Dictionary:
sau·sage (sô'sĭj)  |
Finely chopped and seasoned meat, especially pork, usually stuffed into a prepared animal intestine or other casing and cooked or cured.
[Middle English sausige, from Anglo-Norman sausiche, from Vulgar Latin *salsīcia, from Late Latin, neuter pl. of salsīcius, prepared by salting, from salsus, salted. See sauce.]
| 5min Related Video: sausage |
| Food and Nutrition: sausage |
Chopped meat, mostly beef or pork, seasoned with salt and spices, mixed with cereal (usually wheat rusk prepared from crumbed unleavened biscuits) and packed into casings made from the connective tissue of animal intestines or cellulose.
There are six main types: fresh, smoked, cooked, smoked and cooked, semi-dry, and dry. Frankfurters, Bologna (polony), Polish, and Berliner sausages are made from cured meat and are smoked and cooked. Thuringer, soft salami, mortadella, and soft cervelat are semi-dry sausages. Pepperoni, chorizos, dry salami, dry cervelat are slowly dried to a hard texture.
In the UK pork sausages must be 65%, and beef sausages 50%, meat (‘meat’ includes flesh and the skin, gristle, rind, and sinew ‘naturally associated with the flesh’). A 150-g portion of standard British varieties of pork or beef sausages, grilled, is a rich source of protein, niacin, and iron; beef sausage contains 25 g of fat, of which 40% is saturated and 50% mono-unsaturated; supplies 400 kcal (1700 kJ); pork sausage contains 35 g of fat of which 40% is saturated and 50% mono-unsaturated; supplies 450 kcal (1900 kJ).
| Food Lover's Companion: sausage |
[SAW-sihj] What started out simply as a means of using and preserving all of the animal trimmings has turned into the art of sausage-making. Simply put, sausage is ground meat mixed with fat, salt and other seasonings, preservatives and sometimes fillers. Such a mixture is usually packed into a casing. Sausages can differ dramatically depending on their ingredients, additives, shape, curing technique, level of dryness and whether fresh or cooked. Most sausages are made with pork or pork combined with other meat, but there are also those made almost entirely from beef, veal, lamb, chicken or game animals. All contain varying amounts of fat. Seasonings can run the gamut from garlic to nutmeg. Some sausages are hot and spicy and others so mild they border on bland. Many sausages today contain additives to help preserve, thicken or color the mixture. Some sausages use fillers (such as various cereals, soybean flour and dried-milk solids) to stretch the meat. The most common shape for sausage is link, which varies in size and shape depending on the type of sausage. Other sausage (fresh) is sold in bulk, which can then be used to mix with other meats or made into patties or balls. Sausage can be fresh or cured with salt or smoke (or both). Curing extends storage life. Some sausages are also dried; the drying times can vary from a few days to as much as 6 months. The sausage becomes firmer the longer it's dried. Sausage can be fully cooked (ready to eat), partially cooked (enough to kill any trichinae) and uncooked, which may or may not require cooking depending on how or whether it's been cured. All these factors produce an almost endless number of sausages that can be used in a variety of ways and which appeal to a multitude of tastes. See also andouille; andouillette; banger; bauerwurst; bierwurst; blood sausage; bockwurst; bologna; boudin blanc; bratwurst; braunschweiger; casing; cervelat; chaurice; chinese sausage; chipolata; chorizo; cotechino; cotto; crepinette; frankfurter; frizzes; haggis; head cheese; italian sausage; kielbasa; kishke; knackwurst; leberkäse; linguiça; liverwurst; lop chong; loukanika; luganega; mettwurst; mortadella; pepperoni; pork sausage; salami; salsiccia; saucisse; saucisson; summer sausage; thuringer; tongue sausage; toulouse; weisswurst; wurst; zampone; zungenwurst.
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: sausage |
For more information on sausage, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: sausage |
| Food & Culture Encyclopedia: Sausage |
Essentially, sausages are just seasoned forcemeat. In cuisines around the world, however, countless variations have been played on this simple theme. 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 B.C.E. It appears in Homer's Odyssey (XX: 24-27), where Odysseus, lying in his bed, is seen
rolling from side to side
as a cook turns a sausage, big with blood
and fat, at a scorching blaze, without a pause,
to broil it quick
They are also found in Apicius's De re coquinaria (Rome, first century C.E.), a cookbook that was clearly intended for diners with discriminating palates. While sausages may have begun in frugality, they had already evolved into delicacies worthy of a gourmet's attentions.
