I’m usually a pretty polite houseguest. I say thank you, try not to be too bothersome, and eat what’s put in front of me.

Until a couple weeks ago. We were staying with my husband’s grandpa for a week while our trailer was getting some fix-ups down in toasty St. George. Grandpa Fritz is from Germany, which is very much reflected in the diet. Lots of bread and meat and butter- a little fruit and not a vegetable in sight all week ;). While the food he served was definitely not gourmet, I always politely accepted and ate without complaint.

Until one night. Grandpa told us to come for dinner and I sat down to two sandwich halves. I wasn’t exactly sure what was inside and when I opened up the corner to peek inside I was horrified to see what looked like pink, raw meat spread across the bread with a thick slab of butter. I thought “Surely Grandpa isn’t serving something that would be unsafe to eat…. Right??”. After we said the blessing on the food, I tentatively picked up my sandwich and gingerly took a bite while watching everyone else do so. I was surprised that my tastebuds were not completely revulsed- not that it tasted fabulous, but it wasn’t disgusting either. I slowly tried to take bites, eating more of the crust than anything. I think the texture and the idea of pink meat spread across my bread was getting to me more than anything else.

I really tried hard to finish my food- but it got to the point where I was holding back gags and I would have been MORTIFIED to start gagging in front of Grandpa. I quickly excused myself and went to the bathroom to suppress throwing up to my best ability and then went to the bedroom to lay down for the rest of the night. Luckily I think I had eaten enough to make it believable that I was full- hopefully. I’m not normally one to have such adverse reactions to food- but this stuff was just not my thing!

I asked my husband later what it was. I was surprised to learn that it was something I had definitely heard of, but had never actually known what it was specifically- liverwurst!

If you’re like me, you may be asking yourself- what exactly IS liverwurst?

Liverwurst is actually pretty much what it sounds like- the worst ;). Haha just kidding. It actually is made from meat, organ meat, and fat- and typically the organ meat is LIVER, hence the name. Sometimes it may include kidney or heart meat, but liver is more typical. It also usually has some kind of seasoning- most typical is salt, pepper, and onion powder, but you can find varieties that include thyme, marjoram, nutmeg, allspice, and mustard seed.

It comes in two varieties- a firmer sausage form that can be sliced like a summer sausage, and a softer, more spreadable form, that can be spread on bread, crackers, etc.

While you can eat liverwurst cold like a summer sausage, some people like to pan-fry it or even throw it into soups and stews. Maybe I’ll have to give liverwurst another try in a more cooked form….

If you’re into liverwurst, the good news is that it’s a good source of protein, B12, Vitamin A, iron, and selenium. The bad news is it’s high in sodium, fat, and other potential harmful fillers depending on the brand and type. Label reading will definitely be your friend here because not all liverwurst is created equal!

At the end of the day, if you like liverwurst, good for you! As long as you’re managing your salt and fat intake, you can get a lot of health benefits from liverwurst. If you’re not a fan- don’t worry. You can get the nutritional value of liverwurst in plenty of other ways.

I’m curious- how many of our readers have tried liverwurst? Is it something you enjoy or not? Share with us in the comments below!