{{Short description|Delicacies of French and Cantonese cuisine}} {{About|frog legs as food|anatomical information related to the legs of a frog|Frog#Feet and legs}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2019}} thumb|Cuisses de grenouille served with slices of baguette in France '''Frog legs''' ({{Langx|fr|Cuisses de grenouille}}) are the muscular hindlimbs of frogs that are consumed as food by humans in some cuisines. Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/finfish-and-shellfish-products/7739/2|title=Frog legs, raw Nutrition Facts & Calories|website=nutritiondata.self.com|access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> They are often said to taste like chicken<ref name="taste">{{cite web |url=http://www.exoticmeatsandmore.com/docs/ExoticMeats-What-things-taste-like.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111203123149/https://exoticmeatsandmore.com/docs/ExoticMeats-What-things-taste-like.pdf |archive-date=2011-12-03 |title=Exotic Meats USA: What Things Taste Like |year=2008 |access-date=2025-03-24}}</ref> because of the mild flavor, with a texture most similar to chicken wings.<ref name="texture">{{cite web |url=http://www.chow.com/ingredients/588 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120223235153/http://www.chow.com/ingredients/588 |archive-date=2012-02-23 |title=Frog legs - Ingredient |year=2008 |access-date=2008-07-17}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The taste and texture of frog meat are approximately between chicken and fish.<ref name="unvegan">{{cite web|url=http://unvegan.com/strange-eats/strange-meats-frog-legs/|title=Strange Meats: Frog Legs|year=2011|access-date=2011-10-29}}</ref> Frog muscles do not resolve rigor mortis as quickly as skeletal muscles from warm-blooded animals (chicken, for example) do, so heat from cooking can cause fresh frog legs to twitch.
Frog legs are eaten in many countries, and in French cuisine they are considered a national delicacy. As of 2014, the world's largest exporter of edible frogs is Indonesia, followed by China.{{Update inline|date=March 2023|reason=There may be new data regarding this since this sentence was added nine years ago.|?=yes}} In Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean, many frogs are still caught wild. Edible frogs are raised commercially in certain countries, including Vietnam. Ethical concerns have been raised about the trade due to minimal transparency or regulation over supply chains, disruption of ecosystems, and inhumane treatment during slaughter.<ref name="Rachel Nuwer" />
==In world cuisines== ===France=== thumb|Frogs legs frying in a pan in France
Frog legs, or {{Lang|fr|cuisses de grenouille}} as it is known in France, are a traditional dish particularly found in the region of the Dombes (''département'' of Ain). Eaten for over a thousand years, they have been part of the national diet of France.<ref name="OMA">{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Omari |title=How Frog Legs Came To Be Synonymous With French Cuisine |url=https://www.foodbeast.com/news/frog-legs-history-in-french-cuisine/ |website=www.foodbeast.com |access-date=10 April 2022 |language=en |date=18 January 2020}}</ref> Roughly 4,000 tonnes of frog legs are consumed every year in France.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why we shouldn't eat frogs' legs |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/07/frogs-legs-extinction |website=The Guardian |access-date=31 July 2021 |language=en |date=6 August 2009}}</ref>
===China=== In culinary environment, frogs are known in Chinese as {{Transliteration|zh|tiánjī}} ({{Zh|s=田鸡}}, literally 'field chicken'). Frog legs ({{zh|s=田鸡腿|t=田雞腿|p=Tiánjī tuǐ|first=t}}) are also eaten in China, but are generally restricted to Southern Chinese cuisine traditions such as Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine. Bullfrogs and pig frogs are farmed on a large scale in some areas of China, such as Sichuan.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martinsen |first=Joel |title=Court receives warning letter from local authorities in frog compensation case {{!}} Laodanwei.org |url=https://laodanwei.org/wp/law-2/chongqing_court_receives_warni.php |access-date=2024-01-11 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In Chinese cuisine, frog legs are usually stir-fried and mixed with light spices, stewed, fried, or made into congee.