In form, sausages may be patties of freshly chopped and seasoned meat or they may be stuffed in casings, dried, fermented, smoked, or produced using any combination of these techniques. The meats can be ground exceedingly fine (weisswurst) or simply cut into large chunks (headcheese). Some are eaten cooked, using any of the traditional methods for cooking meats, while some are so heavily cured and smoked that they can safely be eaten raw (salame crudo).
Pork is the meat most commonly used to produce sausages, although almost any sort of protein will do (sausages have even been made from gluten and soy proteins) providing they contain enough fat to maintain a juicy product. Beef, chicken, duck, lamb, seafood, and veal have all been used in sausages. Game, such as venison or rabbit, tends to be very lean, so pork fat or beef suet are usually added. Typically, a sausage forcemeat contains 20 to 30 percent—and sometimes as much as 50 percent—fat by weight. Fats chosen must be flavorful and not too soft, so that they don't melt out too quickly during cooking. Depending on cooking method, much of the fat may be removed before the sausage comes to the table.
All sausages contain salt (indeed, the word "sausage" is descended from the Latin salsus, meaning 'salted'). Salt serves three purposes. It acts to preserve perishable meats, killing some bacteria through osmotic pressure. In addition, salt dissolves some globular protein from the meats, which then acts as a binding matrix for the bits of meat when the sausage is cooked. The globular protein is released when the meats are ground or kneaded (the sausagemaker can see when this has occurred because the forcemeat becomes sticky). Salt, of course, also provides flavor, and it reinforces the flavors of other seasonings, especially in foods that are served cold.
Seasonings vary according to the cuisine producing the sausage. Black pepper is almost universal; in fact, the simplest fresh Italian sausages contain nothing but pork, salt, and pepper (Italian sausages made in the United States almost always add fennel seeds and red pepper). Garlic is a key ingredient in sausages of many countries, including Germany, Hungary, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. Chili pepper, in forms ranging from dried flakes to cayenne to paprika, appears in sausages around the world (although its use in sausages is limited in northern cuisines that typically avoid hot pepper). Fresh breakfast-type sausages usually contain sage, and often marjoram. Cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg are sometimes used, especially in black (blood) sausages. Chinese sweet sausages (lop cheong) are flavored with sugar, soy sauce and five spice powder (a mixture usually consisting of ground cassia, cloves, fennel seeds, star anise, and Szechuan pepper).
Natural casings include sheep casings (breakfast links, chipolata), hog casings (Italian sausage, bratwurst), hog bungs (liverwurst), caul fat (crépinettes), beef middles (salami), and beef rounds (mortadella). 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. Synthetic casings, made of cellulose, collagen, or plastic, can be made in any size, and are used for spreadable pâtélike preparations (braunschweiger), salamis and other cold cuts, and skinless frankfurters. Dolmas, grape leaves stuffed with a mixture of seasoned lamb and rice, can even be considered a form of sausage.
Sausages are often dried by hanging, in cool circulating air, to preserve them as well as enhance their flavor and texture. Once they are fully dried, they can be kept unrefrigerated for weeks. Before they are dry, however, they can spoil, so a curing salt—such as Prague powder, a mixture of salt and sodium nitrite—is used to prevent the development of the bacteria (Clostridium botulinum) that cause botulism. The nitrite has an additional advantage; it prevents the cooked meat from turning gray (the characteristic pink color of cured hams results from the nitrite in the cure). Nitrites, used in recommended quantities, do not cause the development of carcinogenic nitrosamines that were formerly found in cooked meats containing nitrates (saltpeter). Some dried sausages are also fermented, either with naturally occurring organisms or through the addition of a starter (lactobacillus) to the forcemeat. These bacteria produce lactic acid, which preserves the meat while providing a tangy flavor. Sopressata and some kinds of chorizo are fermented, but quick recipes for fresh chorizo substitute a little vinegar for the lactic acid that would have developed through fermentation.
