Watching old timey movies/TV shows it seems like Liver and Onions would be mentioned from time to time, usually comically about a child not eating his dinner or something.
My mother did make Liver occasionally but never made me eat it. Probably made me a hot dog or something.
Do they carry it at the supermarket? I’ve never looked. Or do you have to go a butcher shop?
My mom made liver frequently. I liked it. (Dad and sis had to smother it in catsup.) I get beef liver at the supermarket. Here, it’s frozen in a pint container, in the cabinet with the Cornish game hens, rabbit, cheap chickens, pre-made burger patties, etc.
among certain generations pre 1970 yes it was a regular . …that was just one difference of opinion between me and the last foster family i had … i can’t stomach pure liver … now wurst or braunschweiger i can eat out of the package with a spoon …
But abut the 70s it came to be seen as the “senior citizens earlier bird special” thansk to tv and such
Strictly my perception, which may or may not reflect reality: I think it was more common in the past (in middle America) but still not tremendously common. Families would eat it if someone liked it, otherwise not bother. I recall being served liver at someone’s house once. It was tastier than I expected, and after that my mother got liverwurst for me a few times. But we never had liver and onions for dinner at home, probably because one or both parents didn’t like it.
I assume liver consumption has become less common in the US both with the rise in vegetarianism and with more concerns about environmental toxins, which will be concentrated in the liver. (I recall one of my pregnancy books saying I shouldn’t eat much liver while pregnant.)
I guess i did eat liverwurst sandwiches. Liked them to.
The store I work at, which is mostly a grocery store, even carries more than one kind of liver: beef and chicken seem most common.
Liverwurst and braunschwieger are both types of liver sausage still fairly popular.
Liver was probably more common in the past. Aside from our ancestors tending to eat more “variety” meats (meaning organs) and utilizing things like bones and marrow simply because it made economical sense to eat as much of an animal as you could after going to the trouble of raising it or catching it, liver has a lot of vitamin A (some types even have toxic levels of it - polar bear liver will make you seriously ill and can even be fatal), B vitamins including B12, vitamin D, copper, iron, protein, and fat. We don’t normally think of fat as a positive but back in the bad old days before machinery, or when there was machinery it was mostly people or animal powered, the calories in fat were a good thing. For women of childbearing age the iron was a big boost and anemia preventer.
Especially in societies where diets were inadequate in some nutrients an occasional serving of liver could mean the difference between being healthy and being sick/debilitated.
The trick, of course, is not to overdo it. Especially in these days of plentiful calories and fat. Occasional eating of liver can be healthy. It’s quite nutrient dense. I would stick to domestic animals and those low on the food chain, though, as the liver is where toxins are detoxified so yes, they can concentrate there.
Chicken liver is still a fairly common food here. Beef liver, not so much.
No, liver isn’t high in fat - it’s lower than steak or lamb chops.
Maybe you’re confusing fat content with cholesterol. Liver has a high cholesterol content.
Eta: I only quoted a portion of Broomstick’s post; idk why the entire post is showing up…
Ah, yes, you are correct - high cholesterol, not fat. Had my nutrient wires crossed there, thanks for the clarification.
From what I’ve read, those who could afford meat in the past (up until modern times) tended to eat the muscle and toss the internal organs (which are much more nutritious) to their dogs and peasants. Any time you’re offered a liver dish, you can be pretty sure it didn’t start out as haute cuisine.
False.
Another common concern about eating liver is that it contains toxins.
However, the liver does not store toxins. Rather, its job is to process toxins and make them safe or turn them into something that can be safely removed from the body.
In conclusion, toxins in liver are not an issue, and it should certainly not be avoided for this reason.
Liver was my favorite main course when I was child. With lima beans and mashed potatoes.
I haven’t made it myself in a long time and I don’t know if the local supermarkets carry it. However, the local diners have it on their menus if I want to indulge. My own favorite recipe was to bread it and fry in butter. You have to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t overcook.
I also love chopped chicken liver. But, for some reason, not liverwurst.
I believe liver and other offal dishes were played up big during World War II when certain foods were rationed. That may explain the connection these days to seniors.
Mmmm…liver…with grilled onions and Emergency Sauce…drooooollllll…
I ate a lot of liver when I was a student in the 80s. It was cheap - good enough for me. I assume a lot of other people who ate it were doing it on those grounds too.
That surprises me. I’d have thought the smell of it cooking would be too pungent for a restaurant. My father liked liver and onions and tried it out on us kids when mom was away. I was a fussy eater at that age and I’m not even sure I tried tasting it. I just remember the smell lingering for days. I should really give it a try, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed it on a menu.
Mrs. L.A. will eat it – and even like it – even though she pretty much stopped eating liver(s) after her A&P class, but she will not allow me to cook it indoors.
In the 1980s, I waitressed at Perkins, and L&O was on the menu. One evening, we just kept getting order after order for it, and sometimes multiple orders at the same table, and just about gassed out the cooks.
I like liver, but since I learned that it’s the body’s OTHER toxic waste disposal site, I’ve been more hesitant about eating it. I do see it at the grocery store in the freezer section with some of the other cuts and species that are sold too infrequently to put in the refrigerated case.
Most people drastically overcook it, and yeah, that’s nasty.
ETA: My SIL makes a wonderful appetizer at Christmas from chicken livers and a slice of water chestnut, wrapped in bacon. Those, I do eat.
Every grocery store I’ve ever been in has carried liver – well, except for the vegetarian or vegan ones.
It’s a common food in some families and in some cultures. We often had beef liver and onions when I was a child – while I always liked the liver, it took me a while to like the onions, and my mother would leave the onions out of mine. (I now put onions in nearly everything.) – Chopped chicken liver is an Ashkenazi treat and will show up in large bowlfuls at parties.
Local, old-school diners will have it here, as well, though those are slowly dying out. Like, here’s a menu of one of those types of “we have everything” diners that were much more common here just a few decades ago. Second item under “Hearty Classics.” (Interestingly described as “baby beef liver” instead of “veal” for some odd reason; though the next item is “breaded veal tenderloin” so who knows.)
ETA: I’m not saying only old-school diners will have it; tip-to-tail dining has a good showing here, so you’ll find it at places like that (like Purple Pig might have a pork liver pate) and you will find it at ethnic restaurants, too.
If it has bacon on it I’ll try anything.