Known familiarly as "gray matter," the brain achieves the consistency and appearance of pudding in the pigs, sheep, and cows that are the principal sources of culinary brains. In Southeast Asia and China, marrow is more likely to be used as soup thickener, or bones containing marrow cracked open and put in soup so the marrow can be sucked out.īrain - In both vertebrates and invertebrates, the brain is the center of all cognitive functions, the wheelhouse of the ship, if you will. Bone marrow of cattle and pigs has long been important in European cuisines, where special bone marrow spoons were developed in 18th century France and England to scoop the marrow out. While the red bone marrow’s primary function is to generate red blood cells and lymphocytes (white blood cells), the yellow bone marrow is mainly fat. Some cultural groups drink blood straight out of the animal in religious rituals or for reasons of health.īone marrow - The yellow and red jelly-like tissue inside bones is known as bone marrow, constituting as much as five percent of the body weight in some animals. Culinary uses of blood - usually from a cow, pig, duck, or chicken - include thickening and coloring stews and soups, and as an ingredient in sausages and puddings. Blood is colored by hemoglobin, a component of red blood cells that bonds with oxygen to carry it throughout the body, and also removes the carbon dioxide that results from metabolism. Pumped by the heart and transported via veins and arteries, blood ferries nourishment to the body and aids in defense against disease. In the second half, we’ll identify those cuisines in which offal (an even vaguer term) may be most readily found, and what dishes to look for.īlood - Yes, blood is technically an organ, even though it seems odd. In this two-part piece, we’ll first explore several aspects of organs and other variety meats, from the biological functions, to myths and associated tales, to the culinary uses to which they’ve been put. What are variety meats, then? This term includes organs, but also things like tendon and jowl that are not specifically organs but have achieved fifth quarter status by being rejected by broad segments of the dining public due to unwanted textures or associations, or difficulty of cooking. The kidneys, for example, filter the blood to produce urine, while the tongue furnishes our sense of taste, assists in producing speech, and waves chewed food through on its way down the alimentary canal. What is an organ, anyway? It’s a delimited collection of tissue or tissues, often all in one place and dedicated to a specific biological function. But there has always been something a little raffish about eating them here in the U.S., though certain organs like liver, bone marrow, and tripe have recently achieved more widespread acceptance - among chefs at least, who find it stylish to incorporate obscure animal parts into their menus. Concealed in sausages, or even reviled and discarded in some cultures, these tissues constitute a prized part of the culinary arsenal in Rome. In Rome it goes by the name of "quinto quarto" - the so-called fifth quarter of the animal, comprising the offal and other variety meats. Robert Sietsema answers the age-old question: What is an organ, anyway?
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