Table Of ContentSAUSAGE
Edible
Series Editor: Andrew F. Smith
EDIBLE is a revolutionary series of books dedicated to food and drink that explores the rich history of
cuisine. Each book reveals the global history and culture of one type of food or beverage.
Already published
Apple Erika Janik Barbecue Jonathan Deutsch and Megan J. Elias Beef Lorna
Piatti-Farnell Beer Gavin D. Smith Brandy Becky Sue Epstein Bread William
Rubel Cake Nicola Humble Caviar Nichola Fletcher Champagne Becky Sue
Epstein Cheese Andrew Dalby Chocolate Sarah Moss and Alexander Badenoch
Cocktails Joseph M. Carlin Curry Colleen Taylor Sen Dates Nawal Nasrallah Doughnut Heather Hunwick
Dumplings Barbara Gallani Eggs Diane Toops Figs David C. Sutton Game Paula Young Lee Gin Lesley
Jacobs Solmonson Hamburger Andrew F. Smith Herbs Gary Allen Hot Dog Bruce Kraig Ice Cream Laura
B.
Weiss Lamb Brian Yarvin Lemon Toby Sonneman Lobster Elisabeth Townsend Milk Hannah Velten
Mushroom Cynthia D. Bertelsen Nuts Ken Albala Offal Nina Edwards Olive Fabrizia Lanza Oranges
Clarissa Hyman Pancake Ken Albala Pie Janet Clarkson Pineapple Kaori O’ Connor Pizza Carol Helstosky
Pork Katharine M. Rogers Potato Andrew F. Smith Pudding Jeri Quinzio Rice Renee Marton Rum Richard
Foss Salmon Nicolaas Mink Sandwich Bee Wilson Sauces Maryann Tebben Sausage Gary Allen Soup Janet
Clarkson Spices Fred Czarra Sugar Andrew F. Smith Tea Helen Saberi Tequila Ian Williams Truffle
Zachary Nowak Vodka Patricia Herlihy Water Ian Miller Whiskey Kevin R. Kosar Wine Marc Millon
Sausage
A Global History
Gary Allen
REAKTION BOOKS
This little book is dedicated to my late mother, Arline ‘Billie’ Allen (and to her
mother, whom I never met, since she died five years before I was born).
Together, they instilled in me a taste for their ‘League of Nations’ approach to
cooking and eating, and a lifelong curiosity about so-called foreign foods.
Published by Reaktion Books Ltd
33 Great Sutton Street
London EC1V 0DX, UK
www.reaktionbooks.co.uk
First published 2015
Copyright © Gary Allen 2015
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the publishers Page references in the Photo Acknowledgements and
Index match the printed edition of this book.
Printed and bound in China A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library eISBN:
9781780235554
Contents
Introduction
1 What is Sausage, and Where Did it Originate?
2 Some Historical Sausages and the Links Between Them
3 Sausages of Europe
4 Sausages from Everywhere Else
5 Technology and the Modern Sausage
6 Sausage: Theme and Variations
Conclusion
Recipes
Appendix: A Selection of Regional Sausages
References
Select Bibliography
Websites and Associations
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Introduction
Four decades ago, before there were any books available on sausage for the
home cook, I became interested in sausage-making. Having discovered that there
was little written on the subject, I began researching the topic myself, converting
commercial-scale recipes to manageable size, and participating in every part of
the process, from slaughter (yes, even cleaning out pig intestines for casings –
which, as you can imagine, was not one of the more pleasant parts of the
research) to finished dishes. That was before I was a writer, and no book ever
came out of it. Since that earlier start, many sausage cookbooks have been
published, so this book takes a different approach: historical and comparative. It
attempts to help us understand a little about where our sausages come from, and
how they got to be the way they are today. While I was undertaking my early
research, every dinner guest at my home was subjected to one sausage dish or
another. In the course of writing this book, the process has been repeated,
perhaps – as dinner guests might have been too polite to say – ad nauseam. It is
probably impolitic to refer to those long-suffering diners as guinea pigs, but I am
nonetheless grateful for their sacrifice.
Sausages have long been part of our gastronomic lives, probably for as long
as humans have used fire and salt to prepare food. They have been invented,
independently, in many places. Specific sausages have also been introduced to
other cultures, gradually evolving in the presence of different conditions,
cultures and ingredients.
Grilled sausages.
What makes a sausage a sausage? What doesn’t? These are fundamental
questions, and the answers are, at once, as simple and as varied and complex as
anything in the gamut of world foods. It is the opposite of the famous remark,
often misattributed to Otto von Bismarck, that ‘the making of laws is like the
making of sausages – the less you know about the process, the more you respect
the result.’
This book celebrates sausages in all their spicy, salty, smoky and juicy glory.
While it may not earn respect for these once-humble foods, it may elicit greater
appreciation for their vast savouriness and variability, and reveal the way they
(and we) have spread around the globe.
Description:When you get right down to it, taking the intestine of an animal and stuffing it with the ground meat of that animal doesn’t really seem all that intuitive an approach to food preparation. But, as Gary Allen shows in this rich and engaging history, people worldwide have been making sausage for tho
