Frog legs

This article is about frog legs as food. For anatomical information related to the legs of a frog, seeFrog § Feet and legs.

Frogs legs frying in a pan

Cuisses de grenouille served with slices of baguette in France

SwikeeKodok Oh,frog legs intaucosoup served with rice at aChinese Indonesianrestaurant inJakarta

Frog legs(French:Cuisses de grenouille) are consumed as food in some cuisines. InFrench cuisine,they are considered a national delicacy.Other parts of the world that eat frog legs includeSouthern China,Cambodia,Thailand,Indonesia,Korea,Northern Italy,theAlentejoregion ofPortugal,Spain,Albania,Slovenia,Romania,Bulgaria,NorthwesternGreece,Odesa OblastofUkraine,South Africa, and theSouthernregions of theUnited States.

As of 2014, the world's largest exporter of edible frogs is Indonesia, followed byChinaandTurkey.In Turkey,Brazil,Mexico,and theCaribbean,many frogs are still caught wild.Balıkesir,Adana,Edirne,andHatayare the popular Turkish cities for edible wild frogs.

Frog legs are rich inprotein,Omega -3 fatty acids,vitamin A,andpotassium.They are often said totaste like chickenbecause of their mild flavor, with a texture most similar tochicken wings.The taste and texture of frog meat are approximately between chicken and fish.Frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, including Vietnam. Frog muscles do not resolverigor mortisas quickly as muscles from warm-blooded animals (chicken, for example) do, so heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch.

In world cuisines

France

Preparation ofcuisses de grenouille

Frog legs, orcuisses de grenouilleas it is known inFrance,are a traditional dish particularly found in the region of theDombes(départementofAin). Eaten for over a thousand years, they have been part of the national diet of France.Roughly 4,000 tonnes of frog legs are consumed every year in France.

China

Frog, known asChinese:“Ếch đồng”;lit.'field chicken' when described in cuisine, legs are also eaten in China but are generally restricted to Southern Chinese cuisine traditions such asCantonese cuisineandSichuan cuisine.Bullfrogsandpig frogsare farmed on a large scale in some areas of China, such asSichuan.They are also known as (traditional Chinese:Ếch đồng chân;simplified Chinese:Ếch đồng chân;pinyin:Tiánjī tuǐ).

InChinese cuisine,frog legs are usuallystir-friedand mixed with light spices, stewed,fried,or made intocongee.

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  Chinese-style Singaporean herbal frog leg soup
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  Frogs being raised for food in a small plastic enclosure in a pond inHubei,China

Indonesia

Battered deep-fried frog legs with spicymayonnaise

InIndonesian cuisine,frog-leg soup is known asswikeeorswike,most probably brought by theChinese community in Indonesiaand popular inChinese Indonesian cuisine.Swikeeis mainly frog-leg soup with a strong taste of garlic, gingers, and fermented soya beans (tauco), accompanied by celery or parsley leaves.Swikeeis a typical dish from Purwodadi Grobogan, inCentral Javaprovince. Frog legs are also fried in margarine andsweet soy sauceor tomato sauce, battered and deep fried, or grilled. Frog eggs are also served in banana leaves (pepestelur kodok). The dried and crispy fried frog skin is also consumed askrupukcrackers; the taste is similar to fried fish skin.

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.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.

Italy

Breadcrumbed frog legs fromPiedmont

Frogs are a common food in the northern part ofItaly,especially throughoutPiemonteandLombardyand 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.

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.

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.

Slovenia

A Slovenian specialty, fried frog legs (žabji kraki) with lemon and tartar sauce

Frog legs (žabji kraki) are a popular dish inSlovenian cuisine,especially in areas of eastern Slovenia (Prekmurjeand north-easternStyria).They are also quite popular in the country's capital,Ljubljana,and have been considered the "basis of the traditional city cuisine of Ljubljana".Up to modern times, they have been traditionally consideredLentenfood and were especially popular in spring.They are also a popular traditional dish in theVipava Valleyin western Slovenia and are served in numerous restaurants in theSlovenian Littoral.

Croatia

Frog legs are popular in some parts ofCroatia,especially in theGorski Kotarregion in the northwest of the country. They are considered a specialty in theLokvemunicipality, where they are served cooked, fried, or in a stew, sometimes withpolentaon the side.

Spain

In the western part of Spain, Extremadura and Castilla 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.

