The first association with French cuisine is such an exotic dish as frog legs. Along with the French, they are eaten by the Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, Greeks (in the northwest of the country), residents of the Caribbean and the midwestern part of the southern United States. In Vietnam, frog legs are commercially produced and the business is in high demand. The paws are frozen, packed in bags and exported to different regions.
How to cook frog legs
For food, only the hind limbs (upper part) are taken. By analogy with the wings of a turkey or chicken, they have one bone. Gourmets say that the taste of "frog meat" is similar to the taste of chicken. The same applies to the texture, reminiscent of chicken wings.
The frog family is very diverse, and not every specimen is suitable for eating. As a rule, frogs suitable for cooking are specially grown and fattened, then their thighs are thicker and more fleshy. Before cooking, the lower half of the legs are removed, and the rest is washed and dried.
French chefs make fricassee from frog legs, which has a delicate taste, stuffed with aromatic herbs or fried (both batter and deep fat are suitable). Batter is usually made from wheat flour, breadcrumbs with spices are used for breading. If the paws are deep-fried, then olive oil is used, where garlic is added.
Frog meat is served in much the same way as chicken wings - along with spicy sauces. The classic French based on herbs and spices are especially good. And if you put out the frog meat in butter, then it will be much more tender and juicier.
Before cooking, paws are often pre-marinated in wine, lemon juice, or soaked in milk. The Chinese love stewed or fried frog meat with unobtrusive spices. Often, the bones are removed from the paws, often put directly into the porridge, which is called “zhou”.
The composition and benefits of frog legs
Frogs will not live in ponds with dirty water. It is for this reason that their meat is recognized as environmentally friendly. Not so long ago, scientists became aware that the body of frogs produces certain substances that are suitable for the prevention and treatment of cancer (including malignant tumors in the brain).
Frog is rich in iron, calcium, vitamins C, E and D.
As for the calorie content of this exotic product, it is 73 kcal. 100 grams of paws contain 16.4 g of protein, 0.3 g of fat and 0 g of carbohydrates.
Ruchkina N.
("HiZh", 2016, No. 5)
Frog legs, delicate in taste, unusual in appearance and very expensive, are considered a delicacy. However, more and more people on Earth who have tried them, and places where they are bred, and for residents of developing countries in Asia and the Caribbean, frog legs are everyday food. Every year, mankind consumes tens of thousands of tons of frog meat, and there is no reason to consider it exotic.
Is it a French delicacy? In 2013, British archaeologists unearthed traces of a feast in Wiltshire, dated to 7596-6250 BC. Among the remains of game and fish, they found a boiled frog leg. This event had a great resonance in the UK: it turns out that the inhabitants of the British Isles tasted the frog legs before the French and took away the palm from them in their famous frog breeding! The experts did not consider the possibility of an amphibian accidentally getting into the boiler, but at the Wiltshire feast a scene similar to that described by Mikhail Sholokhov in the novel “Virgin Soil Upturned” could have played out: “Lubishkin pulled out a piece of meat, carried it to his mouth, but suddenly recoiled and turned pale . — What is this? he asked Shchukar ominously, picking up a piece of boiled white meat with his fingertips... A fragile bone dangled in Lyubishkin's trembling hand, feathered at the end with membranes and tiny claws... "Brothers!" Akim Beskhlebnov exclaimed in shock. “And we ate a frog!”
More significant is the archaeological evidence of Czech scientists who discovered 900 frog legs in the ruins of an old fortress near Prague. The age of the find is 5000 years. The first written data on the inclusion of frogs in the diet of Europeans date back to the 12th century. They began to be eaten by Catholic monks, mainly French, instead of meat, which is forbidden on fast days. Frogs are officially equated with fish because they are cold-blooded. The initiative of the monks was picked up by the peasants. The Hundred Years War between England and France (1337-1453) contributed to the promotion of the new product. The time was hungry, and frogs swarmed in the ponds and lakes. Over time, the French turned pasture into a delicacy. Alexandre Dumas père mentioned in his "Great Culinary Dictionary" of an Auvergne native named Simon who made his fortune on frogs. He lived in Paris at the beginning of the 17th century, amphibians were sent to him from his native places, which Simon fattened and sold to the best Parisian restaurants. It is not surprising that the French gained fame as paddling pools.
