Is head cheese a type of cheese?
Someone told me it is not a vegetarian thing and is derived from pigs.
Is that true?
Posted By: medako
Mar 14 # 2 of 10
From Wikipedia:
Head cheese (AmE) or brawn (BrE) is in fact not a cheese, but rather a terrine of meat from the head of a calf or pig (sometimes a sheep or cow) that would not otherwise be considered appealing. It may also include meat from the feet and heart. It is usually eaten cold or at room temperature as a luncheon meat. It is sometimes also known as soucemeat, particularly if pickled with vinegar.
Historically the cleaned (all organs removed) head was simmered to produce a gelatin (which would form from the bone marrow) containing any incidental meat which came off the head. The more modern method involves adding gelatin to meat, which is then cooked in a mold.
Posted By: spicekit
Mar 15 # 3 of 10
Oh! Thanks medako! This cheese doesn't sound good to me.
Does anyone eat this?
Posted By: sweetnsour
Mar 15 # 4 of 10
and this is from Barron's
Not a cheese at all, but a sausage made from the meaty bits of the head of a calf or pig (sometimes a sheep or cow) that are seasoned, combined with a gelatinous meat broth and cooked in a mold. When cool, the sausage is unmolded and thinly sliced. It's usually eaten at room temperature. Head cheese can be purchased in delicatessens and many supermarkets. In England this sausage is referred to as brawn, and in France it's called fromage de tĂȘte--"cheese of head."
Posted By: oldbay
Mar 15 # 5 of 10
I worked with a guy that would bring head cheese into work as a treat for everyone. I can't say that I was one of those that tried it. I think it's one of those foods like scrapple, where your acclimatized to it during youth and find it tasty.