offalArticle Free Pass offal, also called Variety Meats, any of
various nonmuscular parts of the carcasses of beef and veal,
mutton and lamb, and pork, which are either consumed directly as
food or used in the production of other foods. Variety meats
have been a part of the human diet since the invention of
cooking, which rendered the otherwise indigestible animal parts
edible. In nutritional terms, several variety meats are richer
in certain vitamins, minerals, and forms of protein than muscle
tissue; calf’s liver, for example, is a major dietary source of
iron, and sweetbread (thymus) is considerably higher in the
water-soluble protein albumin than is beef. Beef offal includes
the stomachs, tripe, or large stomach, brains, heart, liver,
tongue, and kidneys. For young beef, or veal, a number of
additional parts, such as spinal marrow, trotters (feet),
mesentery, and the sweetbread, are counted among the variety
meats. Mutton and lamb offal includes the kidneys, tongue,
brains, feet, stomach, heart, liver, an