{{short description|US pork and cornmeal dish}}{{Infobox food | name = Livermush | main_ingredient = Pork parts, liver, cornmeal and spices | region = Western North Carolina | type = Mush (cornmeal) | image = Liver Mush.jpg | caption = A pound of sliced, pan-fried livermush garnished with parsley }}
'''Livermush''' is a Southern United States pork food product prepared using pig liver, parts of pig heads, cornmeal and spices. It is a regional dish that is common in Western North Carolina. It is typically consumed as a breakfast and lunch food. It has been suggested that livermush derives from scrapple. By law in North Carolina, the product must consist of at least 30% pig liver. Several festivals exist in North Carolina that are dedicated to the food.
Though sometimes considered the same as liver pudding, livermush generally contains more cornmeal and is coarser in texture.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/> It is generally prepared using a different recipe than for liver pudding.<ref name="Poteat 2018"/>
==Overview== Livermush is composed of pig liver, pig head parts such as snouts and ears, cornmeal and seasonings.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/><ref name="Poteat 2018"/><ref name="Davis 2004"/> It is commonly spiced with pepper and sage.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/> The meat ingredients are all cooked and then ground, after which the cornmeal and seasoning is added.<ref name="Athens Banner-Herald 2014"/> The final mixture is formed into blocks which are then refrigerated.<ref name="Athens Banner-Herald 2014"/> It typically has a low fat content and a high protein content.<ref name="Davis 2004"/>
It is a regional cuisine that is commonly found in the western part of North Carolina, as well as being noticeably present in central North Carolina.<ref name="Deutsch 2018"/><ref name="Karon McIntosh 2004"/><ref name="Rhew 2016"/> It is also consumed in other parts of the state, and is available in some areas in other states as well, such as Georgia, Virginia and areas in Florida.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/> Livermush is mass-produced in Shelby, North Carolina by two meat packing companies, Jenkins Foods and Mack’s Liver Mush and Meat Co., who distribute it to various states.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/><ref name="Orlando 2019"/>
It is cooked by cutting a slice off of a premade loaf and frying it.<ref name="Davis 2004"/><ref name="Frye 2014"/> At breakfast it is served alongside grits and eggs.<ref name="Clevenger 2016"/> For lunch it can be made into a sandwich with mayonnaise, grape jelly<ref>{{cite web | last=Evans | first=Bill | title=Carolina Moment: Liver Mush, history to be celebrated | publisher=WLOS | date=31 May 2019 | url=https://wlos.com/community/carolina-moment/carolina-moment-liver-mush | access-date=4 January 2020}}</ref> or mustard, either fried, or left cold.<ref name="Deutsch 2018"/> As livermush's popularity has risen, it has appeared as an ingredient in dishes such as omelettes and pizzas.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bashor|first=Melissa W.|title=Kings of Livermush|url=http://www.ourstate.com/livermush/|website=Our State|date= 23 February 2015 |accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our Products|url=http://www.neesesausage.com/products/|publisher=Neese's Country Sausage |accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cook's Corner: Livermush well-known in some parts of South|url=http://onlineathens.com/features/2014-02-04/cooks-corner-livermush-well-known-some-parts-south|website=Athens Banner-Herald|date=3 February 2014|accessdate=1 August 2015}}</ref>
==History== It has been suggested that livermush derives from scrapple, and likely originated from German settlers who traveled south through the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700s.<ref name="Davis 2004"/><ref name="Deutsch 2018"/> These German immigrants ate pon hoss, a spiced pork and buckwheat mixture that evolved into livermush.<ref name="Rhew 2016" /> Livermush became popular in factory towns, where workers needed affordable, premade food.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Livermush Will Always Be a North Carolina Favorite |url=https://www.southernliving.com/food/livermush |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Southern Living |language=en}}</ref> In the 1930s and 1940s, a five-pound portion of livermush cost around 10 cents.<ref name="Davis 2004"/> The dish experienced a resurgence during the Great Depression.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bashor |first=Melissa |date=2015-02-23 |title=In Cleveland County, Livermush is King |url=https://www.ourstate.com/livermush/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=Our State |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Rhew 2016" />