Frogs are also eaten in other European countries: Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Croatia. Even among the arrogant English, they gained popularity, although not for long. The frog legs owe this to the famous French culinary specialist Auguste Escoffier, who prepared them in 1908 for a reception in honor of the Prince of Wales at the Savoy Hotel in London. Amphibian legs boiled in a broth with fragrant herbs, seasoned with paprika sauce, garnished with tarragon leaves and covered with chicken jelly, Escoffier called the “thighs of the nymph Aurora”. True, these thighs did not belong to French frogs, but to imported, Asian ones.
Frog legs are a traditional Chinese dish and have been known in South China since at least the 1st century AD. In Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam and other Asian countries, this is a familiar food. In the Western Hemisphere, they were actively consumed by the Aztecs, and are now eaten in the Caribbean and the southern United States. Frog legs are especially popular in Louisiana, a former French colony.
Whose legs are these? At present, 15-20 species of amphibians satisfy human food requirements. Europeans have long preferred green frogs, which Carl Linnaeus described in 1758 under the name Rana esculenta(edible frog). Over time, taxonomists found out that this name combines two species belonging to the genus Pelophylax: pond P. lessonae and larger lake P. ridibundus, as well as a prolific hybrid of pond and lake frogs - an edible frog P. esculenta. At the group Pelophylax rather complex genetics of reproduction, which we will not analyze now, as not related to cooking.
Lake frogs are the largest in Europe, the body length, measured from the tip of the muzzle to the anus, reaches 12 cm in males and 17 in females; pond frogs are smaller, edible hybrids have intermediate sizes: females up to 9 cm in length, males up to 11 cm.
In Asia they eat the Chinese edible frog Hoplobatrachus rugulosus aka East Asian bullfrog. This is a large amphibian up to 12 cm long. Chinese farms also breed a pig frog Lithobates grylio(14 cm), imported from America.
The Western Hemisphere has its own bullfrog L.catesbeianus, it grows up to 15 cm, and other champions up to 20 cm, and weighs up to 800 g. Its homeland is the east of North America, but this species has penetrated many parts of North, Central and South America, as well as Western Europe and Asia.
The temperate and subtropical zone of America is inhabited by 14 edible species, united in the group of leopard frogs, they also belong to the genus Lithobates. Dominican rock frog Leptodactylus fallax eaten on some islands in the Caribbean.
Breeding or catching? Frogs, as economically important animals, should be bred on farms, and frog farms appear in many countries, including Belarus and Ukraine. However, growing them is not easy. Many species are reluctant to consume artificial food, it is difficult to feed them with live prey. Amphibians have to be protected from predators, protected from diseases, ensured that there is no cannibalism, and ensure high quality water. Many countries prefer to catch wild frogs - according to the UN, they are eaten by a billion annually, it is not surprising that their numbers have declined.
In France, the extraction of frogs has been prohibited since 1980, only in some areas limited fishing for one's own pleasure is allowed, and the prey must be eaten on the spot. Almost all frogs for culinary purposes come to Europe from Indonesia. This country, along with China, has become the largest exporter of frogs, selling more than 5,000 tons annually, most of which are wild-caught and not farm-raised. How much Indonesians consume in the domestic market is unknown, according to various sources, 2-7 times more than they export.
Scientists are concerned about the lack of accurate data on how many frogs are caught and what species they belong to. In combination with other anthropogenic factors, water pollution and a reduction in the area of water bodies, mass fishing can bring many amphibians to the brink of extinction. True, not everywhere. In the western United States, bullfrogs are hunted at night from canoes or punts, blinded by bright lights and speared, and then picnicked. The authorities encourage this fun: it is useful to control the number of the invasive species.
