Livermush is a Southern United States pork food product prepared using pig liver, parts of pig heads, cornmeal and spices. It is a regional cuisine that is common in

Western North Carolina Western North Carolina (often abbreviated as WNC) is the region of North Carolina which includes the Appalachian Mountains; it is often known geographically as the state's Mountain Region. It contains the highest mountains in the Eastern United ...

, and is typically consumed as a breakfast and lunch food. It has been suggested that livermush derives from

scrapple Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name ''Pannhaas'' ("pan tenderloin" in English), is traditionally a mush of pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour, often buckwheat flour, and spices. The mush is for ...

. By law in North Carolina, the product must consist of at least 30% pig liver. Several festivals exist in North Carolina that are dedicated to the food. Though sometimes considered the same as liver pudding, livermush generally contains more cornmeal and is coarser in texture. It is generally prepared using a different recipe than for liver pudding.

Overview

Livermush is composed of pig liver, pig head parts such as snouts and

ears An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists o ...

cornmeal Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...

and seasonings. It is commonly spiced with

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

and sage. The meat ingredients are all cooked and then ground, after which the cornmeal and seasoning is added. The final mixture is formed into blocks which are then refrigerated. It typically has a low fat content and a high protein content. It is a regional cuisine that is commonly found in the western part of North Carolina, as well as being noticeably present in central North Carolina. It is also consumed in other parts of the state, and is available in some areas in other states as well, such as Georgia, Virginia and areas in Florida. Livermush is

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...

in Shelby, North Carolina by two meat packing companies, Jenkins Foods and Mack’s Liver Mush and Meat Co., who distribute it to various states. It is cooked by cutting a slice off of a premade loaf and frying it. At breakfast it is served alongside

grits Grits are a type of porridge made from boiled cornmeal. Hominy grits are a type of grits made from hominy – corn that has been treated with an alkali in a process called nixtamalization, with the pericarp (ovary wall) removed. Grits are of ...

and eggs. For lunch it can be made into a sandwich with mayonnaise, grape jelly or mustard, either fried, or left cold. As livermush's popularity has risen, it has appeared as an ingredient in dishes such as

omelette In cuisine, an omelette (also spelled omelet) is a dish made from beaten eggs, fried with butter or oil in a frying pan (without stirring as in scrambled egg). It is quite common for the omelette to be folded around fillings such as chives ...

s and

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, on ...

History

It has been suggested that livermush derives from

, and likely originated from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

settlers who traveled south through the

Appalachian mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

in the 1700s. In the 1930s and 1940s, a five-pound portion of livermush cost around 10 cents. Today, by law in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, genuine livermush must consist of at least 30% pig liver.

Events

Shelby, North Carolina hosts an annual Livermush Exposition, which began in 1987 to celebrate the unique delicacy. In that year the Cleveland County Commissioners and the Shelby City Council passed resolutions proclaiming that "livermush is the most delicious, most economical and most versatile of meats." Other towns in North Carolina that have livermush festivals include Drexel and Marion.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web , author=C. Davis, Timothy , title=North Carolina goes hog wild over livermush , website=

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

, date=22 December 2004 , url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1222/p14s01-lifo.html , access-date=5 January 2020 Poteat, Bill (18 August 2018)
"Livermush victim of hateful prejudice"
''

The Gaston Gazette ''The Gaston Gazette'' is an American, English-language daily newspaper based in Gastonia, North Carolina. The newspaper was owned by Freedom Communications until 2012, when Freedom sold its Florida and North Carolina papers to Halifax Media Gro ...

''. Retrieved 5 January 2020. {{cite web , author= Clevenger, Kelli H. , title=The Liver Mush Mystique , website= Paste , date=11 January 2016 , url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/the-liver-mush-mystique.html , access-date=5 January 2020 {{cite book , last=Karon , first=J. , last2=McIntosh , first2=M. , title=Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader , publisher=Viking , series=A Mitford Novel Series , year=2004 , isbn=978-0-670-03239-6 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ce0NCfwEO9IC&pg=PA56 , access-date=5 January 2020 , page=56 {{cite book , last=Deutsch , first=J. , title=We Eat What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Unusual Foods in the United States , publisher=ABC-CLIO , year=2018 , isbn=978-1-4408-4112-5 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGxaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 , access-date=5 January 2020 , page=203 {{cite book , last=Frye , first=J. , title=Moon North Carolina , publisher=Avalon Publishing , series=Moon Handbooks , year=2014 , isbn=978-1-61238-603-4 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQtjAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA411 , access-date=5 January 2020 , page=411 {{cite web , last=Rhew , first=Adam , title=In North Carolina, Livermush Still Wins Hearts , publisher=

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band) Eater are an early British punk rock band from North London who took their name from a Marc Bolan lyric. In October 2001, the band's second single, "Thinking of the USA" (originally released in June 1977), ...

, date=16 September 2016 , url=https://www.eater.com/2016/9/16/12921932/what-is-livermush-north-carolina , access-date=5 January 2020 Orlando, Joyce (16 October 2019)
"Mush, Music and Mutts kicks off Saturday in Shelby"
'' The Shelby Star''. Retrieved 5 January 2020. "Cook’s Corner: Livermush well-known in some parts of South"
February 4, 2014. ''

Athens Banner-Herald The ''Athens Banner-Herald'' is a daily newspaper with less than 20,000 circulation located in Athens, Georgia, USA, and owned by Gannett. The paper has a Sunday special and publishes online under the name ''Online Athens''. It has been through a ...

''. Retrieved 5 January 2020.

External links

* Shuford, Chuck (6 November 2007, updated November 11, 2018
"What Happened to Poor Man’s Paté"
The Daily Yonder. Cuisine of the Southern United States Pork dishes Liver (food) Savory puddings North Carolina culture Meat and grain sausages Offal

Overview

History

Events

See also

References

External links