Frog meat for sale!

EZULWINI – The popular Calabash restaurant in Ezulwini now provides an alternative to regular beef, mutton or chicken stews.

The restaurant now serves succulent frog’s legs, either as a starter or full course meal.

For only E199, one can get the starter, which comes with three pieces of frog’s legs. The full course will set you back by E299.

The Times SUNDAY established that this dish, which is relatively new to Swaziland, is enjoyed by Swazis and foreigners alike.

The dish is so popular that it attracts individuals from as far as South Africa.

The meal itself comprises frog legs, from what is known as the edible frog.

Only the upper joint of the hind legs is served.

A manager who identified himself only as Rudi said the frog meat meal was slowly gaining popularity among Swazis who flock to the restaurant to taste the meal. Frog legs are one of the best known delicacies of French and Cantonese cuisine. He said the restaurant imports the frog legs from France; they come packed without their heads and upper part of their bodies.

"This is a French delicacy. It is also popular in Europe. We decided to introduce it here to try and bring something different, new and fresh to our customers," he said.

"I am happy with our customers’ response to our delicacy, when we introduced the dish, we were looking for something different for our clients and we came across the frogs."

Rudi said the restaurant introduced the dish at the beginning of May, 2011 and it is served under the Chefs special in the restaurant menu. Cooking the frogs is not an easy task; a lot of caution is exercised to prevent the meat from going bad.

The meat is cooked under minimal temperatures with lots of care.

This is because frog muscle does not resolve rigor mortis as quickly as warm-blooded muscle like chickens, thus intense heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch. The Calabash restaurant prepares the legs by deep frying. They are coated with batter and fried with onions, garlic, mixed with herbs. The delicacy is always served with parsley potatoes.

According to Rudi frog dishes are traditionally associated with French cuisine, and a favourite pejorative English nickname for the French is the Frogs.

They are particularly traditional in the region of the Dombes (department of Ain, France).

The frogs are not the normal frogs that normally come out when it rains in Swaziland.

It is a special type of frog cultivated in certain environments.

These frogs are raised commercially in certain countries.

A survey conducted by this newspaper revealed that in Swaziland, Calabash Continental Restaurant is the only place that has introduced this delicacy.

The Calabash is currently running a special promotion aimed at introducing the meal which is described as ‘new and refreshing.’

According to information sourced from the internet, widespread consumption of frogs is relatively recent, occurring within two hundred years.

Frog meat dishes are common in French speaking parts of the United States of America state of Louisiana, particularly the Cajun areas of Southern Louisiana as well as New Orleans.

They are also eaten in parts of Europe and the Caribbean.

They are popular in the region of Alentejo in Portugal, Slovenia, northwest Greece and the Piemonte region in Italy, Spain, and the Midwest southern regions of the United States.

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