They are not everyone’s favourite, particularly not the health conscious, but you have to admit that many of us enjoy eating a sausage. Whether it’s a hot dog in the cinema, a sizzling sausage fried for breakfast, the sausage is enjoyed all over the world. They are very easy to cook, and every country has its own favourite.
People began making sausages thousands of years ago, more out of necessity than with the purpose of creating something that was enjoyable to eat. The word ‘sausage’ comes from the Latin word, ‘salsus’ which means salted. By chopping up small pieces of meat and mixing it with fat and salt, before stuffing it into a casing – the sausage skin – people were able to preserve their meat at a time when meat was often scarce.
Because the meat had been salted, it was possible to keep the sausages hanging in a cool place for long periods of time. Sausages were also often smoked or dried so they would last much longer.
In 1415, a Spanish sailor reported that pork or lamb sausages were eaten on 13 days of the month. Pasta was eaten once a month. Over time, many varieties of sausage have been created around the world. Because sailors travelled with them, many sausages made in one country also became popular in other countries, too.
- Toulouse sausage. Toulouse is the capital city of the south-west of France and it is very proud of its own sausage that carries its name. It’s made from fresh pork, salt and pepper and was first found in the markets of Toulouse at the end of the 18th century.
- You either love it, or hate it. England’s black pudding is made from pig’s blood, onions and oatmeal, and is often fried for breakfast in central England. It used to be served wrapped in paper and showered with vinegar!
- Korea’s sundae sausage is usually made by stuffing a pig or cow’s intestines with noodles, barley and pig’s blood before steaming or boiling it. It’s so popular that a district in Seoul where there are many restaurants serving sundae sausage has been named after this famous dish.
- Sausages in England are often called ‘bangers‘ because they often explode when they are being cooked. Flavours of the British banger vary greatly as you travel around the country.
- Salami became very popular among Southern European farm workers. It is a type of sausage that has been cured (salted) and then air-dried. Some of the best salamis today come from Italy and they can be extremely expensive to buy.
- One of the most famous sausages today is the Frankfurter, named after the German city of Frankfurt. It is a thin boiled sausage of pure pork in a sheep’s intestine. It has a unique flavour created by smoking the pork before it is put into the casing. It was first made in the 13th century.
Let’s visit a butcher’s shop in England that is proud to provide a huge variety of sausages and has been doing so for hundreds of years.
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