<gallery widths="160px" heights="220px" class="center"> File:Herbal frog leg soup, Zi Yean Restaurant, Singapore - 20090714.jpg|Chinese-style Singaporean herbal frog leg soup served at the Zi Yean Restaurant File:Yanwo Town - frog farm - P1540348.JPG|Frogs being raised for food in a enclosure in a pond in Yanwo Town, Honghu City, Hubei, China </gallery>
===Indonesia=== [[File:Swikee goreng tepung saus mayones.jpg|thumb|Battered deep-fried frog legs with spicy mayonnaise in Indonesia]] [[File:Swikee Kodok Oh with Rice.jpg|thumb|Swikee ''Kodok Oh'', frog legs in tauco soup served with rice at a Chinese Indonesian restaurant in Jakarta]] In Indonesian cuisine, frog-leg soup is known as ''swikee'' or {{Lang|id|swike}}, most probably brought by the Chinese community in Indonesia and popular in Chinese Indonesian cuisine.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Fitri |last=Yulianti |date=2014-01-29 |title=Swike Masak Taoco |url=https://lifestyle.okezone.com/read/2014/01/29/307/933291/swike-masak-taoco |access-date=2023-03-20 |website=lifestyle.okezone.com/ |language=id-ID}}</ref> {{Lang|id|Swikee}} is mainly frog-leg soup with a strong taste of garlic, gingers, and fermented soya beans (''tauco''), accompanied by celery or parsley leaves. {{Lang|id|Swikee}} is a typical dish from Purwodadi, Grobogan in Central Java province. Frog legs are also fried in margarine and sweet soy sauce or tomato sauce, battered and deep fried, or grilled. Frog eggs are also served in banana leaves ({{Lang|id|pepes telur kodok}}). The dried and crispy fried frog skin is also consumed as ''krupuk'' crackers; the taste is similar to fried fish skin.<ref>{{cite web | title = Setahun 500 Ton Kodok Hijau Diekspor, Rp 72 Ribu per Kilo | date = 12 January 2015 | work = JPNN.com | url = http://www.jpnn.com/news/setahun-500-ton-kodok-hijau-diekspor-rp-72-ribu-per-kilo | language = id}}</ref>
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, and Luxembourg.<ref name="abc news"/> 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.<ref name="abc news"/>
===Italy=== [[File:Cosce di rana fritte con purè di patate.jpg|thumb|Breadcrumbed frog legs from Piedmont, Italy]] Frogs are a common food in the northern part of Italy, especially throughout Piemonte and Lombardy and 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 typical staple food. The consumption of frogs is mainly related to the availability of animals due to the rural activities and typical agriculture in these places.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/weird-italian-dishes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921050617/https://lifeinitaly.com/weird-italian-dishes/ |archive-date=2021-09-21 |title=Weird Italian Dishes |website=Life In Italy |language=en |access-date=2018-08-30}}</ref>
The large presence of frogs is mainly due to the agriculture typical of these areas which have always been known for their rice. 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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}
Frogs have gained much culinary relevance in these areas, with many rural towns hosting food festivals called {{Lang|it|sagre}} – 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 dish risotto, one of the most common dishes is frog risotto, {{Lang|it|risotto alle rane}}. Other local frog dishes include them being dipped in egg batter, breadcrumbed and then fried, or in soups and stews.
