Sunday, January 4, 2015

Lament for liverwurst

Liverwurst is no longer available from our friendly neighborhood multinational retailer. It disappeared from the deli a long time ago. And now it has disappeared from the meat aisle. I buy the stuff only two or three times a year, so I have no right to complain. But I can lament.

Liverwurst is a vanishing foodstuff. Yet once upon a time, it was the very definition of fun. “Once I lived the life of a millionaire,” &c.

Liverwurst (prepackaged) is still available from the local supermarket, for now.

[The quoted words? Listen.]

comments: 12

Slywy said...

No longer?

My Pennsylvania Dutch country parents called it braunschweiger. I used to get cravings for it once or twice a year and eat it by the slice. I think it was a craving for the simplicity of childhood.

Michael Leddy said...

Childhood, yes. There’ll be something tomorrow.

The Crow said...

Here in south-central Pennsylvania we can still get it sliced at the deli counters. One of the local meat markets still carries the square loaf covered in the firm white fat I used to love.

I like mine with thinly sliced sweet onions, similarly sliced kosher dills, the spicy brown mustard (aka German mustard) on seeded rye bread. Some good German potato salad and a nice dark beer (lots of foam, please) on the side and I am in heaven - or close enough!

Now I must go to the grocery!

Chris said...

God, I grew up on the stuff (and baloney). The very thought gives me the shivers now. I ate haggis once; it was like liverwurst, but worse.

Michael Leddy said...

Martha, that sounds like a perfect meal. Now I am jonesing for potato salad. For me, deli stuff has always been the food of the gods.

Chris, I just discovered your Rotograph pages by clicking on your name. I’ll be following.

I’m an at least semi-adventurous eater, but I think I’d have to draw a line at haggis.

Chris said...

There's a pretty great version of "Nobody Knows You..." by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong, by the way.

The upside of haggis is that it's traditionally eaten with rutabaga, which will kill the taste of virtually anything.

Elaine said...

Hand up for 'Braunsweiger'--which I used to buy prepackaged, I admit. The children called it 'Brown Tiger' and ate it eagerly....image is everything, right?

Back when I could handle raw onions, thinly slivered red onion was the accompaniment. Now the calorie count deters me, alas.

The Crow said...

There are no calories in thinly sliced onions, especially the red ones. So, enjoy, enjoy!

(I know you meant the other stuff.)

Michael Leddy said...

I hope today’s post of a Life ad reassures any skeptics about the healthfulness of the wurst.

Chris, I don’t know that recording. Have you seen Louie Bluie?

Chris said...

Louie Bluie is great. There's also another documentary about Howard Armstrong, filmed a few years later. It's called Sweet Old Song.

Michael Leddy said...

I wonder how I missed that one. I just tried Netflix, expecting “Availability unknown,” but it’s not there at all. It’s nice to see that PBS still has the trailer.

Slywy said...

South-central Pennsylvania — anywhere near Altoona? Dad from Altoona, mom from Bellwood. When visiting relatives, I woke up to the scent of the Tyrone paper mills in my nostrils.