Smoking adds flavor to sausages. It acts as a preservative, both by adding a number of phenolic compounds found in smoke, and by forming a tough coating on the outside of the sausage. This impervious layer is known as the pellicle.
Sausages continue to appear in recipes around the world, even after the development of other means of preserving meats. In many peasant cultures, the largely vegetarian diet is enhanced by small quantities of sausage. In modern diets sausages make up for their high fat and sodium content by contributing more flavor and variety than their size would suggest. Thus sausages satisfy sophisticated palates with lower quantities of food.
Bibliography
Aidells, Bruce. Bruce Aidells's Complete Sausage Book: Recipes from America's Premier Sausage Maker. Berkeley, Calif.: Ten Speed Press, 2000.
Apicius. De re coquinaria [On cookery]. Translated by John Edwards. Point Roberts, Wash.: Hartley and Marks, 1984.
Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Grigson, Jane. Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery. London: Michael Joseph, 1967.
Hippisley-Coxe, Antony, and Araminta Hippisley-Coxe. The Great Book of Sausages. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 1992.
Kinsella, John. Professional Charcuterie: Sausage Making, Curing, Terrines, and Pâtés. New York: Wiley, 1996.
Kinsman, Donald M. Principal Characteristics of Sausages of the World, Listed by Country of Origin. Boston: American Press,1983.
McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribners, 1984.
Merinoff, Linda. The Savory Sausage: A Culinary Tour around the World. New York: Poseidon, 1987.
Wise, Victoria. American Charcuterie: Recipes from Pig-by-the-Tail. New York: Viking, 1986.
—Gary Allen
| Poker Guide: Sausage |
This term describes a player who stays active even when holding garbage hands, and constantly plays in a very nonsensical fashion.
SoundPoker Says: A sausage's play style does not often make sense to strong poker players because they will raise or bet with unconventional hands. This player can be easy to make money off of, but can also deliver a bad beat by chasing cards.
For example, a player who moves all-in pre-flop holding 3 - 9 off-suit would be described as a sausage.
See Also: Active, All-In, Bad Beat, Bet, Chase, Garbage, Off-Suit, Pre-Flop, Raise
| Word Tutor: sausage |
The less people know about how sausage and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night.
— Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), Prussian prime minister, founder and chancellor of the German Empire.
| Dream Symbol: Sausage |
Could indicate that the dreamer feels stuffed into a situation that confines her or his expression of ideas and potential recognition. May also have sexual connotations.
| Wikipedia: Sausage |
A sausage is a prepared food, usually made from ground meat, animal fat, salt, and spices (sometimes with other ingredients such as herbs), typically packed in a casing. Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique.
Traditionally, sausage casings are made of animal intestines, though in modern times the casings are often synthetic. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may be removed after that. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying in cool air, or smoking.
Care must be taken when cooking to avoid burning sausages unless they are desired in that state, as with all burnt meats, burnt sausages are possibly carcinogenic (can cause cancer) due to elevated levels of benzopyrene.[1]
Contents |
Sausages are a result of economical butchery. Traditionally, sausage-makers put to use meat and animal parts equally edible and nutritious, but not particularly appealing - such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat - in a form that allows for preservation: typically, salted and stuffed into a tubular casing made from the cleaned intestine of the animal, producing the characteristic cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings and salami are amongst the oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried to varying degrees. The sausage can also be shaped in a square, such as in Africa, where the sausage is sometimes shaped like a square hamburger patty.
The first sausages were made by early humans, stuffing roasted intestines into animal stomachs.[2] Already in 589 BC a Chinese sausage làcháng (臘腸/腊肠) was first mentioned. It consisted of goat and lamb meat. Homer, the poet of Ancient Greece, mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the Odyssey (book 20, verse 25), and Epicharmus (ca. 550 BC – ca. 460 BC) wrote a comedy titled The Sausage. Evidence suggests that sausages were already popular both among the ancient Greeks and Romans, and most likely with the non-literate tribes occupying the larger part of Europe.[2]
Sausage in Italy has its roots in Lucania, the actual Basilicata. Philosophers such as Cicero and Martial stated a kind of sausage called "lucanica", actually widespread in Italy, was introduced by Lucanian slaves during the Roman empire.[3] During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. Early in the 10th century in the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.