What is useful frog meat? Frog meat in taste and texture resembles a cross between fish and chicken, that is, it has its own unique taste. It contains 15-16% protein, only 0.3% fat, mostly unsaturated, and almost no cholesterol. Frog meat contains vitamins A, C, D, B 6 and B 12, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, especially potassium. In 100 g of frog meat there are only 75 kcal - a dietary product!
How are frog legs eaten? Frog legs are eaten without the skin, and are usually sold that way. There are 8-12 legs in one kilogram, the portion is two large frog legs or four small ones.
There are dozens of recipes for making frog legs, but most often they are fried: in oil and on the grill, breaded and battered, they are cooked from them to sauté (they are fried by tossing them in a pan, which makes them turn over). Different countries use different oils, spices and sauces. In France, Provencal legs (de grenouilles à la provencale) with garlic and parsley and chicken legs (de grenouille à la poulette) with cream and eggs are popular.
Frog legs can be pre-marinated, and sweet pickles are often used in Asia. Paws are added to pies and omelettes, boiled and stewed, served with mushrooms, rice, vegetables and fruits. In Indonesia, they are made into soup with garlic, ginger and fermented soybeans.
Temptation for Sobakevich. Mikhail Semenovich Sobakevich said that he would not take a frog in his mouth, even if he covered it with sugar. Let's try to seduce him with caramelized frog legs. Mix three tablespoons of soy sauce and the same amount of honey, chopped garlic clove and a pinch of ginger. In this marinade, hold for an hour 4-6 frog legs, then pour it into a saucepan, and salt, pepper and roll the legs in corn starch.
In a large frying pan, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil (the original recipe calls for canola oil, an edible low-acid rapeseed oil). Fry the legs for two minutes on each side, they should become golden and crispy. In the meantime, bring the marinade in a saucepan to a boil, put the fried legs there and cook for three minutes. Serve this dish topped with finely chopped green onions.
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26.07.2017
Everyone knows that frog legs are considered a gourmet delicacy in France, and many fans of this dish around the world idolize their refined and delicate taste, which slightly resembles chicken.
Frog dishes adorn the menus of the most famous and respectable restaurants in Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, Great Britain, Holland and many other European countries.
Frogs are also highly valued in countries such as China, Vietnam, Laos, where they are bred on special farms, since frog meat is valued much higher than veal and costs an order of magnitude more expensive. In the East, no one will be surprised by the assortment of a supermarket, where, next to the hams of various animals and birds, frozen paws of these amphibians will lie.
In Peru, they manage to add frog meat even to chocolate and cookies, after drying and grinding it. It is believed that such an unusual delicacy cures anemia and helps women with infertility.
Fried frog legs have also appeared in the menus of many Ukrainian cafes and restaurants (as a rule, they prefer to sell French or exotic cuisine). True, not every frog goes into food, but only large green ones, which are the edible species.
It is noteworthy that, in terms of their biological value, in many countries of the world, frog legs are equated with pike and even sturgeon caviar.
frog species
In the reservoirs of Ukraine, there are only five varieties of frogs: grass ( lat. Rana temporaria), moor ( lat. Rana arvalis), fast ( lat. Rana dalmatina), pond ( lat. Rana lessonae) and lake ( lat. Rana ridibunda). The first three species have a brown and brown body color, and the last two species are combined by scientists into a group of “green frogs”, which, when crossed, give the very famous edible species.
For the first time, a large green frog, as a separate species, was described back in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It was he who gave her a name (lat. Rana esculenta), which translates as "edible frog." This hybrid species is widely represented in the reservoirs of Transcarpathia and lives in the Danube Delta.
In the days of the Soviet Union, these amphibians were massively exported to France, since their value in foreign currency was three times (!) Higher than the price of expensive fish species. Every year, up to eighty tons of this first-class product were exported from the country.
