I belong to a group called Nebraska Bohemians, because my grandfather was a Nebraska Bohemian, and my mother was half Bohemian. They had a post about Musovys. Bohemians, aka Czechs, always had ducks and geese while others were more likely to have chickens. Duck and goose was a common Sunday meal. They used the feathers for feather beds and down comforters.
"BOHEMIAN DUCK
For Bohemians there is only ONE duck and that is the Muscovy duck. In the early years the Muscovy ducks were raised on the farm and later when bought in the store, grandma would insist that the duck had to be a Muscovy.
The duck has a Slavic name, as Muscovy is an old name for the region of Russia surrounding Moscow. But the ducks actually have no connection at all to Russia or even Europe. The ducks actually came from South America. They are “tropical” birds. Besides being tropical, they are more likely to perch in trees than spend time in water as do other ducks. As a result the birds have much less fat content than other ducks. But don’t worry, as there is still an abundance of the precious duck fat that Bohemians love.
The oil gland on Muscovy ducks is different from other ducks as well, which results in a stronger tasting meat. The texture of the meat is more like veal than stringy poultry. Some say that Muscovy duck is often difficult to tell from a beef steak.
Muscovy was always the preferred type of duck in Europe and perhaps why grandma preferred it. But there are many varieties of duck and while Muscovy certainly sounds Bohemian what makes duck truly Bohemian is when you season it with caraway seed and serve with dumplings and kraut."
Follow up comments about Muscovy ducks:
A female Muscovy with young ducklings is the meanest creature on earth.
Boy....That's the truth! Even the drakes could be mean. Once our Muscovy drake came out of no where around the back of the car and knocked my little brother who was 3yrs old at the time to the ground and flogged him with his wings before my dad could rescue my brother!!!