Thursday, July 16, 2015

Tradition

It is an annual tradition with no set date, celebrated only by me (at least that I know of). There are no special decorations, no themed songs, no requirement for special clothing or trips to relatives' homes.

The tradition?

The annual eating of the liverwurst sandwich.

Calves' or pigs' livers, meat (around here, generally pork), fat, bacon and spices all smashed up together into a wonderful, sliceable paste. Admittedly high in fat and sodium, a typical serving has more vitamin B12 and A than you need in a day (without turning you orange the way carrots might). Add in the 8 grams of protein and a quarter of the daily iron requirement, and it's a bit of a nutritional powerhouse.

Provided you don't eat it every day.

I'll admit it may be an acquired taste, but it's something I grew up with, a bit of a nod to my dad's German heritage, much like enjoying anchovies runs through my mom's Sicilian blood. Just goes to show that if you don't tell a kid something tastes "icky", they will try just about anything.

Onion and mustard are the usual condiments on a sandwich; I prefer mine plain. In an odd twist of fate, the bread I had on hand was Italian, rather than the more traditional rye. Still, it was a mighty fine sandwich.

Now that tradition has been observed for this year, I'm thinking that I should eat liverwurst more often, in spite of its artery-clogging properties. It's only a matter of time before the FDA bans it because of the high fat content (26% of your daily fat, but 30% of your daily saturated fat in each delicious serving). One would hope that Milwaukee, with a proud German heritage, would hold out against such a heinous act, but big government has ways of enforcing their will.

Should that ever be the case, I fully expect to run a pork product black market out of my condo. Just so you know.

3 comments:

melissa said...

Made me laugh! And love that you've made it event. I've eaten it in the past, German on both sides, so guess it was inevitable. Sadly, Irish-French husband has been denied the pleasure. Must change that. :)

Diane said...

Be sure it's actual liver sausage, not the Oscar Mayer braunscheiger in the tube. I like that, too, but it's much more liver-ish and spicy than the other.

I also eat raw beef and onions...that seems to be a SE Wisconsin thing, though. Back when I worked for the caterer (1976-1983 ish) it was a big item on wedding banquet menus. Served on little cocktail rye bread.

Ah, the foods of our youth that the next generation may never get to sample due to government regulations!

melissa said...

Also a fan of Bavarian sauerkraut. :) Another dish I have to convince my family to eat. Of course, if they don't, more for me!

Btw, made your tomato tart for the third time last night. Love it, and leftover, when there ARE leftovers, are wonderful. I used Roma tomatoes twice, and they seemed to be the favored choice, since the tomatoes I used the last time made it too tangy. Over ripe once in the grocery store's discount bin are always good. I adore that recipe. :)