Sausages are a food made of ground-up or chopped-up meat.
It usually made from pork, beef, veal or poultry , along with salt, spices and other flavourings.
The wide variety of spices and condiments used in sausage making depends on the ethnic or regional origin of the recipe, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, garlic, vinegar, mace, pepper, chili peppers, and many other species.
Sausage-processing methods include cooking, curing (by application of salt solution), and smoking (exposure to smoke, often following curing). The last two methods, originally employed for preservation, are now used mainly for their contribution to flavour.
Sausages were probably first invented as a means of preserving blood, offal, and small scraps of meat in convenient edible containers — the stomachs and intestines of the slaughtered animal.
The earliest known reference to sausage dates to Greece in the eighth or ninth century BC.
The Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the Odyssey – Epicharmus wrote a comedy titled The Sausage, and Aristophanes wrote play The Knights is about a sausage vendor who is elected leader.
Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the ancient Greeks and Romans and most likely with the various tribes occupying the larger part of Europe.
Various forms of sausages were eaten in ancient Babylonia, Greece, and Rome – and early North American Indians made pemmican, a compressed dried meat-and-berry cake.
From the Middle Ages, various European cities became known for the local sausage, with such types as the frankfurter (Frankfurt am Main), bologna (Bologna, Italy), and romano (Rome) being named for their places of origin. Salami – named for the salting process, salare, Italian: “to salt”) is a – popular sausage with many varieties.
Early in the 10th century during the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.
While sausages may have begun in frugality, they had already evolved into delicacies worthy of a gourmet’s attentions.
Pork is the meat most commonly used to produce sausages.
Hot dog or frankfurter, frank, or wien is a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed andserved in a partially sliced bun. Pork and beef are the traditional meats used in hot dogs. Less expensive hot dogs are often made from chicken or turkey, using low-cost mechanically separated poultry.
Salami is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 40 days once cut, supplementing a potentially meager or inconsistent supply of fresh meat.
Pepperoni is an American variety of salami, made from a cured mixture of pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper.
Chorizo is a Spanish sausage consisting of chopped pork meat and fat that is seasoned with paprika, and sometimes garlic.
Kulen is a type of flavored sausage made of minced pork that is traditionally produced in Serbia and Croatia.
Bratwurst is a type of German sausage made from veal, beef, or most commonly pork. The name is derived from the Old High German Brätwurst, from brät-, finely chopped meat, and Wurst, sausage, although in modern German it is often associated with the verb braten, to pan fry or roast. Beef and veal are usually incorporated amongst a blend often including pork.
Weisswurst or white sausage is a famous specialty of the city of Munich, invented in 1857 by a butcher named Sepp Moser.
Black pudding is a famous British delicacy made from animal blood (usually from pigs), oatmeal, and fat. The combined ingredients are stuffed into a casing, and the sausage can then be fried, grilled, boiled, sliced, or crumbled. In Manchester, it is traditionally boiled and served with vinegar, while in other parts of the country, it is often a part of the traditional full English breakfast.
Haggis, the Scottish national dish, is nothing more than a large sausage made of seasoned sheep organ meats and oats, stuffed in the sheep’s stomach.
Irish and English sausages normally have a lot of “rusk,” or bread crumbs, and they are less meaty than sausages from other countries.
Vegetarian or vegan sausages are often made of products other than animal products, such as tofu.
The largest sausage weighed 1,740 kg (3,8402 lb 61 oz) and was made by Kayseri Greater Municipality (Turkey) in Kayseri, Turkey, on 4 October 2009. The diameter of the sausage was 35mm (1.3 in) and the length 1,530 metres (5,019 ft 8 in). 1,630 kg (3,593 lb 8 oz) of minced beef was used for the attempt. It was then transported to a public square where it was cooked by 250 people.
The longest sausage measures 62.75 km (38.99 miles) in length and was created by S.C. Carrefour Romania S.A. & Aldis SRL Calarasi (both Romania) in Ploiesti City, Romania on 1 December 2014.
The most varieties of sausage commercially available (retail location) is 100 and was achieved by Matthias & Stephanie Freund (both Germany) of Metzgerei Freund in Sommerkahl, Germany, on 8 December 2018.
The word “sausage” was first used in English in the mid-15th century, spelled “sawsyge”. This word came from Old North French saussiche (Modern French saucisse)”. The French word came from Latin salsica (sausage), from salsicus (seasoned with salt).
The word “sausage” can refer to the loose sausage meat, which can be formed into patties or stuffed into a skin. When referred to as “a sausage,” the product is usually cylindrical and encased in a skin.