| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 561 kJ (134 kcal) |
| Carbohydrates | 2.5 g |
| Fat | 3.7 g |
| Protein | 21 g |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 6500 μg (813%) |
| Riboflavin (vit. B2) | 3 mg (250%) |
| Niacin (vit. B3) | 15 mg (100%) |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.7 mg (54%) |
| Folate (vit. B9) | 212 μg (53%) |
| Vitamin B12 | 26 μg (1083%) |
| Iron | 23 mg (177%) |
| Sodium | 87 mg (6%) |
| Calf liver and chicken liver are comparable. Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database |
|
The liver of mammals, fowl, and fish are commonly eaten as food by humans. Domestic pig, ox, lamb, calf, chicken, and goose livers are widely available from butchers and supermarkets.
Liver can be baked, boiled, broiled, fried, stir-fried, or eaten raw (lebanese cuisine, liver sashimi). In many preparations, pieces of liver are combined with pieces of meat or kidneys, like in mixed grill or meurav Yerushalmi. Liver is often made into spreads. Well-known examples include liver pâté, foie gras, chopped liver, and leverpostej. Liver sausages such as Braunschweiger and liverwurst are also a valued meal. Liver sausages may also be used as spreads.
Animal livers are rich in iron and vitamin A, and cod liver oil is commonly used as a dietary supplement. Traditionally, some fish livers were valued as food, especially the stingray liver. It was used to prepare delicacies, such as poached skate liver on toast in England, as well as the beignets de foie de raie and foie de raie en croute in French cuisine.[1]
Very high doses of vitamin A have the potential to be toxic and can cause hypervitaminosis A, a dangerous disorder. Russian sailor Alexander Konrad, who accompanied explorer Valerian Albanov in a tragic ordeal over the Arctic ice in 1912, wrote about the awful effects of consuming polar bear liver.[2] Also, in 1913, Antarctic explorers Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were both poisoned, the latter fatally, from eating husky liver.[3]
Poisoning is less likely from consuming oil-based vitamin A products and liver than from consuming water-based and solid preparations.[4]
Inuit will not eat the liver of polar bears (a polar bear's liver contains so much vitamin A as to be poisonous to humans), or seals.[5]
Unrelated to its vitamin content, pufferfish (which is consumed in Japanese cuisine as fugu) liver contains the highest concentration of the neurotoxin which characterizes the species. As a result, it is generally not eaten, and its consumption is tightly regulated by Japanese law.