Offal

The offal is the edible part of the "fifth quarter" of an animal, that is to say all the songs that are not of the beef cattle. Formerly, they were called also "accessories". They are numerous and have little in common except for not being of the meat .

Classifications

We distinguish on the one hand offal "white" and offal "red", although the relationship with their color is very uncertain: the offal

• Strawberry calf
• tripe from beef (belly)
• ears of pork and veal
• rumen of lamb or veal
• legs of lamb and mutton, beef, pork, veal
• head of beef, mutton, pork, veal
• Tripe beef, mutton (stomach and intestines)

organ meats

• flirtations beef, mutton, veal (spinal cord)
• animelles white kidney or lamb, sheep, ram, bull (testicles)
• brains of lamb, beef, pork, veal
• Heart Lamb, Veal, beef, pork, veal
• liver of lamb, beef (known as calf), pork, veal
• cheeks, lamb, mutton, beef, pork, veal
• language of lamb, mutton, beef, veal
• muzzle of beef, pork
• tail of lamb, beef, pork, veal
• lamb sweetbreads, young beef, veal (thymus)
• kidney lamb, mutton, beef, pork, veal

There can also:

• noble offal : brain, heart, liver, tongue, sweetbreads, kidneys, sold as is
• offal cooked or scalded : strawberry, tripe, stomach, ears, nose, feet, tail, head and guts.

The cheeks have a special status because they are sold as meat. This nobility is not necessarily related to the prize: the heart is cheap and very expensive liver.It has no connection either with the gastronomic reputation, it often varies with fashion.

Regulatory

The sale of certain offal from cattle (beef and veal) and sheep (mutton, lamb) has been severely restricted since 1996 because of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy). All offal sold today are licensed and are therefore safe.

Hygienic

The giblets are very fragile foods. They are generally found in fresh and butchers tray or frozen in supermarkets. Always be very careful about:

• the freshness of various products;
• cleanliness of the store: it must be absolute;
• cleanliness of the butcher himself;
• the temperature of the refrigerated cabinet in supermarkets: it must not exceed 3 ° C;
• temperature storage cabinet for frozen products: - 18 ° C.

It is imperative to prepare and consume them soon after purchase.

Nutrition

The giblets are suffering from a bad image, probably because some are rich in cholesterol and uric acid. Now everybody does not suffer from high cholesterol or gout. The offal not lacking in nutritional qualities:

• all are rich in protein : 17 to 22%
• many are poor: tripe (2% fat ), sweetbreads and liver (4%), kidney (5%)
• the offal reds are particularly rich in vitamins and minerals

Liver and kidneys are the body of the animal as a filter. They can store hazardous substances such as residues of hormones or antibiotics when such treatments have been inflicted. Therefore it is advantageous to always choose offal from animals labeled.

Offal, balanced diet and health

The giblets are not everyday consumer, even those that are cheap. Therefore they have little actual influence on the balanced diet and health. offal red and white have very different nutritional values. The reds are rich in vitamins andminerals , less fat, some even very thin. Most are rich in cholesterol and uric acid which limits their use. People who suffer from gout and / or hypercholesterolemia know that their foods are forbidden.