This tradition was spread and perpetuated by, amongst others, the Jewish people who , during their exodus , fattened geese to produce fat as a replacement for lard (considered unfit for human consumption).

The fattened liver became known as "Jecur Ficatum" in Latin (liver caused by figs). Foie gras was first served at a Roman meal in the 1st century B.C. , during a sumptuous banquet chronicled by Horace. The fondness of Romans for liver fattened with figs reached such heights that as early as the 4th century, "ficatum" ("with figs") became the term used to describe the liver of all fattened animals. It would give rise to the French anatomical term of "foie" (liver) several centuries later.