At present, due to the spread of diseases and massive epidemics of birds, pigs and cattle, the demand for frog meat has increased dramatically. True, in Ukraine it still remains quite low, since the use of a frog seems unusual and unnatural to many residents of the country, therefore, for today, the most promising direction is the cultivation of amphibians for export.
Description of the edible frog
When creating optimal conditions for growth and development, individual specimens of frogs can gain weight up to one and a half (!) Kilograms, but on average their weight does not exceed one kilogram.
An amphibian reaches puberty at the age of three years and one female is able to lay up to fifteen thousand eggs during the year.
Frog rearing
Growing an edible species of frogs for commercial purposes is simple and technologically resembles the breeding of ordinary pond fish (the fattening period to obtain a marketable species is from twelve to twenty months).
To start, you need frog caviar, which can be collected in a pond during spawning, and after three or four years, the amphibian population will increase tenfold.
It is desirable to grow caviar in a closed pond with clean running water, since open-type ponds significantly increase the mortality rate of the population. The incubation room should be warm (it is necessary to maintain the temperature at least twelve degrees Celsius), bright and clean. It is advisable to change the water once every three or four days, while first passing it through the filter (or letting it settle), since highly chlorinated water can kill the entire population of frogs.
You also need to pay attention to the ground. An ideal basis for an incubation pond is a mixture of earth, peat, crushed sphagnum (peat bog moss), expanded clay or charcoal (in a ratio of 3:1:1:1). Such soil will not turn sour, and harm the skin of tadpoles and young frogs.
After the mass hatching of tadpoles (which grow for about
four months), they are intensively fattened until they turn into young frogs, and then they are moved to an open pond.
For subsequent reproduction, it is desirable to leave the largest and healthiest individuals, thus forming a strong breeding stock of frogs.
Diet
The diet of frogs (at all stages of development) is quite diverse. The food is based on small invertebrates (bloodworms, worms, caterpillars), crustaceans and insects (mosquitoes, flies, beetles). All swimming, jumping, crawling and flying small animals that a frog can swallow at one time are used.
To exclude rickets, young frogs need to add vitamins to the feed.
Upon reaching the marketable weight, the frog is slaughtered with a mallet, the skin is removed, the legs are separated, packed and frozen. This is how they are implemented.
The price of frog legs in Europe ranges from four to six dollars, and live amphibians go for one to four dollars per kilogram (which is about sixty adults).
Breeders need to remember that catching an adult frog is not easy, because it can cover a distance of three (!) Meters from one jump, and at the same time it can knock down even an adult. This "animal" is able to swallow a mouse, small snake or duckling.
However, the same French people prefer to use frogs of much more modest sizes (weighing about one hundred grams).
Preparing delicious frog legs is quite simple. To begin with, they are kept in cold water with lemon juice (like asparagus), and then fried in vegetable oil in breadcrumbs or batter. The dish turns out to be crispy, fragrant, tender, and small bones are not a hindrance for enjoyment.
Frog legs is a product that is considered national for France. Not all amphibians can be consumed, so it is better not to use those that live in the nearest reservoir for food. In general, the French call this product frog legs, since it is the upper part of the legs that is eaten. The product contains only one bone, which is quite difficult to get rid of. Many say that the taste of this delicacy is similar to chicken. The frogs that will be eaten are grown on special farms, where all the necessary conditions are created.
How to choose and store?
One interesting fact that allows you to determine when the animal was killed. It has been proven that if you sprinkle salt on an already decapitated carcass, then the paws of a fresh product will begin to twitch. Such a "miracle" is associated with the reaction of nerve tissues. It is very difficult to find such fresh paws, so the store must be guided by other rules:
- First, pay attention to the packaging. It should be whole, without a lot of ice or liquid.
- High-quality paws should have a light pink color (see photo). The presence of a gray or dark shade is a sign of damage, which means that you should refuse to buy. If the paws are faded, then they are most likely already stitched.
