Though there are countless options in snacks, among the most popular ones is the humble sausage.
Although not an Indian food item, it has found its niche with the non-veg lovers. Sausages are basically a short cylindrical tube of minced pork, beef or other meat encased in a skin, typically sold raw which can be grilled or fried before eating.
It is mainly seasoned and cooked or preserved and sold to be eaten cold as slices.
Sausage is derived from the Latin word, salsus, meaning salted.
The term was probably applied to cured or salted meat. Earlier, people did not have refrigeration to preserve their meat and so making sausages was a way of overcoming this problem. There are four main categories of sausages: fresh, cooked and smoked, cooked, liver and pork sausages and semi-dry and dry.
The manufacture of sausages began many, many years ago but it is still considered a growing industry. While some of basic practices remain the same, the industry is constantly adopting new developments in processing with new scientific and technical knowledge.
Chef Netan Singh of Cafe Delhi Heights seconds this, “It is a trend, where people are preferring sausages in breakfast and pork sausages are more popular than the other varieties. People mostly opt for grilled ones or one can even have them cold like salami.”
Different countries and different cities have their own distinctive types of sausage, both fresh and dry. These sausage are mostly influenced by the availability of ingredients as well as climate.
Some parts of the world with long periods of cold climate, such as northern Europe keep their sausages without refrigeration, during the colder months. They have also developed a process of smoking the sausage to help preserve the meat during the warmer months. The hotter climates in the south of Europe develop dry sausage, which does not need refrigeration at all.
Basically, people living in different countries developed their own types of sausages and sausages have become associated with those areas. For example, Bologna originated in the town of Bologna in Northern Italy; Lyons sausage from Lyons, France and Berliner from Berlin while in England they are associated with the counties, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Lincolnshire, Cumberland etc.
Vegetarian and vegan sausages are also available. These may be made from tofu, nuts, pulses, 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, coloured, flavoured to replicate the taste and texture of meat as accurately as possible; others such as the glamorgan sausage (made mainly from breadcrumbs and cheese) rely on spices and vegetables to lend their natural flavour to the product and no attempt is made to imitate meat.