I don’t care for most food made of or with liver. I can’t stand chicken liver (and not for lack of early exposure, my parents both love chopped liver). I don’t like beef liver cooked straight up or ground into other things. It’s not a texture thing – it’s the taste.
So, what’s different about liverwurst? What’s it spiced with?
And to answer the OP, that’s the main spice. Maybe the only spice. SALT.
Still. Liverwurst. Slimy smelly unappetizing word. Sounds like a punchline. Braunschweiger. Big chomping hearty Kraut word. Sounds like a wild animal (“I’ve brought back a Braunschweiger!” <holds it aloft to wild applause>), or something that needs a big glass of beer alongside.
Hello Again, I understand. I won’t eat liver (or anything else I find myself apologizing to before I cook it or that excites the pets) but I love liverwurst. On toasted Rosen’s rye bread? Food of the Gods.
Couple notes on liverwurst:
[ol][li]It’s ground pork and pork liver. That’s probably why those of us who hate liver (me included. Chicken and beef liver are proof of a vengeful and angry God) like liverwurst.[]It’s seasoned with salt and pepper, onions, and other various stuff – the proportions of which vary throughout Germany.[]Braunschweiger is a type of liverwurst from Braunschweig. It’s got cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in addition to the salt, pepper, and onions, and it’s soft enough to spread. Not all liverwurst is.[/ol][/li]
With that done, I’d like to say that my last supper will hopefully be a couple slabs of Braunschweiger on a dark rye with brown mustard and red onions. There are few things in this world that can compare with such perfection.
Interesting – I didn’t realize my preference was a somewhat common one. I also didn’t know liverwurst wasn’t made entirely of liver. I guess that explins it to some degree.
::shrug::
Mmmmm, liverwurst. Me and the cat are sharing a chunk.
You’ve educated me. I grew up with that Oscar Mayer stuff that was spreadable but not spicy and called itself both Braunschweigerandliverwurst, the latter in small print.
I never knew that liverwurst and braunschweiger were different, either. My mom loves it, and back before she dropped all her weight in recent years thanks to dieting, she used to buy the little tube and just cut off small pieces with a knife and eat them. I like it too, but I never even thought about what kind of good sandwich it would make because we ate it plain. Grilled rye or pumpernickel, with onions and brown mustard? Brilliant!
That said, I love liver: beef or chicken, grilled with onions or chopped, seasoned, and spread on bagels. Yay, liver! Iron helps us play!