R.Borgacci's Goose Liver

What's this

What is goose liver?

The goose liver (domestic goose) is a food of animal origin that is part of the offal group.

In reference to the fifth quarter of the animal - which also includes products such as: coratella, tripe, rinds, heart as food, brain as food, spleen as food, language as food, nerves etc. - the liver is probably one of the most consumed cuts in Italy and abroad. Goose is very popular especially in France, where it is customary to subject the animals to forced overeating - causing them to suffer from fatty liver steatosis - to obtain the so-called "foie gras" or goose fat liver. With the foie gras, always in French cuisine, the "paté de foie gras" is prepared. Note : many mistakenly use foie gras and paté de foie gras as synonyms; however, while the former is an ingredient, the latter is a real recipe.

Curiosity

From the point of view of biological classification, the goose is a bird - Class Aves - belonging to the Family Anatidae and Subfamily Anserinae, Genus Anser, species anser and subspecies domesticus .

The goose 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 other than those typical of the group of foods in question - for example selenium and phosphorus - cholesterol, purines, etc. The goose liver also provides a small concentration of vitamin C or ascorbic acid. The nutritional characteristics of the goose liver are closely related to its biological tasks; for more information read also: Liver as Food.

The goose liver - not the foie gras - can be inserted in almost all diets; the diet against certain metabolic disorders and, in some ways, the nutritional regime of pregnant women are exceptions, or require greater care. The average portion is equal to or less than that of the muscular cuts and the frequency of consumption must respect the identical recommendations for meat. It is always advisable to pay attention to the level of hygienic safety of the product.

Nutritional Properties

Nutritional properties of goose liver

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

It has a medium energy supply, mainly provided by proteins, followed by lipids. 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 the goose liver is largely made up of: glutamic acid, aspartic acid, leucine and lysine; remarkable the presence of phenylalanine. Only in the case of foie gras, the goose liver can contain a high amount of energy lipids - fatty acids organized in triglycerides. The lipid profile of the goose liver should show a prevalence of unsaturated fats on the saturated ones - the latter in any case relevant, proportionally higher in the foie gras and very high in the paté de foie gras

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

With regard to vitamins, the goose liver contains all the solubles 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); appreciable, because it is rare in foods of animal origin, the presence of ascorbic acid (vit C). 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 by irreversibly deactivating themselves.

As far as minerals are concerned, goose liver is characterized by significant concentrations of: iron - highly bioavailable - zinc, phosphorus, selenium, potassium, copper and molybdenum.

Hygiene

Hygienic aspects of goose liver as a food

Being the organ mainly responsible for metabolic processes, the liver can contain unwanted molecules; these can have a pharmacological, environmental or food derivation - for example residues of antibiotics, anabolics, dioxins, methylmercury, selenates, etc. This depends above all on the lifestyle of the farmed and slaughtered animal. The slaughter geese come exclusively from specific farms, aimed at food, which is why the use of antibiotics, or worse anabolic substances, varies considerably depending on the source of supply.

Did you know that ...

Are Italian farms certainly among the most controlled and regulated in Europe? Moreover, thanks to the regulations of the European Union, products of poor healthiness are unlikely to constitute the food market of the Old Continent.

The same applies to environmental pollutants; in this case, the contamination of the meat takes place above all when the animals feed and drink on land or from compromised aquifers. The hypothesis that feed contains pollutants is remote, but not impossible.

In general it is advisable to choose guaranteed products, equipped with traceability and traceability - better if national; buying a goose liver taken from animals slaughtered at home can be a rash choice.

Diet

Goose liver as a food in the diet

Goose liver is a fairly inexpensive food - the same cannot be said for foie gras - and very nutritious, which lends itself to the diet of all healthy subjects. In the slimming diet it is instead advisable to decrease the use of oil or butter during cooking to ensure a normolipidic and low-calorie intake. Foie gras or goose fat liver is not recommended in the obesity diet.

Despite the satisfactory ratio between fatty acids (saturated: unsaturated = <1), due to the high cholesterol content, goose liver is not particularly suitable in case of hypercholesterolemia. In a portion of goose liver you should find most of the recommended daily cholesterol ration, especially for those suffering from hypercholesterolemia (≤ 200 mg / day), but also for a healthy person (≤ 300 mg / day). Foie gras or goose fat liver is always not recommended in the hypercholesterolemia diet.

The goose 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 geriatric malabsorption - pathological malabsorption, recovery from specific or generalized malnutrition, debasement etc.

Goose 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 nutritional requirements. This is greater and, if not appropriately satisfied, related to the incidence of iron deficiency anemia, in fertile, pregnant women, marathon runners and vegetarians - especially in vegans. The goose liver contributes to the coverage of the phosphorus requirement, abundant in the organism - in particular in the bones, in the phospholipids of the cellular membranes and 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 an essential source of potassium, but still contributes to covering the specific needs - greater in case of increased sweating, for example in sports, increased diuresis and diarrhea; the lack of this ion induces, especially related to lack of magnesium and dehydration, the onset of muscle cramps and general weakness. It is an alkalizing agent - like magnesium - necessary for the functioning of the membrane potential; it can be very useful in the fight against the pathology of primary arterial hypertension.

The goose liver is very rich in B vitamins, all coenzymatic factors of great importance in cellular processes. It can therefore be considered an excellent support for the functioning of all body tissues. The vitamin D content is important and very useful; also called calciferol, this nutrient is necessary for the functioning of the immune system and for bone metabolism. It is a generally rare vitamin in food although, on the other hand, it is synthesized in the skin during the summer - thanks to sun exposure - and stored precisely in the liver. This food is therefore recommended in the diet of the growing person and also in the preventive one 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 incur nutritional excess.

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. The goose 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; for this reason, the goose liver cannot be considered a significant source of the aforementioned nutrients.

Containing important levels of purines, goose 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 Hindu and Buddhist food; it has no contraindications for those Muslim and Jewish.

For the hygienic aspects mentioned above, it is necessary to pay close attention to the choice of the source of supply, which must necessarily be of a regular and certified type, and possibly of a high quality standard.

The average portion of goose liver is 100-150 g.

Kitchen

Tips for buying goose liver

To recognize a good goose liver from others of poor quality, we must be able to observe:

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 goose liver is always kept in refrigeration or by freezing.

Culinary aspects of goose liver

The goose liver has a very intense taste but, among the various types offered on the market, it is not the strongest and most demanding on the palate - a typical characteristic of large animals, especially the pig. The taste is initially sweet, secondarily accompanied by bitter notes; gives a slight feeling of being held together.

As we have already pointed out, goose liver is a food to be eaten exclusively cooked. The preferred processing methods are those for conduction, in a pan or in a casserole.

The most widespread recipes based on goose liver are: Venetian goose liver - such as pork and beef liver, stewed goose liver, goose liver pasta and cherry tomatoes, goose liver sautéed with potatoes and wild fennel, goose liver in red wine, polenta with goose liver, etc.