The brain, like most other internal organs, or offal, can serve as nourishment. Brains used for nourishment include those of pigs, squirrels, horses, cattle, monkeys, chickens and goats. In many cultures, different types of brain are considered a delicacy.
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The brain of animals features in French cuisine, in dishes such as cervelle de veau and tête de veau.
Similar delicacies from around the world include Mexican tacos de sesos.[1] The Anyang tribe of Cameroon practiced a tradition in which a new tribal chief would consume the brain of a hunted gorilla while another senior member of the tribe would eat the heart.[2] Indonesian cuisine specialty in Minangkabau cuisine also served beef brain in a coconut-milk gravy named gulai otak (beef brain curry). In Cuban cuisine, "brain fritters" are made by coating pieces of brain with bread crumbs and then frying them.
DHA, an important omega-3 fatty acid which is also referred to by the technical designation of 22:6, is found concentrated in mammalian brains. For example, according to the nutrition data website, 3 oz. of cooked beef brain contains 727 mg of DHA.[3] By way of comparison, the NIH has determined that small children need at least 150 mg of DHA per day, and pregnant and lactating women need at least 300 mg of DHA.[4]
The makeup of the brain is about 12% fat, most of which is located in myelin (which itself is 70-80% fat).[5] Specific fatty acid ratios will depend in part on the diet of the animal it is harvested from. The brain is also very high in cholesterol. As an example, a 140 g can of "pork brains in milk gravy", a single serving, contains 3500 milligrams of cholesterol, 1170% of the USRDA.[6]
Brain consumption can result in contracting fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other prion diseases in humans and mad cow disease in cattle.[7] Another prion disease called kuru has been traced to a funerary ritual among the Fore people of Papua New Guinea in which those close to the dead would eat the brain of the deceased to create a sense of immortality.[8] Some archaeological evidence suggests that the mourning rituals of European Neanderthals also involved the consumption of the brain.[9] Because of the risk of being infected by prions one should always wear gloves when handling brains.
It is also well-known in the hunting community that the brain of North American wild animals should not be consumed, due to the risk of chronic wasting disease. The brain is still useful to hunters, in that most animals have enough brain matter for use in the tanning of their own hides.