sausage, meat product made of finely chopped and seasoned meat, which may be fresh, smoked, or pickled and which is then usually stuffed into a casing. Sausages of fish or poultry are also made. The word sausage, from the Latin salsus (“salted”), refers to a food-processing method that had been used for centuries. Various forms of sausages were known in ancient Babylonia, Greece, and Rome, and early North American Indians made pemmican, a compressed dried meat-and-berry cake. From the Middle Ages, various European cities became known for the local sausage, with such types as the frankfurter (Frankfurt am Main), bologna (Bologna, Italy), and romano (Rome) being named for their places of origin. Salami (named for the salting process, salare, Italian: “to salt”) is a popular sausage with many varieties.
In modern food processing, the meat content, frequently beef or pork, may also include other meats, meat mixtures, and added meatpacking by-products. Other additives may include water, cereals, vegetable starch, soy flour, preservatives, and artificial colourings.
The wide variety of spices and condiments used in sausage making includes salt and, depending on the ethnic or regional origin of the recipe, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, garlic, vinegar, mace, pepper, chili peppers, or pistachio nuts. Casings may be the internal organs of meat animals, paraffin-treated fabric bags, or modern synthetic casings of plastic or reconstituted collagen (insoluble animal protein). Skinless sausages are produced by stuffing the ingredients into cellulose casing, then immersing the sausage in hot followed by cold water, forming a thin protein film allowing removal of the original cellulose.
Dry sausages developed mainly in warm areas where preservation was difficult; fresh and cooked sausages developed in cooler climates. Because they are processed to reduce moisture content, dry sausages offer proteins, B vitamins, and minerals in highly concentrated form. Sausage-processing methods include cooking, curing (by application of salt solution), and smoking (exposure to smoke, often following curing). The last two methods, originally employed for preservation, are now used mainly for their contribution to flavour.
According to the processing method employed, sausages are classified as fresh (not cooked or cured); uncooked smoked; cooked smoked; cooked; cooked meat specialties, including luncheon meats and sandwich spreads, usually in loaf form and without casings; and dry sausages. All but dry sausages require refrigerated storage; under cool storage conditions, dry types have long shelf life. Both fresh and uncooked smoked sausages must be cooked prior to serving; cooked smoked sausage is usually warmed before serving. Cooked sausages, cooked meat specialties, and dry sausages are ready to eat.