Albania

Albanian fried frog leg dish served with lime

In Albania, frog legs are regarded as a delicacy. Frogs are mostly collected from the wild.

Greece

In Greece, frog legs are particularly associated with the city ofIoanninaand its adjacent lakePamvotida.

Mexico

The capture of frog legs is usually carried out in states such as Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Zacatecas, and much of the Central Plateau of Mexico. It occurs almost year-round and the haunches are consumed fried, in soups, broths, or stews such as haunches ingreen sauce.

Romania

In Romania, edible frogs are known aspui de baltă('pond chicken'). The legs are eaten breaded and fried.

Ukraine

Fried frog legs are a specialty of the small city ofVylkoveinOdesa Oblast,Ukraine,but they have also gained popularity inOdesa.

United States

Frog legs is a popular gourmet and appetizer in the Southern United States.

Frog legs are eaten in parts of the Southern United States, particularly in theDeep Southand 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 Festivalin Florida celebrates the dish every January.They are also eaten in Eastern states, but not as commonly. Frog legs are a popular dish inCleveland, Ohio,especially in itsLittle ItalyandAsiatownneighborhoods. The most common kinds of frogs eaten arebullfrogsandleopard 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.

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 at fairs.

Raccoons, possums, partridges, prairie hens, and frogs were among the fareMark Twainrecorded as part of American cuisine.

Caribbean

Mountain chickens(Leptodactylus fallax) are frogs named for their habitat and flavor which are eaten inMontserratandDominica.The frogs are now critically endangered.

United Kingdom

Cooked bones of frog legs have been discovered in an archaeological dig in AmesburyWiltshire,dating back to between 7596 and 6250 BC, evidence that indicates that they were part of the local diet. Some view this as evidence thatBritonsstarted eating them before the French.For several centuries, however, frogs have been considered repellent to the British due to their historic rivalry with the French."Frog" has been an abusive Englishnicknamefor a French person since the late 18th century.In the late 19th century, the French restaurateurAuguste Escoffiertried to rename them "nymphs"in a vain attempt to sell them to London diners.In recent decades, adventurous British chefs have introduced frog leg dishes to their menus, notablyHeston Blumenthal,whose recipes have included frogblancmange.

Australia, New Zealand and Canada

InAustraliaandNew 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.

Issues

A vacuumed bag of frozen frog legs imported from Vietnam

Trade

Each year aboutUS$40 million worth of frog legs are traded internationally, with most countries in the world participating in this trade.The world's top importers of frog legs are France, Belgium, and the United States, while the biggest international exporters are Indonesia and China.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.

Health

Movement of live or unfrozen, unskinned amphibians is a potential way for deadly amphibian diseases such asBatrachochytrium dendrobatidisandRanavirusto 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,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.

Environment and animal welfare

Fresh frog legs sold in a market inParis,France

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.Frogs are sensitive to environmental changes, disease, habitat degradation, and pollution.

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 the capture, handling, killing, and processing of frogs used for food to minimize animal suffering".

Religious

According toJewish dietary laws,allreptilesandamphibiansare considered unclean animals. Therefore, frog legs are notkosher,and are forbidden to observant Jews inOrthodox Judaism.However, more liberal streams of Judaism such asReformdo 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.

Frog meat is considered asharaam(non-halal) according to someIslamic dietary laws.Those who consider itharaamcite thehadiththat prohibits the killing of frogs, together with ants, bees, and seabirds. Thisharaamstatus has caused controversy inDemak, Indonesia,where the authorities urged the (frog leg soup) restaurant owners not to associateswikeewith Demak city, since it would tarnish Demak's image as the first Islamic city in Java, and also opposed by its inhabitants that mainly follow the Shafi'i school, which forbids the consumption of frogs.The Islamicmadhhab(school) ofShafi'i,HanafiandHanbalistrictly forbids the consumption of frogs, but in theMalikischool, opinions vary between the consumption of all frogs being halal, to only the green frog commonly found in rice fields being halal,while other species, especially those with blistered skin,are considered to be unclean.

Inmedievalandearly modernEurope, frogs were not classified as meat and could therefore be eaten during the Christian fast ofLent,along with fish and bird flesh.MonksinLorrainewere recorded as eating frogs during Lent in the 13th century.The famous French chefGrimod de La Reynièrewrote in the early 19th century that frogs were known asAlouettes de Carême(Lentenlarks).

External links

• Media related toFrog leg dishesat Wikimedia Commons