confit

noun

con·​fit kōn-ˈfē 

kȯn-,

kän-

1

: meat (such as goose, duck, or pork) that has been cooked and preserved in its own fat

2

: a garnish made usually from fruit or vegetables that are cooked until tender in a seasoned liquid

Examples of confit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First-course options such as duck confit and scallop crudo, along with an assortment of steaks, charcuterie boards, cocktails, and sparkling wines, provide a comprehensive dining experience. —Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 27 Nov. 2024

Guests can expect dishes like Croque Madame with ham, gruyere, egg and bechamel, country pate, and duck confit with radicchio, apples, pumpkin seeds, dates topped with a vinaigrette. —Amber Love Bond, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

Flavors of blackberry confit, blueberry pie, baking spice, and dark chocolate are shrouded in pleasantly grippy tannins. —Mike Desimone and Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 19 Nov. 2024

The pizza-and-pasta-heavy menu has delightful flashes of fruit: The summer harvest salad ($14) is juicy with peaches from Palisade, the western Colorado town known as a fruit paradise, and lemon confit is the star ingredient in the Amalfi pie ($19). —Steve Knopper, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, noun derivative from past participle of confire "to treat (food, an animal or vegetable substance) in order to preserve it," going back to Old French "to prepare (a drink), preserve (fruit) in a liquid or sugar," going back to Latin conficere "to carry out, perform, make, bring about, collect, bring to completion" — more at confect

Note: In sense 1 the French word is most likely a gallicized form of the cognate word in the Occitan of Gascony or Languedoc. See note at comfit.

First Known Use

1951, in the meaning defined at sense 1