===Slovenia=== thumb|right|A Slovenian specialty, fried frog legs ({{Lang|sl|žabji kraki}}) with lemon and tartar sauce Frog legs ({{Lang|sl|žabji kraki}}) are a popular dish in Slovenian cuisine, especially in areas of eastern Slovenia (Prekmurje and north-eastern Styria).{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} They are also quite popular in the country's capital, Ljubljana, and have been considered the "basis of the traditional city cuisine of Ljubljana".<ref name="vecer.com">{{cite web |title=Žabe svatbo so imele |url=http://web.vecer.com/portali/vecer/v1/default.asp?kaj=3&id=2010040605528419 |access-date=20 April 2019 |website=www.vecer.com |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717191839/http://web.vecer.com/portali/vecer/v1/default.asp?kaj=3&id=2010040605528419 |url-status=bot: unknown | author1=Večer }}</ref><ref name="issuu.com">{{cite web |url=http://issuu.com/slovenia/docs/okusiti_katalog_slo |title=Okusiti Slovenijo |website=issuu.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713033954/http://issuu.com/slovenia/docs/okusiti_katalog_slo |archive-date=2011-07-13}}</ref> Up to modern times, they have been traditionally considered Lenten food and were especially popular in spring.<ref name="vecer.com"/> They are also a popular traditional dish in the Vipava Valley, in western Slovenia, and are served in numerous restaurants throughout the Slovenian Littoral.<ref name="issuu.com"/>
===Croatia=== Frog legs are popular in some parts of Croatia, especially in the ''Gorski Kotar'' region in the northwest of the country. They are considered a specialty in the Lokve municipality, where they are served cooked, fried, or in a stew, sometimes with polenta on the side.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}}
===Spain=== In the western part of Spain, Extremadura and Castilla y Leon, frog legs are served deep-fried. They constitute a delicacy for the local inhabitants. Frog legs also hold great culinary value along the banks of the Ebro.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}}
===Albania=== thumb|right|Albanian fried frog leg dish served with lime In Albania, frog legs are regarded as a delicacy. Frogs are mostly collected from the wild.<ref name="Gillian Gloyer">Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide, p. 43, by Gillian Gloyer, 2004</ref>
===Greece=== In Greece, frog legs are particularly associated with the city of Ioannina and its adjacent lake Pamvotida.{{Citation needed|date=July 2015}}
===Mexico=== The harvesting of frog legs is customarily carried out in states such as Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Zacatecas, and a large portion of Mexico’s Central Plateau. It takes place almost year-round, and the legs are consumed fried, in soups, broths, or stews—such as frog legs in green sauce.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chávez|first=Achilles|title=Waters with Achilles! Recipes with fish & Co.|year=2018|publisher=Ediciones Larousse|isbn=978-607-21-1901-7|location=Mexico|page=135|language=Spanish}}</ref>
===Romania=== In Romania, edible frogs are known as {{Lang|ro|pui de baltă}} ({{Gloss|pond chicken}}). The legs are eaten breaded and fried.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dexonline.ro/definitie/pui+de+balt%C4%83/371366|title=dexonline|website=dexonline.ro|access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref>
=== Ukraine === Fried frog legs are a specialty of the small city of Vylkove in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cervetti |first=Marco |author-link=:uk:Марко Черветті |date=2023-09-02 |title= |script-title=uk:Жаб’ячі лапки, бринза та дунайка: що куштувати в українському містечку Вилкове |trans-title=Frog legs, brynza, and dunaika: what to try in the Ukrainian town of Vylkove |url=https://shuba.life/articles/14833-zhabyachi-lapki-brinza-ta-dunajka-sho-skushtuvati-v-ukrayinskomu-mistechku-vilkove |website=Shuba}}</ref> but they have also gained popularity in Odesa.