Traditionally, sausage casings were made of the cleaned intestines (or stomachs in the case of haggis and other traditional puddings) of animals. Today, however, natural casings are often replaced by collagen, cellulose or even plastic casings, especially in the case of industrially manufactured sausages. Additionally, luncheon meat (such as Spam) and sausage meat are now available without casings in tins and jars.
The most basic sausage consists of meat, cut into pieces or ground, and filled into a casing. The meat may be from any animal, but traditionally is pork, beef or veal. The meat/fat ratio is dependent upon the style and producer, but in the United States, fat content is legally limited to a maximum of 30%, 35% or 50%, by weight, depending on the style. The USDA defines the content for various sausages and generally prohibits fillers and extenders.[4] Most traditional styles of sausage from Europe and Asia use no bread-based filler and are 100% meat and fat (excluding salt and other flavorings, such as herbs).[5] In the UK and other countries with English cooking traditions, bread and starch-based fillers account for up to 25% of ingredients. The filler used in many sausages helps them to keep their shape as they are cooked. As the meat contracts in the heat, so the filler expands and absorbs the moisture lost from the meat.
The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.
Sausages may be classified in any number of ways, for instance by the type of meat and other ingredients they contain, or by their consistency. The most popular classification is probably by type of preparation, but even this is subject to regional differences of opinion. In the English-speaking world, the following distinction between fresh sausages, cooked sausages and dry sausages seems to be more or less accepted:
The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation by Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and/or Micrococcus (added as starter cultures) or natural flora during curing.
Other countries, however, use different systems of classification. Germany, for instance, which boasts more than 1200 types of sausage, distinguishes raw, cooked and pre-cooked sausages.
In Italy, the basic distinction is:
The US has a particular type called pickled sausages, commonly found in gas stations and small roadside delicatessens. These are usually smoked and/or boiled sausages of a highly processed frankfurter (hot dog) or kielbasa style plunged into a boiling brine of vinegar, salt, spices (red pepper, paprika...) and often a pink coloring, then canned in wide-mouth jars. They are available in single blister packs, e.g., Slim Jim meat snacks, or in jars atop the deli cooler. They are shelf stable, and are a frequently offered alternative to beef jerky, beef stick, and kippered beef snacks.
Certain countries classify sausage types according to the region in which the sausage was traditionally produced:
Many nations and regions have their own characteristic sausages, using meats and other ingredients native to the region and employed in traditional dishes.
One local Finnish variety is mustamakkara, a "black sausage" prepared with blood, which is a specialty of Tampere. It is very close to the Scottish black pudding.
Makkara is typically similar in appearance to Polish sausages or bratwursts, but have a very different taste and texture. Most makkara is very light on spices and is therefore frequently eaten with mustard, ketchup, or other table condiments without a bun. Makkara is usually grilled, roasted over coals, or cooked on sauna heating stones until the outer skin begins to darken and crack.
When a steak made out of makkara is eaten inside a sliced, fried bun with cucumber salad and other fillings, it becomes a porilainen after the town of Pori. Pickled makkara intended to consumed as slices is called kestomakkara. This class includes various mettwurst, salami and Balkanesque styles. The most popular kestomakkara in Finland is meetvursti (etymologically this word comes from mettwurst), which contains finely ground full meat, ground fat and various spices. It is not unlike salami, but usually thicker and less salty. Meetvursti used to additionally contain horse meat, but only a few brands contain it anymore, mostly due to the high cost of production. There is also meetvursti with additional reindeer meat.
Saucisson is perhaps one of the most popularized forms of dried sausage in France, with many different variations from region to region. Usually saucisson contains pork, cured with a mixture of salt, wine and/or spirits. Regional varieties have been known to contain more unorthodox ingredients such as nuts and fruits.
Germany is known for its broad variety and long tradition of preparing sausages. German sausages, or Würste, cover uncooked and unfilled things (no casing), like Frankfurters, Bratwürste, Rindswürste, Blargenwurst, Knackwürste, and Bockwürste. In Germany exists a card game called "Wurstquartett". The aim of the game is to win all the sausages of the opponent.
