The liver of mammals, fowl, and fish is commonly eaten as food by humans (see offal). Pork, lamb, veal, beef, chicken, goose, and cod livers are widely available from butchers and supermarkets while stingray and burbot livers are common in some European countries.
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 561 kJ (134 kcal) |
2.5 g | |
3.7 g | |
21 g | |
| Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 722% 6500 μg |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 231% 3 mg |
| Niacin (B3) | 94% 15 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 41% 0.7 mg |
| Folate (B9) | 53% 212 μg |
| Vitamin B12 | 1083% 26 μg |
| Vitamin C | 26% 23 mg |
| Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
| Iron | 128% 23 mg |
| Sodium | 4% 87 mg |
This nutritional data is from 1992 and refers to raw pork liver only. Liver nutrients vary among species. | |
| †Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults. [1] | |
Animal livers are rich in iron, copper, the B vitamins and preformed vitamin A. Daily consumption of liver can be harmful; for instance, vitamin A toxicity has been proven to cause medical issues to babies born of pregnant mothers who consumed too much vitamin A. [2] For the same reason, consuming the livers of some species like polar bears, dogs, or moose is unsafe. A single serving of beef liver exceeds the tolerable upper intake level of vitamin A. [3] 100 g cod liver contains 5 mg of vitamin A and 100 µg of vitamin D. [4] Liver contains large amounts of vitamin B12, and this was one of the factors that led to the discovery of the vitamin. [5]
From Middle English liver, from Old English lifer, from Proto-Germanic *librō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- "to smear, smudge, stick", from Proto-Indo-European *ley- "to be slimy, be sticky, glide". Cognate with Saterland Frisian Lieuwer "liver", West Frisian lever "liver", Dutch lever "liver", German Leber "liver", Danish , Norwegian and Swedish language lever "liver" the last three from Old Norse lifr "liver".
In the Romance languages, the anatomical word for "liver" (French foie, Italian fegato, Spanish hígado, etc.) derives not from the Latin anatomical term, jecur, but from the culinary term ficatum, literally "stuffed with figs", referring to the livers of geese that had been fattened on figs (foie gras). [6]
Liver can be baked, boiled, broiled, fried, stir-fried, or eaten raw (asbeh nayeh or sawda naye in Lebanese cuisine, liver sashimi). In many preparations, pieces of liver are combined with pieces of meat or kidneys, like in the various forms of Middle Eastern mixed grill (e.g. meurav Yerushalmi ). Spreads or pâtés made from liver have various names, including liver pâté, pâté de foie gras, chopped liver, liverwurst, liver spread, and Braunschweiger. Other liver sausages include mazzafegato or salsiccia matta. A traditional South African delicacy, namely skilpadjies, is made of minced lamb's liver wrapped in netvet (caul fat), and grilled over an open fire.
Some fish livers are valued as food, especially the stingray liver. It is used to prepare delicacies, such as poached skate liver on toast in England, [7] as well as the beignets de foie de raie and foie de raie en croute in French cuisine. [8] Cod liver (usually tinned in its oil and served seasoned) is a popular spread for bread or toast in several European countries. In Russia, it is served with potatoes. Cod liver oil is commonly used as a dietary supplement. Liver of burbot is eaten in Finland: it is common for fish vendors and supermarket fish aisles to sell these fish with liver and roe sacks still attached. These parts are often eaten boiled or added to burbot soup. Burbot and its liver are a traditional winter food. [9]
The livers of polar bears, walruses, bearded seals, and huskies can contain very high levels of preformed vitamin A, [10] and their consumption has led to vitamin A poisoning (hypervitaminosis A) according to several anecdotal reports. The Inuit will not eat the liver of polar bears or bearded seals. It has been estimated that consumption of 500 grams of polar bear liver would result in a toxic dose for a human. [10] Russian sailor Alexander Konrad, who accompanied explorer Valerian Albanov in a tragic ordeal over the Arctic ice in 1912, wrote about the awful effects of consuming polar bear liver. [11] Also, in 1913, Antarctic explorers on the Far Eastern Party Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were believed to have been poisoned, the latter fatally, from eating husky liver, though this claim has been recently contested. [12]
Mercury content in some species can also be an issue. In 2012, the Government of Nunavut, Canada warned pregnant women to lower their intake of ringed seal liver due to elevated levels of mercury. [13]
The neurotoxin in the liver of the pufferfish (which is consumed in Japanese cuisine as fugu, tightly regulated by Japanese law) contains the highest concentration of the tetrodotoxin, which characterizes the species. Consequently, the liver has been illegal to serve since 1984.
