Useful and harmful properties of pork liver

Pork liver is a well-known and often used by-product in cooking. People’s love for him is connected with his good taste, affordability and low cost.

Pork liver

Appearance

The appearance of the pork liver should correspond to certain indicators, the main among which is its color. Healthy pork liver has a light brown tint, which can be seen on any photo of this product. the weight of the offal should be from 1.5 to 2 kg. Lighter weight pork liver indicates diseases of the pig.

You can distinguish a healthy fresh pork liver from a patient by carefully examining its appearance. The surface of a healthy and fresh pork the liver looks even, smooth, without any spots. Their presence hints at serious illnesses. For example, white bubbles on the surface of the product indicate that the piglet from which it was obtained suffered a serious infectious disease – echinococcosis. The causative agent of this disease can be dangerous for humans.

To determine the suitability for eating the liver, you need to make a small incision on it.If the sectional product is moist and has a porous structure with scarlet bloody discharge, it is fresh. If the structure of the liver is broken or brown blood flows out of it, you should not use such a product. A quick dent means that the product is fresh and of good quality, and the remaining recess is evidence that it is spoiled. There is another indicator by which you can “feel” the difference between a good and a bad liver: this is its smell. The aroma of a fresh and healthy raw liver should be pleasant and somewhat sweet. The smell of the spoiled product clearly feels sourness.

Composition and useful qualities

The chemical composition of pork liver, as well as chicken and beef, is rich in trace elements necessary for optimal human life.

Vitamin beta-carotene, called the “elixir of youth”, present in this product, strengthens the body’s protective functions, slows down cell aging and is a preventative against cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer.

The presence of St. another liver, vitamin B, vitamin A, C, H, E, and PP ensure the normal functioning of the human nervous and digestive systems, increase resistance to stress and help maintain normal blood sugar levels.It is impossible to overestimate the beneficial properties of pork liver for women who are expecting a baby, because folic acid (vitamin B9), which is part of it, contributes to the normal development of the fetus and supports the body of a pregnant woman.

The composition of the pork liver includes vitamins of group B , vitamins A, C, H, E and PP

Given the high content of fatty acids, antioxidants and the substance ferritin, pig liver, along with beef and chicken, is recommended for patients with anemia, atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. Due to its beneficial properties, it is an excellent prophylactic for eye diseases. This product is extremely useful for patients with blood clotting problems. In its composition, the pork liver contains iron, which affects the synthesis of hemoglobin in the blood. A lack of iron in the human body leads to a deterioration of the skin, which can be made up by regularly eating dishes prepared from pork, chicken or beef liver.

Lysine in the liver helps to increase the digestibility of protein. As you know, protein is a building material for the human body, its deficiency leads to degeneration and diseases of internal organs. In this regard, liver dishes will be useful and even necessary not only for a small child whose body grows and develops, but also for an athlete, as well as a person whose body is recovering from diseases.

We can speak about the benefits of pork liver thanks to the copper contained in it. This element has excellent anti-inflammatory properties and is responsible for skin elasticity.

The beneficial properties of pork liver are enhanced by methionine, choline and folic acid, which prevents the appearance of benign and malignant tumors. The use of thiamine, which is part of the by-product, is to neutralize the damage caused to the human body by tobacco products and alcoholic beverages. Regular consumption of pork liver stimulates the work of the brain, kidneys and reproductive system, and also significantly improves the condition of hair, teeth, nails. The use of this product is evidenced by the presence of tryptophan in its composition, which normalizes sleep and positively affects the human nervous system.

Energy value

Nutritional value of pork liver, that is, the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in it, the following: proteins – 18.8 g; fats – 3.8 g, carbohydrates – 4.7 g.

These indicators are calculated per 100 g of product. The energy value of pork liver per 100 g of product is 109 kcal. This is slightly less than the calorie content of beef liver, which is 127 kcal per 100 g of product.

How many calories the dish will contain has a huge influence on the way it is prepared.For example, fried pork liver is a higher-calorie dish compared to boiled, whose energy value can reach 200 kcal. But the calorie content of pork liver cake is 157 kcal per 100 g of the dish.

Cautions

Despite all the useful properties of pork liver, there are some warnings for using this product. The most important of them is associated with a high content of cholesterol in the liver, which can cause blockage of blood vessels and cause circulatory disorders. This is especially dangerous for the elderly. Therefore, in order not to harm your body, you should not eat a pig’s liver more than once every 6-7 days, no matter how tasty it may be.

In addition to cholesterol, pork liver contains purine substances that increase levels uric acid. An increased concentration of this substance can harm the human body and contribute to the development of gout. Pork liver is contraindicated in cirrhosis, rheumatism, arthrosis.

Features of the preparation

Pork liver is a versatile product that is easy to bake, boil, grill, fry. In cooking, there are a lot of pork liver snacks that are easy to make at home.For example, if you are waiting for guests, you can make a delicate and tasty liver cake as an appetizer, but for a quiet homemade dinner, you should choose a liver with spices in batter, which not only adults but also children will enjoy. As a second course, the liver is eaten with pasta, buckwheat, and rice. An excellent side dish for it will be stewed, fried or boiled vegetables.

From this product you can make a stunning liver paste, boiling the liver in salted water along with vegetables and spices, and then twisting it all with oil and cooling. A delicate liver mousse, in which cream is added, can be a great snack. Seasoned pork liver is an excellent filling for pancakes, rolls, pies and dumplings. The offal chunks, beaten and fried in the egg, are popular with both children and adults.

Before you start cooking pork liver, its surface must be cleaned of the outer film, which is quite simple. Perhaps the only taste deficiency of this product is bitterness, which can be easily removed with a fairly simple method. So that the liver does not get bitter, it needs to be soaked for 1-2 hours in water, but you can do this in milk. It is better to take cow’s milk.

Before soaking the offal in milk, it must be thoroughly washed with water to remove bile. You can soak in milk as a whole piece of the product, as well as small portioned portions. To properly soak the offal, do the following:

1. Take a deep dish and dip the offal into it.
2. Pour the milk so that it completely covers the product.
3. Leave the offal for 1-2 hours, no more, then take it out and put it on a paper towel.
4. The product dried with a towel can be used for cooking.

Pork liver soaked in milk will become not only not bitter, but also tender and juicy. Hard and dry liver after cooking is not uncommon. To prevent such troubles from affecting you, during cooking you should put the by-product into the already boiled water, and salt – at the very end of the process. To make the liver soft, juicy and soft, it is advisable to add a little sugar during its preparation.