===United States=== thumb|Frog legs is a popular gourmet and appetizer in the Southern United States, here at the ''Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen''. Frog legs are eaten in parts of the Southern United States, particularly in the Deep South and Gulf states where French influence is more prominent, including South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The legs are almost always served battered and fried. The Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival in Florida celebrates the dish every January.<ref>Crystal Vander Weit. [https://www.tcpalm.com/story/news/local/indian-river-county/2024/01/23/the-33rd-annual-fellsmere-frog-leg-festival/72299478007/ "In case you missed it: Visuals from Fellsmere's Frog Leg Festival 2024."] Treasure Coast Newspapers. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2024.</ref> They are also eaten in Eastern states, but not as commonly. Frog legs are a popular dish in Cleveland, Ohio, especially in its Little Italy and Asiatown neighborhoods.{{cn|date=January 2024}} The most common kinds of frogs eaten are bullfrogs and leopard 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bullfrog |url=http://eattheinvaders.org/bullfrog/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=eattheinvaders.org}}</ref>
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 fare Mark Twain recorded as part of American cuisine.<ref name="TwainWarner1904">{{cite book|author1=Mark Twain|author2=Charles Dudley Warner|title=The Writings of Mark Twain [pseud.].: A tramp abroad|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKdGAQAAMAAJ&q=mark+twain++possum,+coon+and+prairie+hen&pg=PA263|year=1904|publisher=Harper & Bros.|pages=263–}}</ref><ref name="Twain2004">{{cite book|first=Mark|last=Twain|title=Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race|url=https://archive.org/details/marktwainshelpfu00twai_0|url-access=registration|quote=mark twain possum, coon and prairie hen.|date=18 October 2004|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-93134-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/marktwainshelpfu00twai_0/page/66 66]–}}</ref><ref name="Howells1888">{{cite book|author=William Dean Howells|title=Mark Twain's Library of Humor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J0kgAAAAMAAJ&q=mark+twain++possum,+coon+and+prairie+hen&pg=PA232|year=1888|publisher=Charles L. Webster & Company|pages=232–|isbn=978-1-64679-578-9 }}</ref><ref name="LinsenmeyerKraig2011">{{cite book|author1=Helen Walker Linsenmeyer|author2=Bruce Kraig|title=Cooking Plain, Illinois Country Style|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3S9_ofbPBGAC&q=mark+twain++possum,+coon+and+prairie+hen&pg=PA7|date=2 December 2011|publisher=SIU Press|isbn=978-0-8093-3074-4|pages=7–}}</ref>
===Caribbean=== Mountain chickens (''Leptodactylus fallax'') are frogs named for their habitat and flavor which are eaten in Montserrat and Dominica. The frogs are now critically endangered.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AmphibiaWeb - Leptodactylus fallax |url=https://amphibiaweb.org/species/3322 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=AmphibiaWeb |publisher=University of California}}</ref>
===United Kingdom===
In 2013, archaeologists digging at Blick Mead, Wiltshire found the remains of a cooked frog leg which was served as part of a feast in {{circa|7,000}} BC during the Mesolithic era.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=John|title=Zut alors! Archaeologists uncover 'Heston Blumenthal-style' feast at 8,000-year-old dig site that proves Brits were the first to eat frogs' legs - not the French|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/zut-alors-archaeologists-uncover-heston-blumenthalstyle-feast-at-8000yearold-dig-site-that-proves-brits-were-the-first-to-eat-frogs-legs--not-the-french-8884323.html|access-date=16 October 2013|newspaper=The Independent|date=16 October 2013}}</ref> However, in the modern era frog legs are widely regarded as "repellent" in Britain.<ref name ="davidson">{{cite book |last=Davidson |first=Alan |date=2006 |title=The Oxford Companion to Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&q=%22%22Why+the+idea+of+eating+frog+should+be+repellent+to+the+English+in+particular%22&pg=PA330 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=330 |isbn=978-0192806819 }}</ref> "Frog" has been used as an anti-French slur in the English-speaking world since the late 18th century.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Stevenson |editor1-first=Angus |date=2006 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of English: Third Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anecAQAAQBAJ&q=frog+french+person&pg=PA702 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=702 |isbn=978-0199571123 }}</ref> During the late 19th century, French restaurateur Auguste Escoffier tried to rename them "nymphs" in a vain attempt to sell them to London diners.<ref name ="davidson"/> In recent decades, several British celebrity chefs have introduced frog leg dishes to their menus, notably Heston Blumenthal, whose recipes have included frog blancmange.<ref>{{cite book |last=McCorquodale |first=Duncan |date=2010 |title=A Visual History of Cookery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oY0bAQAAMAAJ&q=heston+blumenthal+frogs |publisher=Black Dog Publishing |page=86 |isbn=978-1906155506 }}</ref>
===Australia, New Zealand and Canada=== {{No sources section|date=October 2024}} In Australia and New Zealand, frogs are considered more exotic; they are generally consumed in Asian or French restaurants, with a primary focus on the hind legs. In Canada, they are somewhat more common, particularly in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country.
