Confit (French, pronounced [kɔ̃fi] or in English "con-fee") comes from the French word confire which means literally "to preserve", a confit being any type of food that is cooked slowly over a long period of time as a method of preservation. In meat cooking this requires the meat to be salted as part of the preservation process. After salting and cooking in the fat, sealed and stored in a cool, dark place, confit can last for several months or years. Confit is one of the oldest ways to preserve food, and is a specialty of southwestern France.