The nerves belong to the 1st fundamental group of foods - foods rich in proteins with high biological value, specific vitamins and minerals. Contrary to what most people believe, they are low-calorie, low-fat foods without large concentrations of saturated fat and cholesterol. They are therefore suitable for most diets; in the next two paragraphs we will go into more detail.
These are not properly called nerves, or organs, such as offal - for example the liver as food, the heart as food, the brain as food, tripe, lungs as food, the spleen as food, etc. pork rinds or bone marrow. The nerves are instead constituted, from the anatomical point of view, by the cartilaginous joint capsules of the lower limbs obtained from the calf or pig. The animal of origin varies according to the locality; in Emilia Romagna, for example, pigs are especially popular, while in Lombardy veal is preferred.
Nerves are typical products of the Po Valley gastronomic tradition; on the other hand, their consumption, as is the case for most of the fifth quarter, is gradually decreasing. They are consumed more abundantly in the Milanese area, where the Nervetti salad recipe is particularly famous - "gnervitt or nervitt in insalàda".
, specific minerals and vitamins.
They have an average energy intake, not too high but not even comparable to that of lean meats; calories are essentially supplied by proteins, while lipids are almost absent.
As for the glucides of the nerves, most bibliographic sources report them as almost or totally absent. On the other hand, cartilages should contain considerable levels of glucosamine, a particular type of amino sugar - precursor of cartilage. It is therefore possible that, due to its substantial difference compared to common dietary carbohydrates, this molecule tends to be classified as a source of nitrogen or other nutrient - for the specific related amino group Regarding the peptides, these are mainly of high biological value, that is, they contain all the essential amino acids in the right quantities and proportions compared to the human protein model.