Hungarian sausages called kolbász, are two types, the smoked, cured sausages like "Gyulai" and "Csabai" sausage. The other type are the boiled sausages called "Hurka". Rice Liver Sausage ("Májas") and Rice Blood Sausage ("Véres"). In the first case the main ingredient is the liver and the stuffing consist of rice. In the other case the blood is mixed with rice, or pieces of bread roll. Spices, pepper, salt and marjoram are added. See even winter salami.
Italian sausages (salsiccia) are often a mix of pork and veal. Fennel seeds are generally used as the primary spice.
Macedonian sausages (kolbas, lukanec) are made from fried pork, onions, and leeks, with herbs and spices.
Maltese sausage zalzett tal-Malti is typically made of pork, sea salt, black peppercorns, coriander seeds, garlic and parsley.
Nordic sausages (Finnish: makkara, Danish and Norwegian: pølse, Icelandic: bjúga/pylsa, Swedish: korv) are usually made of 60-75% very finely ground pork, very sparsely spiced with pepper, nutmeg, allspice or similar sweet spices (ground mustard seed, onion and sugar may also be added). Water, lard, rind, potato flour and soy or milk protein are often added for binding and filling. In southern Norway, grill- and wiener sausages are often wrapped in a potato lompe, a kind of lefse.
Virtually all sausages will be industrially precooked and either fried or warmed in hot water by the consumer or at the hot dog stand. Since hot dog stands are ubiquitous in Denmark some people regard pølser one of the national dishes, perhaps along with medisterpølse, a fried, finely ground pork and bacon sausage. The most noticeable aspect of Danish boiled sausages (never the fried ones) is that the cover often contains a traditional bright-red dye. They are also called wienerpølser and legend has it they originate from Vienna where it was once ordered that day-old sausages be dyed as a means of warning. The Swedish falukorv is a similarly red-dyed sausage, but about 5 cm thick, usually baked in the oven coated in mustard or cut in slices and fried. Unlike ordinary sausages it is a typical home dish, not sold at hot dog stands. Other Swedish sausages include prinskorv, fläskkorv, and isterband; all of these, in addition to falukorv, are often accompanied by potato mash or rotmos (a root vegetable mash) rather than bread. In Iceland, lamb may be added to sausages, giving them a distinct taste. Horse sausage and mutton sausage are also traditional foods in Iceland, although their popularity is waning.
Polish sausages, Kiełbasa, come in a wide range of styles such as Swojska, Krajańska, Szynkowa, Biała, śląska, Krakowska, podhalańska, and others. Sausages in Poland are generally made of pork, rarely beef. Sausages with low meat content and additions like soy protein, potato flour or water binding additions are regarded as of low quality. Because of climate conditions sausages were traditionally preserved by smoking, rather than drying, like in Mediterranean countries.
Since the 14th century Poland excelled in the production of sausages, thanks in part to the royal hunting excursions across virgin forests with game delivered as gifts to friendly noble families and religious hierarchy across the country. The extended list of beneficiaries of such diplomatic generosity included city magistrates, academy professors, voivodes, szlachta and kapituła. Usually the raw meat was delivered in winter, but the processed meat, throughout the rest of the year. With regard to varieties, early Italian, French and German influences played a role. Meat commonly preserved in fat and by smoking was mentioned by historian Jan Długosz in his annals called Annales seu cronici incliti regni Poloniae covering events from 965 to 1480, where the hunting castle in Niepołomice is being mentioned along with King Władysław sending game to Queen Zofia from Niepołomice Forest, the most popular hunting ground for the Polish royalty beginning in 13th century. It became popular in Germany occupied Poland in World War II to soak the sausage ground in goro sprout creme, a native fermented mayonnaise, and such methods are considered gourmet nowadays.[2]
Embutidos or Enchidos generally contain hashed meat, particularly pork, seasoned with aromatic herbs or spices (pepper, red pepper, paprika, garlic, rosemary, thyme, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, etc.)
In Spain a special kind of embutido called salchicha is the most similar one to English or German sausages. Spanish sausages can be red or white. Red sausages contain paprika (pimentón in Spanish) and are usually fried. White sausages do not have paprika and can be fried or cooked in wine.
Although Spanish embutidos as chorizo or salchichón could be called "sausages", they are not "salchichas" for Spanish speakers at all.