Pig liver is a traditional food of immigrant Okinawans in Hawaii. It used to be eaten on New Year's Eve. [14]
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and an essential nutrient for animals. The term "vitamin A" encompasses a group of chemically related organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin (precursor) carotenoids, most notably beta-carotene. Vitamin A has multiple functions: it is essential for embryo development and growth, for maintenance of the immune system, and for vision, where it combines with the protein opsin to form rhodopsin – the light-absorbing molecule necessary for both low-light and color vision.
Retinol, also called vitamin A1, is a fat-soluble vitamin in the vitamin A family that is found in food and used as a dietary supplement. Retinol or other forms of vitamin A are needed for vision, cellular development, maintenance of skin and mucous membranes, immune function and reproductive development. Dietary sources include fish, dairy products, and meat. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent vitamin A deficiency, especially that which results in xerophthalmia. It is taken by mouth or by injection into a muscle. As an ingredient in skin-care products, it is used to reduce wrinkles and other effects of skin aging.
Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of cod fish (Gadidae). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vitamin D. Historically, it was given to children because vitamin D had been shown to prevent rickets, a consequence of vitamin D deficiency.
Foie gras ; French:[fwaɡʁɑ], ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage.
Roe, or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes, and as a raw ingredient for delicacies such as caviar.
Offal, also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, and these lists of organs vary with culture and region, but usually exclude skeletal muscle. Offal may also refer to the by-products of milled grains, such as corn or wheat.
Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco.
Pickled herring is a traditional way of preserving herring as food by pickling or curing.
Xavier Guillaume Mertz was a Swiss polar explorer, mountaineer, and skier who took part in the Far Eastern Party, a 1912–1913 component of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, which claimed his life. Mertz Glacier on the George V Coast in East Antarctica is named after him.
Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe. It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the semen.
Hypervitaminosis A refers to the toxic effects of ingesting too much preformed vitamin A. Symptoms arise as a result of altered bone metabolism and altered metabolism of other fat-soluble vitamins. Hypervitaminosis A is believed to have occurred in early humans, and the problem has persisted throughout human history. Toxicity results from ingesting too much preformed vitamin A from foods, supplements, or prescription medications and can be prevented by ingesting no more than the recommended daily amount.
Nutrition and pregnancy refers to the nutrient intake, and dietary planning that is undertaken before, during and after pregnancy. Nutrition of the fetus begins at conception. For this reason, the nutrition of the mother is important from before conception as well as throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. An ever-increasing number of studies have shown that the nutrition of the mother will have an effect on the child, up to and including the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes throughout life.
Vitamins occur in a variety of related forms known as vitamers. A vitamer of a particular vitamin is one of several related compounds that performs the functions of said vitamin and prevents the symptoms of deficiency of said vitamin.
Historically Inuit cuisine, which is taken here to include Greenlandic cuisine, Yup'ik cuisine and Aleut cuisine, consisted of a diet of animal source foods that were fished, hunted, and gathered locally.
Fijian cuisine has long consisted of primarily foraged and farm-grown food. Although rice, wheat, and tea all became staples during Fiji's colonial era, native Fijians still eat primarily tubers and coconuts. The cuisine of Fiji is known for its seafood and various green vegetables, including ''ota'', a young forest fern, and ''bele'', a plant that resembles spinach.
Greenlandic cuisine is traditionally based on meat from marine mammals, birds, and fish, and normally contains high levels of protein. Since colonization and the arrival of international trade, the cuisine has been increasingly influenced by Danish, British, American and Canadian cuisine. During the summer when the weather is milder, meals are often eaten outdoors.
Yup'ik cuisine refers to the Eskimo style traditional subsistence food and cuisine of the Yup'ik people from the western and southwestern Alaska. Also known as Cup'ik cuisine for the Chevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Eskimos of Chevak and Cup'ig cuisine for the Nunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Eskimos of Nunivak Island. This cuisine is traditionally based on meat from fish, birds, sea and land mammals, and normally contains high levels of protein. Subsistence foods are generally considered by many to be nutritionally superior superfoods. Yup’ik diet is different from Alaskan Inupiat, Canadian Inuit, and Greenlandic diets. Fish as food are primary food for Yup'ik Eskimos. Both food and fish called neqa in Yup'ik. Food preparation techniques are fermentation and cooking, also uncooked raw. Cooking methods are baking, roasting, barbecuing, frying, smoking, boiling, and steaming. Food preservation methods are mostly drying and less often frozen. Dried fish is usually eaten with seal oil. The ulu or fan-shaped knife is used for cutting up fish, meat, food, and such.
Comorian cuisine refers not only to dishes from the independent Indian Ocean nation of the Comoros but also those of the French overseas department of Mayotte in the same archipelago.
