"pork brains" news and stories

Perhaps this is just indicative of the sort of folks with whom I keep company, but I've known at least half a dozen people who've used a brain can as comedic decor, and it's certainly been the butt of jokes around the blogosphere. I cannot, however, recollect any of 'em actually popping the top and feasting. My husband's Aunt Frances, though, couldn't get enough of them as a kid in Plymouth, NC, and told me how she'd hover right by her mother in the kitchen so she could gobble down brains and eggs straight out of the hot skillet.

Who am I to argue with Aunt Frances? I picked up the can in the picture above at Harris Teeter over Christmas in North Carolina, and fixed myself some brains and eggs for breakfast this morning. Picture after the jump.

I can only think of a few food products that sound less appetizing than pork brains in milk gravy - fermented shark springs to mind - but this is certainly near the bottom of the list. The interesting thing to note about this product is its nutritional information. One can, which is about 2/3 cup, has only 150 calories and 5 grams of fat. It also has 3,500mg of  cholesterol, which is 1170% of the recommended daily allowance. Yikes!

The weirdest thing about this cardiologist's nightmare of a product is that there must be enough demand to justify canning it. According to this article, it's not uncommon in the South, but it also says that it tastes pretty nasty. I have to ask: is anyone really eating this stuff?

[via A Full Belly]

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