Sausage History

You may shy away from commercially-made sausage fearing not only fat content, but what odds and ends manufacturers dump into the mix. And, rightfully so. But, if you make your own sausage at home, you can ensure only the best ingredients and spices are used, plus control the fat content. Do not make the mistake of thinking sausage is strictly a meat product. The featured sausage recipes also include seafood and vegetarian sausage blends.

Sausage History

The word sausage comes from the Middle English sausige, which came from sal, Latin for salt. In France they are sausissons and in Germany, wurst. In practice for over a millenia sausage-making was originally a method used to preserve meats, especially lesser cuts.

Today, sausage-making has become an art. More than 200 different varieties of sausage are made in the United States alone, and thousands more worldwide, varying by regional tastes and ingredient availability. Hot dogs are popular in the United States, sausage is the ultimate Finnish fast food, and seafood sausages are popular in Asia.

More About Sausage and Sausage Recipes:

• What is sausage and what is it made from?
• Sausage Types and Forms
• Sausage Casings
• Reducing the Fat in Sausage
• Sausage and Health
• Sausage History
• Low-Fat (Lite) Sausage Recipes
• Sausage Recipes
_{Sausages Photo © 2009 Peggy Trowbridge Filippone, licensed to About.com, Inc.}