Pig's Liver by R.Borgacci

What's this

What is pork liver?

Pork liver is a product of animal origin that falls within the food group of offal; within the fifth quarter of the animal - which also includes: coratella, tripe, rinds, heart as food, brain as food, spleen as food, language as food, nerves etc - is probably one of the most consumed cuts.

Pork liver is classified in the first fundamental group of foods, since it contains proteins with high biological value, specific minerals and vitamins. It also uses more than relevant nutritional concentrations of: other water-soluble vitamins - different from those typical of the group of foods in question, such as folic acid and vitamin B12 or cobalamin - fat-soluble vitamins - vitamin A or retinol and vitamin D or calciferol - other minerals different from those typical of the group of foods in question - for example zinc, selenium and phosphorus - cholesterol, purines, etc. Pork liver also provides a small concentration of glycogen - a reserve carbohydrate, however strangely detected as soluble carbohydrates - and vitamin C or ascorbic acid. The nutritional characteristics of pig liver reflect its biological functions; for more information read also: Liver as Food.

Pig liver can be inserted in almost all diets; the diet against metabolic disorders and the nutritional regime of pregnant women are exceptions or require greater care. The average portion is equal to or less than that of the muscle and the frequency of consumption must respect the recommendations disclosed for the meat. It is always advisable to pay attention to the level of hygienic safety of the product.

Pork liver is not the most commonly used for food; it is however exceeded only by the liver of hen (fegatini) and by the liver of bovine. It is a food that is part of the gastronomic tradition of the whole peninsula, with a discreet consumption also in the south - where the calf and beef liver are less widespread.

Curiosity

For pigs we mainly mean pigs - even wild ones - at the most hybrids, but not wild boars.

That of the pigs (Suidae) is a biological Family, belonging to the Suborder Suidiformes and Classe Mammalia. The genus is the Sus, the species scrofa and the subspecies domesticus .

Nutritional Properties

Nutritional properties of pork liver

Pork liver belongs to the first fundamental group of foods - a nutritional source of essential amino acids, mineral salts and specific vitamins.

It has a medium energy supply, mainly provided by proteins, followed by lipids and finally by few carbohydrates. Peptides have a high biological value, ie they contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities and proportions with respect to the human protein model. The amino acid profile of pig liver is largely made up of: glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and lysine; remarkable the presence of phenylalanine. Pork liver is rich in energy fats - fatty acids organized in triglycerides - only when supercharged. The lipid profile of porcine liver shows a prevalence of unsaturated fats on saturated fats - the latter still relevant. The glucides are complex and more precisely consist of glycogen.

Pig liver does not contain fiber and is rich in cholesterol - regardless of the nutritional status of the slaughtered animal. It does not contain lactose, gluten or histamine; instead purines abound.

With regard to vitamins, pork liver contains all the soluble products of group B: thiamine (vit B1), riboflavin (vit B2), niacin (vit PP), pantothenic acid (vit B5), pyridoxine (vit B6), biotin ( vit B8 or vit H), folic acid and cobalamin (vit B12); the presence of ascorbic acid (vit C) is curious and unique in its kind, but quantitatively scarce. The contribution of two liposoluble vitamins is also excellent: retinol (vit A) and calciferol (vit D). Note : folic acid and vitamin C are thermolabile, which is why they do not "resist" cooking and are mostly inactivated.

As far as minerals are concerned, the pig liver is characterized by the significant concentration of: bioavailable iron, zinc, phosphorus, selenium, potassium, copper and molybdenum.

Hygiene

Hygienic aspects of pork liver as a food

Being the organ mainly responsible for metabolic processes, the liver can contain unwanted molecules, both of pharmacological derivation and of environmental or alimentary origin - for example dioxins, methylmercury, selenates, etc.

This depends above all on the lifestyle of the slaughtered animal. Slaughter pigs are mainly farm animals - at least semi-white - which is why the use of antibiotics and anabolics varies considerably depending on the source of supply. The same applies to environmental pollutants, especially when the animals feed and water on land or compromised aquifers. The hypothesis that feeds contain pollutants - especially certain metals - is remote, but not impossible.

Furthermore, pigs can also be affected by parasites; the organisms most frequently responsible for the disease in these animals, which may also be harmful to humans are: Ascaris suum, Echinococco, Fasciola hepatica . For this reason, before the trade, veterinary inspection of farmed animals is fundamental.

In general, it is advisable to choose guaranteed products, equipped with traceability and tracking; buying a pork liver taken from slaughtered animals at home can prove to be at least a rash choice. Let us remember that an animal of this size takes time and money for growth and adequate yield. The "good farmer", however honest, will always try to recover the money spent also using the meat of an infested animal. These pests die totally in cooking, but for safety reasons it is always advisable to avoid products that are not entirely healthy.