==Issues==
===Trade=== thumb|upright|A vacuumed bag of frozen frog legs imported from Vietnam Each year about US$40 million worth of frog legs are traded internationally, with most countries in the world participating in this trade.<ref name="Frontiers In Ecology Paper">{{cite web|url=http://savethefrogs.com/images/PDFs/Gratwicke-2009-Frog-Legs.pdf|title=Is the international frog legs trade a potential vector for deadly amphibian pathogens?|year=2010|access-date=2010-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807031347/http://www.savethefrogs.com/images/PDFs/Gratwicke-2009-Frog-Legs.pdf|archive-date=2016-08-07|url-status=dead}}</ref> The world's top importers of frog legs are France, Belgium, and the United States, while the biggest international exporters are Indonesia and China.<ref name="Frontiers In Ecology Paper"/> 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.<ref name="Frontiers In Ecology Paper"/>
===Health=== Movement of live or unfrozen, unskinned amphibians is a potential way for deadly amphibian diseases such as ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and Ranavirus to be transported around the world, and despite recommendations on preventing disease spread from the World Organisation for Animal Health, which regulates the international spread of epizootic diseases,<ref name="OIE Regulations">{{cite web|url=http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/aahc/2010/en_chapitre_1.8.1.htm|title=OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code|year=2010|access-date=2010-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331075851/http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/aahc/2010/en_chapitre_1.8.1.htm|archive-date=2012-03-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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 genus ''Salmonella,'' as per the official method MFO-10, Microbial Examination of Froglegs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/page-76.html#h-117|title=Consolidated federal laws of canada, Food and Drug Regulations|last=Branch|first=Legislative Services|website=laws.justice.gc.ca|language=en|access-date=2017-07-14}}</ref>
===Environmental concerns and animal welfare=== [[File:Granotes.jpg|thumb|left|Fresh frog legs sold in a market in Paris, 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.<ref name="abc news">{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=6688391&page=1|title=Appetite For Frogs' Legs Harming Wild Populations|date=16 April 2009|website=ABC News|access-date=20 April 2019}}</ref> Frogs are sensitive to environmental changes, disease, habitat degradation, and pollution. Animal welfare advocates raise ethical concerns with harvest practices, as wild frogs are typically dismembered while alive and then left to die.<ref name="Rachel Nuwer">{{cite web |last=Nuwer |first=Rachel |date=2024-07-10 |title=Europe’s taste for frog legs obscures the ‘extreme cruelty’ of the trade |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/eu-frog-leg-trade |website=National Geographic |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=2025-08-08}}</ref>
As most of the frog production comes from wild harvesting rather than frog farms, over-exploitation in the frog exporting countries like Indonesia, Turkey and Albania has caused a rapid decrease in frog population, and endangered some species. Also, due to this intense harvesting the increase in the usage of pesticides have been observed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=Deadly Dishes |url=https://www.prowildlife.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DEADLY-DISH-frogs-legs-report.pdf |website=Pro Wildlife |publisher=}}</ref>
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".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Altherr |first1=Sandra |last2=Goyenechea |first2=Alejandra |last3=Schubert |first3=D.J. |title=Canapés to Extinction: the international trade in frogs' legs and its ecological impact |url=https://defenders.org/sites/default/files/publications/canapes_to_extinction.pdf |date=2011}}</ref> This was corroborated by the authors of a 2022 paper, who called for the end of the common practice of cutting frog's legs with axes and scissors, without anesthesia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Neslen|first1=Arthur|title=Appetite for frogs’ legs in France and Belgium ‘driving species to extinction’|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/23/big-appetite-for-frogs-legs-among-french-and-belgians-driving-species-to-extinction |date=2022-06-23|access-date=2025-08-08}}</ref>
