Fuet (, lit. "whip") is a
Catalan thin, dry-cured,
sausage
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.
...
of
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
meat in a pork gut, covered with white, edible mold—similar to
salami
Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...
. The most famous is made in the
''comarca'' (county) of
Osona
Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...
and is also known as ''Vic fuet'' (''fuet de Vic'', after the city of
Vic, capital of Osona). Other places that have long tradition of making it are the city of
Olot
Olot (; ) is the capital city of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Garrotxa, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The city is known for its natural landscape, including four volcanoes scattered around the city center. The municipali ...
and the surrounding areas.
Fuet is a long, thin shape measuring between 30 and 50 cm long and up to 4 cm in diameter, with a usual weight between 150 and 300 g. It is made of about 60% lean meat to 40% finely minced fat and is dry-cured.
Flavour
Fuet is flavored with
black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...
and
garlic
Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...
, and sometimes
aniseed
Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix, is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia.
The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, ...
, but unlike
chorizo
''Chorizo'' ( , ; ; see #Names, below) is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite differe ...
contains no
paprika
Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...
.
History
In
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, natural fermented sausages have a long tradition originating in
Mediterranean countries during Ancient times. The
Celts
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
were famous for their cured meat, including hams and sausages.
In the Roman documentation there is evidence that the
Iberians
The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...
already made sausages with names still in use today. There are several Roman documents that praise the
Cerdanya
Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia.
Cerdanya has a ...
hams made by the Iberians as some of the best in the world. The importance of sausages in European culture led to the establishment of routes to obtain the ingredients to prepare sausages, such as the "Via Salaria" salt route in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
Gallery
File:Katalansky fuet Catalan fuet.jpg, Fuet in pepper
File:Spanish sausage-Fuet-01.jpg, Slices of fuet
File:Bandeja fuet.jpg, Fuet
See also
*
List of sausages
References
External links
* Fuet info a
spanishclub.blog
Spanish sausages
Catalan cuisine
Fermented sausages
{{Catalonia-cuisine-stub