Analysis: What Am I Chopped Liver

What Am I, Chopped Liver? In modern day American culture, variety meats are rarely found on the menu. If a variety meat such as cow tongue or chicken liver does find its way onto the table, most people refuse to touch it. Americans miss out on a large portion of valuable meat because they eat mainly the lean muscle. When we process a hog or a cow, we usually harvest the internal organs to be packaged and sold to other countries that consume variety meats. Other cultures prepare variety meats such as heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, tripe, and sweetbread in different ways, and these are often staples and delicacies. While Americans typically view variety meats as bizarre, the indigenous people of this country were very resourceful and utilized
Argentina, for example, prefers to grill the small intestines and sweetbreads with cumin and peppers for a more exotic, spicy flavor. Bolivia takes a different approach to preparing and serving organs. They incorporate kidney and beef trip into potato soup, and tongue is stewed and then served over rice in gravy. China laced its cow tripe with shredded ginger, and covers their tongue with red chili oil and peppercorn for more of a kick. The French are more exquisite in their preparation and flavor profile, serving calf brains with a black butter, kidneys slathered in a cream or mustard sauce, and tripe bathed in an apple brandy. Germans, not surprisingly, have a heartier way of eating their variety meats, usually making beef liver and spleen into sausage. In India, the variety meats they consume are less popular than in other countries. They eat more goat and lamb. For example, goat brain is served in thick gravy as a snack, and lamb liver and kidneys are fried with coriander and chilies, giving it a succulent yet spicy flavor. Mexican sticks to what it knows best with tripe tacos and tongue quesadillas, and eyeballs find their way in tacos on occasion as well, along with ear or head (Sietsema). The preparations of variety meats across cultures is widely due to the traditional ways of cooking found in that culture, and the flavor profile is consistent with the other foods found in that