Hares and jackrabbits are leporidaes belonging to the genus Lepus. (There are four other species called hares: Caprolagus or the Hispid Hare, and Pronolagus or the red rock hares.) Hares less than one year old are called leverets.
A common type of hare in Arctic North America is the Snowshoe Hare, replaced further south by the Black-tailed Jackrabbit, White-tailed Jackrabbit and other species.
Hares do not bear their young below ground in a burrow as do other leporids, rather in a shallow depression or flattened nest of grass called a form. Hares are adapted to the lack of physical protection, relative to that afforded by a burrow, by being born fully furred and with eyes open. They are hence able to fend for themselves soon after birth; they are precocial. By contrast, the related rabbits and cottontail rabbits are altricial, having young that are born blind and hairless.
The hare's diet is very similar to the rabbit's. They are also both part of the Lagomorph order.
Hares and rabbits are plentiful in many areas, adapt to a wide variety of conditions, and reproduce quickly, so hunting is often less regulated than for other varieties of game. In rural areas of North America and particularly in pioneer times, they were a common source of meat. However, because of their extremely low fat content, they are a poor choice as a survival food.
Hasenpfeffer (also spelled hasenfeffer) is a traditional German stew made from marinated rabbit or hare. Pfeffer is not only the name of a spice, but also of a dish where the animal's blood is used as a gelling agent for the sauce. Wine or vinegar is also a prominent ingredient, to lend a sourness to the recipe.
Jugged Hare is described in the influential 18th century cookbook, The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, with a recipe titled, "A Jugged Hare," that begins, "Cut it into little pieces, lard them here and there...." The recipe goes on to describe cooking the pieces of hare in water in a jug that it set within a bath of boiling water to cook for three hours. Beginning in the nineteenth century, Glasse has been widely credited with having started the recipe with the words "First, catch your hare," as in this citation. This attribution is apocryphal.
Many other British cookbooks from before the middle of the 20th century have recipes for Jugged Hare. Merle and Reitch have this to say about Jugged Hare, for example:
The hare (and in recent times, rabbit) is a staple of Maltese cuisine. The dish was presented to the island's Grandmasters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta as well as Renaissance Inquisitors resident on the island, several of whom went on to become Pope.
In England, a now rarely-served dish was potted hare. This was similar to the dish of Potted Shrimp which can still be found today in some specialty restaurants. The hare meat is cooked, then covered in at least one inch (preferably more) of butter. The butter acts as a preservative, and the dish is stored for up to several months. It is served cold, often on bread or as an appetizer.
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