It is not recommended to store frog legs for a long time, the maximum period is several hours. The product should be put in a glass or vacuum container and put in the refrigerator. If you will use the product immediately, then send it to the freezer. In this case, the paws will remain fresh for 8 months. Re-freezing the paws is not recommended.
Beneficial features
The benefit of frog legs is that the product is considered environmentally friendly, so it has a positive effect on the work of the whole organism. With regular consumption of paw-based dishes, you can significantly reduce the risk of cancer and brain problems. The skin of the paws contains a substance that has a positive effect on the activity of the cardiovascular system. Dishes prepared on their basis have a disinfectant and bactericidal effect. Frog legs help reduce the appearance of edema.
It is also worth mentioning that this product has a low calorie content, so it can be safely included in the diet menu. Frog legs are also characterized by a low content of cholesterol. The composition of the product includes phosphorus, which is important for the restoration of bone tissue. They contain paws and selenium, which helps reduce inflammation in the body.
Use in cooking
Frog legs are a real delicacy, which is especially loved by the French. They can be boiled, stewed, baked or fried. In France, it is customary to cook frog legs without the use of any additives, but already served with various sauces that will help to reveal the taste of the product more fully. As with other meat products, you can make soup from frog legs.
Secrets of cooking frog legs at home
To make frog legs tasty and retain the maximum amount of nutrients, follow these recommendations:
Harm of frog legs and contraindications
Frog legs can harm people who have an individual intolerance to the product. It is worth giving up the delicacy with exacerbation of problems with the intestines and digestive system.
When it comes to French cuisine, the first thing that comes to mind is frog legs. In addition to France, they are used in many other countries: the Caribbean, Portugal, northwestern Greece, Italy, Spain and the midwest of the southern regions of the United States. The production of frog legs on a commercial basis is widespread in Vietnam. They are frozen, packaged and exported all over the world.
Cooking methods
Only the upper part of the hind legs is eaten, which has one bone - the same bone is present in a chicken or turkey in the wings. The frog legs taste like chicken, and the texture is like chicken wings.
Not all representatives of the Frog family are used for food, and some are not edible at all. For culinary purposes, frogs are raised and fattened to have thick and fleshy legs. Before cooking, the frog legs must be washed and dried, the lower part of the leg should be cut off.
In French cuisine, it is customary to cook tender fricassee from paws, fried in batter and deep-fried, or stuffed with fragrant herbs. As a batter, it is best to use wheat flour dough, and breading - in breadcrumbs mixed with spices. For deep frying, you should choose olive oil with the addition of garlic.
The methods of preparing and serving "frog meat" are similar to the preparation of chicken wings. So, by analogy, frog legs can be fried in batter and served with spicy sauces. Any traditional French sauce based on herbs and spices will work well with paws. If you want to cook a more tender dish, you can stew the paws in a creamy sauce: this way they will retain their juiciness. Often, before cooking, frog legs are soaked in various marinades: here you can use wine, lemon juice, milk. In Chinese cuisine, paws are eaten fried or stewed with light spices. They are usually served boneless and sometimes in a porridge called zhou.
Beneficial features
It is known that frogs live only in clean water bodies, so their meat is considered environmentally friendly. In addition, scientists have recently found that some substances produced by the body of frogs serve to prevent cancer and can be used in the treatment of malignant brain tumors.
Frog legs contain a significant amount of vitamins C, E and D, calcium, and iron.
Interesting Facts
The healing properties of amphibian venom are known. Powder from dried toad skins is used in China and Japan for dropsy, to improve cardiac activity, for toothache and bleeding gums.
In the rainforests of South America, a tree frog was discovered that secretes substances that are 200 times more effective than morphine.
In Russia, there used to be a custom to put a frog in a pot with milk so that it would not turn sour. As it turned out, our ancestors were right - frog mucus has bactericidal properties.
Calorie and nutritional value of frog legs
frog legs calories - 73 kcal.
Nutritional value of frog legs: proteins - 16.4 g, fats - 0.3 g, carbohydrates - 0 g