Diet

Pork liver as a food in the diet

Pork liver is a cheap and very nutritious food that lends itself to the diet of all healthy subjects. In the slimming diet it is instead advisable to reduce any fat used in cooking, oil or butter, to ensure a normolipid and low-calorie intake.

Despite the good ratio of fatty acids (saturated: unsaturated = <1), due to the high cholesterol content, pig liver is not particularly suitable in case of hypercholesterolemia. In a portion of pork liver is found over 75% of the recommended daily cholesterol ration and 130% for a hypercholesterolemic.

The pork liver, rich in high biological value proteins, is very useful in the diet of those who are in conditions of increased protein requirements; for example: pregnancy and lactation, growth, extremely intense and / or prolonged sports, old age - due to an eating disorder and a tendency to malabsorption - malabsorption, recovery from specific or generalized malnutrition, debasement.

Pig liver provides a significant amount of phenylalanine and is not among the foods suitable for phenylketonuria.

It is an excellent food source of bio-available iron and, regularly consumed in the diet, optimizes the coverage of the recommended ration. This is greater, and related to iron deficiency anemia, in fertile women - especially pregnant women - in marathon runners, vegetarians - especially in vegans. It contributes to the coverage of the phosphorus requirement, abundant in the organism and in particular in the bones and in the phospholipids - of the cellular membranes, in the nervous tissue etc. The content of zinc and selenium is more than appreciable; these two antioxidant minerals also have many other functions: zinc is essential for hormonal and enzymatic production, selenium for the health of the thyroid gland. It is not considered a primary source of potassium, but still contributes to the coverage of the specific requirement - greater in case of increased sweating, for example in sports, increased diuresis and diarrhea; the deficiency frequently leads to the onset of cramps and weakness. It is an alkalizing agent necessary for the functioning of the membrane potential which can be useful in the fight against high blood pressure.

The pork liver is rich in B vitamins, all coenzymatic factors of great importance in cellular processes. It can therefore be considered an excellent support for the correct functioning of all body tissues. The vitamin D content is important and very useful; also called calciferol, it is generally rare in food - because it is largely produced in summer skin - but necessary for the functioning of the immune system and bone metabolism. The pork liver recommended in the diet of the growing subject and also in the preventive osteoporosis. Very rich in vitamin A, it helps support visual function, cell replication, reproductive function, etc. However, given and considering the potential teratogenic effects related to the nutritional excess of this vitamin, it is advisable for pregnant women to be careful not to exceed the maximum dose.

The content of vitamins normally extraneous to foods of animal origin is interesting, although of secondary importance; we are talking about folic acid - necessary for the replication of nucleic acids and very important in pregnancy - and vitamin C - antioxidant and essential for the immune system. Pork liver is a food that - due to hygienic, organoleptic and taste issues - requires deep cooking, right down to the heart of the food, with temperatures above those of pasteurization. Folate and vitamin C are very vulnerable to high temperatures, as a result of which they tend to degrade, therefore the pig liver cannot therefore be considered a significant source of these nutrients.

Containing important levels of purines, pork liver is not recommended for those suffering from hyperuricemia - especially severe, with gouty attacks - and for those who have a greater tendency to calculosis / renal urinary lithiasis.

It is instead pertinent in lactose intolerance, in celiac disease and in histamine intolerance. It is not allowed in the vegetarian and vegan diet. It is inadequate for Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist food.

For the hygienic aspects mentioned above, it is necessary that the subjects with compromised immune system or in special conditions - for example pregnant women - pay particular attention to the cooking of pork liver - which must be total and deep - but above all to the choice of the supply source, which must necessarily be of a regular and certified type, and possibly of a high quality standard.

The average portion of pork liver is 100-150 g (about 140-210 kcal).

Kitchen

Tips for buying pork liver

To recognize a good pork liver from a poor quality one, we must recognize it:

1. Bright, turgid and NOT dehydrated appearance
2. Typical color (depending on the animal species of origin), not spotted or dotted.

Being highly perishable, it is necessary that the pork liver is always kept in refrigeration or by freezing.

Culinary aspects of pork liver

Pork is the most intense liver, from the gustatory point of view, among the various types offered on the market. The taste is initially sweet, secondarily replaced by clearly bitter notes. The sensation of being held is characteristic of all livers.

Pork liver is an exclusively cooked food to eat. The preferred processing methods are those for conduction, in a pan or in a casserole; it is also baked.

Among the most famous recipes with pork liver we recall: Venetian liver, breaded liver, fried liver, liver sautéed with butter and sage, etc.

The liver was also a very common ingredient, although today partially abandoned, in the preparation of sausages. Fresh or dried liver sausages, salama da sugo ferrarese etc. are famous.