The cervelat, a cooked sausage, is often referred to as Switzerland's national sausage. A great number of regional sausage specialties exist as well.
Falukorv is a large traditional Swedish sausage made of a grated mixture of pork and beef or veal with potato flour and mild spices. The sausage got it's name from the city of Falun where it originates from.
In Turkey sausage is known as sosis which is made of beef.
Sucuk (pronounced tsudjuck or soudjouk or sujuk with accent on the last syllable) is a type of sausage made in Turkey and neighboring Balkan countries.
There are many types of sucuk, but it is mostly made from beef. It is fermented, spiced (with garlic and pepper) and filled in an inedible casing that needs to be peeled off before consuming. Slightly smoked sucuk is considered superior. The taste is spicy, salty and a little raw, similar to pepperoni. Some varieties are extremely hot and/or greasy. Some are "adulterated" with turkey, water buffalo meat, sheep fat or chicken.
There are many dishes made with sucuk, but grilled sucuk remains the most popular. Smoke dried varieties are consumed "raw" in sandwiches. An intestinal loop is one sucuk. Smoked sucuk is usually straight.
In the UK and Ireland, sausages are very popular. British and Irish sausages are normally made from pork or beef mixed with a variety of herbs and spices, many recipes of which are traditionally associated with particular regions (for example Bucks sausages). They normally contain a certain amount of rusk, or bread-rusk, and are traditionally cooked by frying, grilling or roasting prior to eating. Due to their habit of often exploding due to shrinkage of the tight skin during cooking, they are commonly referred to as bangers, particularly when served with the most common accompaniment of mashed potatoes to form a bi-national dish known as bangers and mash. (The designation banger was in use at least as far back as 1919 and is often said to have been popularized in World War II, when scarcity of meat led many sausage makers to add water to the mixture, making it more likely to explode on heating) They may also be baked in a Yorkshire pudding batter to create "toad in the hole", often served with gravy and onions.
Famously, they are an essential component of a full English or Irish breakfast. In the UK alone, there are believed to be over 470 different types of sausages;[6] some made to traditional regional recipes such as those from Cumberland or Lincolnshire, and increasingly to modern recipes which combine fruit such as apples or apricots with the meat, or are influenced by European styles such as the Toulouse or Chorizo.
In many areas, "sausage meat" for frying and stuffing into poultry and meat, is sold as slices cut from an oblong block of pressed meat without casing: in Scotland this is known as Lorne Sausage or often sliced sausage or square sausage while the usual form is sometimes called sausage links. Lorne Sausage is very popular in and around Glasgow. It is usually grilled, though frying is not unusual.
A popular and widespread snack is the sausage roll made from sausage-meat rolled in puff pastry; they are sold from most bakeries and often made in the home.
Battered sausage, consisting of a sausage (almost without exception composed of mechanically recovered meat or meat slurry) dipped in batter, and fried, is sold throughout Britain from Fish and Chip shops. In England, Saveloy is a type of pre-cooked sausage, larger than a typical hot-dog which is served hot. A saveloy skin was traditionally colored with bismarck-brown dye giving saveloy a distinctive bright red color.
A short variety of sausage, known as the chipolata or 'cocktail sausage' is often wrapped in bacon and served alongside roast turkey at Christmas time and are known as Pigs in a Blanket or "Pigs in Blankets". They are also served cold at children's parties throughout the year.
Due to health concerns over the quality of the meat contained in many commercially produced sausages (heightened by the BSE crisis in the 1990s) there has been a marked improvement in the quality of meat content in commonly available British sausages with a return to the artisanal production of high quality traditional recipes, which had previously been in decline. However many of the cheaper sausages available use mechanically recovered meat or meat slurry.
There are various laws concerning the meat content of sausages in the UK. The minimum meat content to be labeled Pork Sausages is 42% (30% for other types of meat sausages), although to be classed as meat, the Pork can contain 30% fat and 25% connective tissue. Often the cheapest supermarket pork sausages do not have the necessary meat content to be described as Pork Sausages and are simply labeled 'Sausages'. These typically contain MRM, which under EU law can no longer be described as meat.[7][8]
There are currently organisations in a number of UK counties such as Lincolnshire who are seeking European Protected designation of origin (PDO) for their sausages so that they can be made only in the appropriate region and to an attested recipe and quality.[9]
North American breakfast or country sausage is made from uncooked ground pork mixed with pepper, sage, and other spices. It is usually sold in a large synthetic plastic casing, or in links which may have a protein casing. In some markets it is available sold by the pound without a casing. It is commonly sliced into small patties and pan-fried, or cooked and crumbled into scrambled eggs or gravy. Scrapple is a pork-based breakfast meat that originated in the Mid-Atlantic States. Other uncooked sausages are also widely available in link form, including Italian, bratwurst, chorizo, and andouille.
