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A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders.

When used as an adjective, 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.

Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes from synthetic materials. Sausages that are sold raw are cooked in many ways, including pan-frying, broiling and barbecuing. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may then be removed.

Sausage-making is a traditional food preservation technique. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying (often in association with fermentation or culturing, which can contribute to preservation), smoking, or freezing. Some cured or smoked sausages can be stored without refrigeration. Most fresh sausages must be refrigerated or frozen until they are cooked.

Sausages are made in a wide range of national and regional varieties, which differ by the types of meats that are used, the flavouring or spicing ingredients (garlic, peppers, wine, etc.), and the manner of preparation. In the 21st century, vegetarian and vegan varieties of sausage in which plant-based ingredients are used instead of meat have become much more widely available and consumed.

Etymology

The word ''sausage'' was first used in English in the mid-15th century, spelled . This word came from Old North French (Modern French ). The French word came from Vulgar Latin ("sausage"), from ("seasoned with salt").

History

Sausage making is a natural outcome of efficient butchery. Traditionally, sausage makers salted various tissues and organs such as scraps, organ meats, blood, and fat to help preserve them. They then stuffed them into tubular casings made from the cleaned intestines of the animal, producing the characteristic cylindrical shape. Hence, sausages, puddings, and salami are among the oldest of prepared foods, whether cooked and eaten immediately or dried to varying degrees.

An Akkadian cuneiform tablet records a dish of intestine casings filled with some sort of forcemeat.

A Chinese type of sausage has been described, ''lup cheong'' () from the Northern and Southern dynasties (589 BC420 BC), made from goat and lamb meat with salt, and flavoured with green onion, bean sauce, ginger, and pepper. The modern type of ''lup cheong'' has a comparatively long shelf life, mainly because of a high content of lactobacilli—so high that it is considered sour by many.

The Greek poet Homer mentioned a kind of blood sausage in the '' Odyssey'', Epicharmus wrote a comedy titled ''The Sausage'', and Aristophanes' 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. Eleonora Trojan, Julian Piotrowski
''Tradycyjne wędzenie''
AA Publishing. 96 pages.

The most famous sausage in ancient Italy was from Lucania (modern Basilicata) and was called '' lucanica'', a name which lives on in a variety of modern sausages in the Mediterranean. During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero, sausages were associated with the Lupercalia festival. Early in the 10th century during the Byzantine Empire, Leo VI the Wise outlawed the production of blood sausages following cases of food poisoning.

Casings

Traditionally, sausage casings were made of the cleaned intestines, or stomachs in the case of haggis and other traditional puddings. Today, however, natural casings are often replaced by collagen, cellulose, or even plastic casings, especially in the case of industrially manufactured sausages. Some forms of sausage, such as sliced sausage, are prepared without a casing. Additionally, luncheon meat and sausage meat are now available without casings in tin cans and jars.

Ingredients

A sausage consists of meat cut into pieces or ground, mixed with other ingredients, and filled into a casing. Ingredients may include a cheap starch filler such as breadcrumbs or grains, seasoning and flavourings such as spices, and sometimes others such as apple and leek.BBC: Pork sausage recipes
. "The meat may be mixed with breadcrumbs, cereals or other ingredients such as leek or apple." The meat may be from any animal but is often pork, beef or veal, or poultry. The lean meat-to-fat ratio depends upon the style and producer. The meat content as labelled may exceed 100%, which happens when the weight of meat exceeds the total weight of the sausage after it has been made, sometimes including a drying process which reduces water content.

In some jurisdictions foods described as sausages must meet regulations governing their content. For example, in the United States The Department of Agriculture specifies that the fat content of different defined types of sausage may not exceed 30%, 35% or 50% by weight; some sausages may contain binders or extenders.

Many traditional styles of sausage from Asia and mainland Europe use no bread-based filler and include only meat (lean meat and fat) and flavorings. In the United Kingdom and other countries with English cuisine traditions, many sausages contain a significant proportion of bread and starch-based fillers, which may comprise 30% of ingredients. The filler in many sausages helps them to keep their shape as they are cooked. As the meat contracts in the heat, the filler expands and absorbs moisture and fat from the meat.

When the food processing industry produces sausages for a low price point, almost any part of the animal can end up in sausages, varying from cheap, fatty specimens stuffed with meat blasted off the carcasses (mechanically recovered meat, MRM) and rusk. On the other hand, the finest quality contain only choice cuts of meat and seasoning. In Britain, "meat" declared on labels could in the past include fat, connective tissue, and MRM. These ingredients may still be used but must be labelled as such, and up to 10% water may be included without being labelled.

Sausages are emulsion-type products. They are composed of solid fat globules, dispersed in protein solution. The proteins function by coating the fat and stabilizing them in water.

