrachochytrium dendrobatidis andRanavirus to be transported around the world, and despite recommendations on preventing disease spread from theWorld Organisation for Animal Health, which regulates the international spread ofepizootic diseases,[32] few countries have adopted these recommendations as law.
In Canada, the sale of fresh or frozen frog legs is illegal unless they are determined free from bacteria of the genusSalmonella, as per the official method MFO-10, Microbial Examination of Froglegs.[33]
Many environmentalists urge the restriction of frog consumption—especially those harvested from the wild—because amphibian populations are declining and frogs are an essential element of ecosystems. Conservationists warn that gastronomic demand for frogs is seriously depleting regional populations.[12] Frogs are sensitive toenvironmental changes,disease,habitat degradation, andpollution. Animal welfare advocates raise ethical concerns with harvest practices, as wild frogs are typically dismembered while alive and then left to die.[7]
As most of the frog production comes from wild harvesting rather than frog farms, over-exploitation in the frog exporting countries like Indonesia, Turkey and Albania has caused a rapid decrease in frog population, and endangered some species. Also, due to this intense harvesting the increase in the usage of pesticides have been observed.[34]
The exception to this is where the American bullfrog is not native and has been introduced. In these ecosystems, American bullfrogs can decimate local amphibian populations, upset ecosystem balance, and have negative impacts on other species of wildlife as well.
A 2011 paper raised animal welfare concerns over methods such as live removal of legs and methods of hunting, recommending that countries of origin "establish humane standards to govern the capture, handling, packaging and export of live frogs and for thecapture,handling,killing, andprocessing of frogs used for food tominimize animal suffering".[35] This was corroborated by the authors of a 2022 paper, who called for the end of the common practice of cutting frog's legs with axes and scissors, without anesthesia.[36]
According toJewish dietary laws, allreptiles andamphibians are considered unclean animals. Therefore, frog legs are notkosher, and are forbidden to observant Jews inOrthodox Judaism. However, more liberal streams of Judaism such asReform do not prohibit the eating of non-kosher animals. Traditional Judaism also includes universal laws that define which activities are considered sinful even for non-Jews according to Jewish law, known as theNoahide laws. Under this rubric, there is a prohibition against eating limbs taken from live animals, known aseiver min hachai; thus, Jewish law would consider it to be sinful for any person to eat frogs legs that were removed from live frogs. This is also considered to be under the prohibition of cruelty to animals, which liberal Jewish streams accept as forbidden just as traditional Judaism considers to be forbidden.[citation needed]
Frog meat is considered asharaam (non-halal) according to someIslamic dietary laws. Those who consider itharaam cite thehadith that prohibits the killing of frogs, together with ants, bees, and seabirds. Thisharaam status has caused controversy inDemak, Indonesia, where the authorities urged the (frog leg soup) restaurant owners not to associateswikee with Demak town, since it would tarnish Demak's image as the first Islamic city/town in Java, and also opposed by its inhabitants that mainly follow the Shafi'i school, which forbids the consumption of frogs.[37] The Islamicmadhhab (school) ofShafi'i,Hanafi andHanbali strictly forbids the consumption of frogs, but in theMaliki school, opinions vary between the consumption of all frogs being halal, to only the green frog commonly found in rice fields being halal,[38] while other species, especially those with blistered skin,[clarification needed] are considered to be unclean.
Inmedieval andearly modern Europe, frogs were not classified as meat and could therefore be eaten during the Christian fast ofLent, along with fish and bird flesh.Monks inLorraine were recorded as eating frogs during Lent in the 13th century.[39] The famous French chefGrimod de La Reynière wrote in the early 19th century that frogs were known asAlouettes de Carême (Lentenlarks).[40]
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