The origin of meat processing is lost in antiquity but probably began
when mankind learned that salt is an effective preservative. Sausage
making evolved as an effort to economize and preserve meat that could
not be consumed fresh at slaughter.
It is often assumed that
sausages were invented by the Sumerians in the region that is
Iraq today, around 4000 BC. Reference to a cooked meat
product stuffed in a goat stomach like a sausage was known
in Babylon and described as a recipe in the world’s oldest cook book
3750 years ago.
The Chinese sausage Làcháng, which consists of goat and lamb meat, was first mentioned in 589 BC.
Homer
referenced sausage in the Odyssey as one of the favorite foods of the
Greeks. He gives in detail the slaughter of a heifer as part of a
religious ceremony. The collection of the blood from the animal and the
manner of slicing and roasting the meat reflects the importance the
Greeks placed on animal products as food. The prize of a sausage was
awarded Odysseus when he defeated the sturdy beggar Iros in a boxing
match. The sausage was described as a type of black pudding, stuffed
with blood and fat and sizzled on the hearth.
Epicharmus (ca.
550 BC - ca. 460 BC) wrote a comedy entitled “The Sausage”.
Numerous books report that sausages were already popular among the
ancient Greeks and Romans.
It is believed that sausages were
brought to Britain by the Romans some time before 400 AD. Since then,
various English counties have each had their own way of flavouring their
local sausage – Lincolnshire favours fresh sage and Cheshire uses
caraway and coriander.
The history of sausage is literally given
by its name and many of today’s sausages derive their names from the
city where they originated, such as Vienna, Frankfurt, Mettwurst, Genoa,
Knoblanch, Bologna, Salami, and many others.
Nowadays there are
numerous types of sausage casings including: Natural and artificial
such as Collagen, Cellulose and Plastic. Collagen, Cellulose and
plastic casings are relative newcomers to the artificial field, mainly
born out of market demand during the technological maelstrom of the
early twentieth century.
Today, the sausage manufacturing
industry in the U.S. must adhere to government standards for ingredients
and processing. In addition, accurate labeling requirements ensure that
the consumer is informed of the ingredients in a sausage product.
Regulations are more specific for several categories of sausage
products, which have specific production processes and storage
requirements.
The origin and history of sausage
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