Today, by law in North Carolina, genuine livermush must consist of at least 30% pig liver.<ref name="Davis 2004" /><ref name="Frye 2014" />
==Events== Shelby, North Carolina hosts an annual Livermush Exposition, which began in 1987 to celebrate the unique delicacy.<ref name="Davis 2004"/> In that year the Cleveland County Commissioners and the Shelby City Council passed resolutions proclaiming that "livermush is the most delicious, most economical and most versatile of meats."<ref name="Poteat 2018"/> Other towns in North Carolina that have livermush festivals include Drexel and Marion.<ref>{{cite web|last=Taylor|first=Charles H.|date=13 October 1993|title=Livermush: Part of Western North Carolina's History (by Michael Goforth) (Extension of Remarks)|url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:E13OC3-381:|publisher=The Library of Congress|accessdate=6 December 2010|archive-date=9 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209091409/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r103:E13OC3-381:|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also== {{portal|Food}} {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * Cuisine of the Southern United States * Goetta * List of pork dishes * Liverwurst * Pâté * Scrapple * Sisig {{div col end}}
==References== <references>
<ref name="Davis 2004">{{cite web | author=C. Davis, Timothy | title=North Carolina goes hog wild over livermush | website=The Christian Science Monitor | date=22 December 2004 | url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1222/p14s01-lifo.html | access-date=5 January 2020}}</ref> <ref name="Poteat 2018">Poteat, Bill (18 August 2018). [https://www.gastongazette.com/news/20180818/livermush-victim-of-hateful-prejudice "Livermush victim of hateful prejudice"]. ''The Gaston Gazette''. Retrieved 5 January 2020.</ref> <ref name="Clevenger 2016">{{cite web | author= Clevenger, Kelli H. | title=The Liver Mush Mystique | website=Paste | date=11 January 2016 | url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/the-liver-mush-mystique.html | access-date=5 January 2020}}</ref> <ref name="Karon McIntosh 2004">{{cite book | last1=Karon | first1=J. | last2=McIntosh | first2=M. | title=Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader | publisher=Viking | series=A Mitford Novel Series | year=2004 | isbn=978-0-670-03239-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ce0NCfwEO9IC&pg=PA56 | access-date=5 January 2020 | page=56}}</ref> <ref name="Deutsch 2018">{{cite book | last=Deutsch | first=J. | title=We Eat What? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Unusual Foods in the United States | publisher=ABC-CLIO | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-4408-4112-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OGxaDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 | access-date=5 January 2020 | page=203}}</ref> <ref name="Frye 2014">{{cite book | last=Frye | first=J. | title=Moon North Carolina | publisher=Avalon Publishing | series=Moon Handbooks | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-61238-603-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AQtjAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA411 | access-date=5 January 2020 | page=411}}</ref> <ref name="Rhew 2016">{{cite web | last=Rhew | first=Adam | title=In North Carolina, Livermush Still Wins Hearts | publisher=Eater | date=16 September 2016 | url=https://www.eater.com/2016/9/16/12921932/what-is-livermush-north-carolina | access-date=5 January 2020}}</ref> <ref name="Orlando 2019">Orlando, Joyce (16 October 2019). [https://www.shelbystar.com/news/20191016/mush-music-and-mutts-kicks-off-saturday-in-shelby "Mush, Music and Mutts kicks off Saturday in Shelby"]. ''The Shelby Star''. Retrieved 5 January 2020.</ref> <ref name="Athens Banner-Herald 2014">[https://www.onlineathens.com/article/20140204/LIFESTYLE/302049994 "Cook’s Corner: Livermush well-known in some parts of South"]. February 4, 2014. ''Athens Banner-Herald''. Retrieved 5 January 2020.</ref>
</references>
==External links== * Shuford, Chuck (6 November 2007, updated November 11, 2018) [https://www.dailyyonder.com/what-happened-poor-mans-p-t/2007/11/06/ "What Happened to Poor Man’s Paté"]. The Daily Yonder.
Category:Cuisine of the Southern United States Category:American pork dishes Category:Liver dishes Category:Savory puddings Category:Meat and grain sausages Category:Cuisine of North Carolina Category:Culture of North Carolina Category:Head dishes