===Religious=== According to Jewish dietary laws, all reptiles and amphibians are considered unclean animals. Therefore, frog legs are not kosher, and are forbidden to observant Jews in Orthodox Judaism. However, more liberal streams of Judaism such as Reform do 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 the Noahide laws. Under this rubric, there is a prohibition against eating limbs taken from live animals, known as {{Lang|he-latn|eiver 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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}
Frog meat is considered as ''haraam'' (non-''halal'') according to some Islamic dietary laws. Those who consider it ''haraam'' cite the hadith that prohibits the killing of frogs, together with ants, bees, and seabirds. This ''haraam'' status has caused controversy in Demak, Indonesia, where the authorities urged the (frog leg soup) restaurant owners not to associate {{Lang|id|swikee}} with Demak town, since it would tarnish Demak's image as the first Islamic city/town in Java, and also opposed by its inhabitants that mainly follow the Shafi'i school, which forbids the consumption of frogs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1990/11/03/INA/mbm.19901103.INA19867.id.html |title=Tempo Online Bupati vs Kodok |access-date=2011-09-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000041/http://majalah.tempointeraktif.com/id/arsip/1990/11/03/INA/mbm.19901103.INA19867.id.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Islamic ''madhhab'' (school) of Shafi'i, Hanafi and Hanbali strictly forbids the consumption of frogs, but in the Maliki school, opinions vary between the consumption of all frogs being halal, to only the green frog commonly found in rice fields being halal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://konsultasisyariah-akhowatkpii.blogspot.com/2005/08/haramkah-kepiting-swike-ikan-hiu.html|title=Konsultasi Syariah - Akhowat KPII: haramkah kepiting, swike & ikan hiu dimakan?|access-date=20 April 2019|archive-date=27 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527004234/http://konsultasisyariah-akhowatkpii.blogspot.com/2005/08/haramkah-kepiting-swike-ikan-hiu.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> while other species, especially those with blistered skin,{{Clarify|reason=is this referring to toads (with warts)?|date=April 2024}} are considered to be unclean.
In medieval and early modern Europe, frogs were not classified as meat and could therefore be eaten during the Christian fast of Lent, along with fish and bird flesh. Monks in Lorraine were recorded as eating frogs during Lent in the 13th century.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Deutsch |editor1-first=Jonathan |editor2-last=Murakhver |editor2-first=Natalya |date=2012 |title=They Eat That?: A Cultural Encyclopedia of Weird and Exotic Food from around the World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6pIinfPtnQC&q=eating+frogs+in+lent&pg=PA74 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=74 |isbn=978-0313380587 }}</ref> The famous French chef Grimod de La Reynière wrote in the early 19th century that frogs were known as {{Lang|fr|Alouettes de Carême}} (Lenten larks).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmychefs.com/ingredients/frogs_458 |title=Frogs (fish and seafood) |last=Ducasse |first=Alain |author-link=Alain Ducasse |website=www.allmychefs.com |access-date=19 February 2018 |archive-date=8 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808165432/https://www.allmychefs.com/ingredients/frogs_458 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Frog leg dishes}}
{{Portal bar|Food|France|Frogs}} {{Meat}} {{French cuisine}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Frogs Category:French cuisine Category:Chinese cuisine Category:Cantonese cuisine Category:Lenten foods Category:Frogs in culture Category:Cajun cuisine Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States Category:Soul food Category:Romanian cuisine Category:Caribbean cuisine Category:Native American cuisine