The frankfurter or hot dog is the most common pre-cooked sausage in the US and Canada. If proper terminology is observed in manufacture and marketing (it often is not), "frankfurters" are more mildly seasoned, "hot dogs" more robustly so. Another popular variation is the "corn dog", which is a hot dog fried in cornmeal batter and served on a stick.
Other popular ready-to-eat sausages, often eaten in sandwiches, include salami, American-style bologna, Lebanon bologna, liverwurst, and head cheese. Pepperoni and Italian crumbles are popular pizza toppings.
In most of Latin America a few basic types of sausages are consumed, with slight regional variations on each recipe. Beef tends to be more predominant than in their pork-heavy Spanish equivalents. These are chorizo (moister and fresher than its Spanish counterpart), longaniza (usually very similar to chorizo but longer and thinner), morcilla or relleno (blood sausage), and salchichas (any kind of highly-processed sausage similar to hot dogs or Vienna sausages).
The most common Mexican sausage by far is the unique Mexican version of chorizo, which is made out of pork or beef salivary glands. It is fresh and usually deep red in color (in most of the rest of Latin America, chorizo is uncolored and coarsely chopped). Some chorizo is so loose that it spills out of its casing as soon as it is cut; this crumbled chorizo is a popular filling for torta sandwiches, breakfast burritos and tacos. Salchichas (essentially identical to hot dogs), longaniza (a long, thin, coarse chopped pork sausage) and head cheese are also widely consumed.
In Argentina and Uruguay many sausages are consumed. Eaten as part of the traditional asado, Chorizo (beef and/or pork, flavored with spices) and Morcilla (Blood Sausage or Black pudding) are the most popular. Both of them share a Spanish origin. A local type is the salchicha Argentina, criolla (Argentinian sausage) or parrillera (literally BBQ-style), made of the same ingredients as the Chorizo but thinner.[10]
There are hundreds of salami-style sausages. A very popular is the Salame Tandilero, from the city of Tandil. Others examples are: Longaniza, Cantimpalo and Sopresatta.[11]
Vienna sausages are eaten as an appetizer or in hot dogs (called panchos) which are usually served with different sauces and salads.
Leberwurst is usually found in every market and it is eaten as a cold cut or a Pâté.
Weisswurst is also a common dish, eaten usually with mashed potatoes or chucrut (Sauerkraut), in some regions.[12][13]
A grilled choizo served with a buttered arepa is one of the most common street foods in Colombia.
In addition to the standard Latin American sausages, dried pork sausages are served cold as a snack, often to accompany beer drinking. These include cábanos (salty, short, thin, and served individually), butifarra (of Catalan origin; spicier, shorter, fatter and moister than cábanos) and salchichón (a long, thin and heavily processed sausage served in slices).
Thai sausages are of many varieties. Northern famous sausage is Sai-Ua which fill with minced pork as well as herbs and chilli paste. Northeastern sausage is fermented sausage with sour taste. Thai people also eat fresh vegetable, some also eat fresh chilli, as side salad to sausage.
Lap cheong (also lap chong, lap chung, lop chong). Dried pork sausages flavored with char siu[citation needed] that look and feel like pepperoni, but are much sweeter. In southwestern China, sausages are flavored with salt, red pepper and wild pepper. People often cure sausages by smoking and air drying.
Sundae, a form of blood sausage, is a traditional Korean sausage. A popular street food, sundae is normally prepared by steaming or boiling cow or pig intestines stuffed with various ingredients. The most common variation is composed of pork blood, cellophane noodles, and barley stuffed into pig intestines, but other regional variations include squid or Alaskan pollock casings. Sundae is eaten plain, in stews, or as part of a stir-fry.
