The word liverwurst is an anglicization of German Leberwurst, meaning "liver sausage". It is also known as liver sausage by some English speakers. It is a sausage eaten in North America, in large parts of Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania (especially in Transylvania), Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and in South American countries such as Argentina.
Most liverwurst varieties are spreadable. Liverwurst usually contains pigs' or calves' livers. Other ingredients are meat (notably veal), fat, and spices including ground black pepper, marjoram, allspice, thyme, ground mustard seed, or nutmeg. Many regions in Germany have distinct recipes for liverwurst. Adding ingredients like pieces of onion or bacon to the recipe make each variety of liverwurst very important to cultural identity. For example, the Thüringer Leberwurst has a Protected Geographical Status throughout the EU. Recently, more exotic additions such as cowberries and mushrooms have gained popularity.