Classifications

Sausages classification is subject to regional differences of opinion. Various metrics such as types of ingredients, consistency, and preparation are used. In the English-speaking world, the following distinction between ''fresh'', ''cooked'', and ''dry'' sausages seems to be more or less accepted:
* Cooked sausages are made with fresh meats and then fully cooked. They are either eaten immediately after cooking or must be refrigerated. Examples include hot dogs, Braunschweiger, and liver sausage. Meat-and-grain sausages such as goetta, scrapple, and kishka are also cooked sausages.
* Cooked smoked sausages are cooked and then smoked or smoke-cooked. They are eaten hot or cold but need to be refrigerated. Examples include kielbasa and mortadella. Some are slow cooked while smoking, in which case the process takes several days or longer, such as the case for ''Gyulai kolbász''.
* Fresh sausages are made from meats that have not been previously cured. They must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked before eating. Examples include '' Boerewors'', Italian pork sausage, siskonmakkara, and breakfast sausage.
* Fresh smoked sausages are fresh sausages that are smoked and cured. They do not normally require refrigeration and do not require any further cooking before eating. Examples include Mettwurst and Teewurst which are meat preparations packed in sausage casing but squeezed out of it (just like any other spread from a tube).
* Dry sausages are cured sausages that are fermented and dried. Some are smoked as well at the beginning of the drying process. They are generally eaten cold and will keep for a long time. Examples include salami, Droë wors, Finnish ''meetvursti'', Sucuk, Landjäger (smoked), Slim Jims, and summer sausage.
* Bulk sausage, or sometimes ''sausage meat'' or ''skinless sausage'', refers to raw, ground, spiced meat, usually sold without any casing.
* Vegetarian sausage are made without meat, for example, based on soya protein or tofu, with herbs and spices. Some vegetarian sausages are not necessarily vegan and may contain ingredients such as eggs.

The distinct flavor of some sausages is due to fermentation by '' Lactobacillus'', '' Pediococcus'', or ''Micrococcus'' (added as starter cultures) or natural flora during curing.

Other countries use different systems of classification. Germany, for instance, which produces more than 1200 types of sausage, distinguishes ''raw'', ''cooked'' and ''precooked'' sausages.
* Raw sausages are made with raw meat and are not cooked. They are preserved by lactic acid fermentation, and they may be dried, brined or smoked. Most raw sausages will keep for a long time. Examples include Mettwurst and salami.
* Cooked sausages ('' Brühwurst'') may include water and emulsifiers and are always cooked. They will not keep long. Examples include cervelat, Jagdwurst, and Weißwurst.
* Precooked sausages (''Kochwurst'') are made with precooked meat but may also include raw organ meat. They may be heated after casing, and they will keep only for a few days. Examples include Saumagen and Blutwurst.

In Italy, the basic distinctions are:
* Raw sausage (''salsiccia'') with a thin casing
* Cured and aged sausage (''salsiccia stagionata'' or ''salsiccia secca'')
* Cooked sausage (''wuerstel'')
* Blood sausage (''sanguinaccio'' or '' boudin'')
* Liver sausage (''salsiccia di fegato'')
* Salami (in Italy, ''salami'' is the plural of '' salame'', a big, cured, fermented and air-dried sausage)
* ''Cheese sausage'' (''casalsiccia'') with cheese inside

The United States has a particular shelf stable type called pickled sausages, commonly sold in establishments such as gas stations and delicatessens. These are usually smoked or boiled sausages of a highly processed hot dog or kielbasa style plunged into a boiling brine of vinegar, salt, spices, and often a pink coloring, then canned in Mason jars. They are usually packaged in single blister packs or jars.

Certain countries classify sausage types according to the region in which the sausage was traditionally produced:
* Austria: Vienna, etc.
* France: Montbéliard, Morteau, Strasbourg, Toulouse, etc.
* Germany: Frankfurt am Main, Thuringian sausage, Nuremberg, Pomerania, etc.
* Hungary: kolbász gyulai (after the town of Gyula), csabai (after the city of Békéscsaba), Debrecener (after the city of Debrecen).
* Italy: Merano (Meraner Wurst)
*Philippines: Alaminos longganisa (Pangasinan); Cabanatuan longganisa ( Nueva Ecija); Calumpit longganisa ( Bulacan); chorizo de Cebu ( Cebu); chorizo Negrense ( Negros Island); longaniza de Guinobatan ( Guinobatan, Albay); Lucban longganisa ( Quezon); Pampanga longganisa ( Pampanga); '' Pinuneg'' ( Cordillera Administrative Region); Longganisang Ybanag ( Cagayan Valley); Vigan longganisa ( Ilocos Region), etc.
* Poland: kiełbasa krakowska ( Kraków-style), toruńska ( Toruń), żywiecka ( Żywiec), bydgoska (Bydgoszcz), krotoszyńska ( Krotoszyn), podwawelska (literally: "from under Wawel"), zielonogórska ( Zielona Góra), rzeszowska ( Rzeszów), śląska ( Silesia), swojska, wiejska, jałowcowa, zwyczajna, polska, krajańska, szynkowa, parówkowa.
* Serbia: Sremska kobasica, Sremska salama, Sremski kulen (after the region of Srem/Sirmium), Požarevačka kobasica (after the city of Požarevac)
* Slovenia: Kranjska (klobasa), after the Slovenian name for the province of Carniola
* Spain: botifarra catalana, chorizo riojano, chorizo gallego, chorizo de Teror

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