In the Philippines, there are different kinds of sausages called "Longaniza" or "Longanisa" with mixes dependent on their size of origin: Vigan Longaniza, Lucban Longaniza are examples.
While Longanisa is widely accepted as the term for native sausages, in some parts of the Vizayas and Mindanao Choriso is a more common term. There are regional varieties such as Vigan (with lots of garlic and not sweet) Lucban (lots of oregano and pork fat is chunky) Most longanisas contain Prague powder and are hardly smoked and is usually sold fresh. In general there are several common variants:
See Chả
In South Africa, traditional sausages are known as boerewors or farmer's sausage. Ingredients include game and beef, usually mixed with pork or lamb and with a high percentage of fat. Coriander and vinegar are the two most common seasoning ingredients, although many variations exist. The coarsely-ground nature of the mincemeat as well as the long continuous spiral of sausage are two of its recognisable qualities. Boerewors is traditionally cooked on a braai (barbecue).
Boerewors can be dried out in a dry-curing process similar to biltong, in which case it's called droë wors.
English style sausages, known colloquially as "snags" and popular at barbecues, are made in Australia using traditional meats such as beef, pork and chicken. European style smoked and dry sausages made with kangaroo meat have become available in recent years. Sausages made with Australian game meats typically have a much lower fat content than beef or pork sausages made by the same methods.
Devon is a spiced pork sausage similar to Bologna sausage and Gelbwurst. It is usually made in a large diameter, and often thinly sliced and eaten cold in sandwiches.
Mettwurst and other German style sausages are highly popular in South Australia, often made in towns like Hahndorf and Tanunda, due to the large German immigration to the state during early settlement. Mettwurst is usually sliced, and eaten cold on sandwiches or alone as a snack.
A local variation on cabanossi, developed by Italian migrants after World War II using local cuts of meat, is a popular party snack.
Locally manufactured cabanossi is a popular snack and party food.
Sausages may be served as hors d'oeuvre, in a sandwich, in a bread roll as a hot dog, wrapped in a tortilla, or as an ingredient in dishes such as stews and casseroles. It can be served on a stick (like the corn dog) or on a bone as well.[14] Sausage without casing is called sausage meat and can be fried or used as stuffing for poultry, or for wrapping foods like Scotch eggs. Similarly, sausage meat encased in puff pastry is called a sausage roll.
Sausages can also be modified to use indigenous ingredients. Mexican styles add oregano and the "guajillo" red pepper to the Spanish chorizo to give it an even hotter spicy touch.
Certain sausages also contain ingredients such as cheese and apple; or types of vegetable.
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Vegetarian and vegan sausages are also available in some countries, or can be made from scratch. These may be made from tofu, seitan, nuts, pulses, mycoprotein, soya protein, vegetables or any combination of similar ingredients that will hold together during cooking. These sausages, like most meat-replacement products, generally fall into two camps: some are shaped, colored, flavored, etc. to replicate the taste and texture of meat as accurately as possible; others such as the Glamorgan sausage rely on spices and vegetables to lend their natural flavor to the product and no attempt is made to imitate meat.
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| Translations: Sausage |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - pølse, (sl) pølsetysker, (sl) bunke vrøvl
idioms:
Nederlands (Dutch)
worst, saucijs
Français (French)
n. - saucisse, saucisson
idioms:
idioms:
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - λουκάνικο
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
salsiccia, pugile (amer. coll.)
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - salsicha (f)
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
колбаса, сосиска, колбасный фарш, "колбаса", аэростат наблюдения
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
n. - embutido, salchicha, salchichón
idioms:
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - korv, dumming, dumsnut
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
香肠, 腊肠
idioms:
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 香腸, 臘腸
idioms:
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 소시지, (이전에 전쟁에서 쓴 소시지형) 관측 기구, 열등한 운동 선수
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) سجق
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - נקניקיה, נקניק
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| Where do sausage rolls come from? |
| How do you eat a sausage? |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Food and Nutrition. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2005 by A. E. Bender and D. A. Bender. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more |
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| Food & Culture Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. Copyright © 2003 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Poker Guide. ©2006 SoundPoker.com All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Poker Interactive Inc. Read more |
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| Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more |
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| Dream Symbol. The Dreams Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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