⚠️Sausages⚠️

Question 1

What and when is the first recognizable mention of sausage?

Answer 1

In a Greek play called “The Orya” or “The Sausage” written in 500 B.C

Word for sausage frequently occurs in Greek writings

Question 2

What other Empire had sausage as a favorite?

Answer 2

A favorite of the Romans at one time, so much so that it had to be banned by the early church

Question 3

Where does the word “sausage” derive from? What did the word originally apply to?

Answer 3

From the Latin word “salsus” meaning salted

Originally applied to cured or salted meat generally

Question 4

What problem did sausage solve?

Answer 4

In older times, there were no refrigerators to preserve meat so making sausage overcame this problem

Question 5

Dry sausage was born as a result of what?

Answer 5

Dry sausage was born as a result of the discovery of new spices which helped enhance flavor and preserve the meat

Question 6

Why do different countries make different types of sausages? Give two examples.

Answer 6

Different countries and cities produce their own distinctive types of sausage (fresh and dry) due to the availability of ingredients and the climate

ex: parts of world with colder climates like Northern Europe can keep fresh sausage without refrigeration during cold months and found a way to smoke it for warmer months

Ex: parts of the world with warmer climates like Southern Europe developed dry sausage so it didn’t need to be refrigerated

Question 7

What are the 5 different types of sausage?

Answer 7

Cooked sausage
Cooked smoked sausage
Fresh sausage
Fresh smoked sausage
Dry sausage

Question 8

What is cooked sausage? (2) Give examples.

Answer 8

Sausage that is made with fresh meats then fully cooked

It is either eaten immediately, or refrigerated then reheated

For example: veal sausage, liver sausage

Question 9

What is cooked smoked sausage? (3) Give examples.

Answer 9

Similar to cooked sausage, but it is cooked then smoked, or smoke-cooked

It is eaten hot or cold

To be stored in the fridge

For example: kielbasa, bologna

Question 10

What is fresh sausage? (2) Give examples.

Answer 10

Sausage made from meats that haven’t been cured

Must be refrigerated and thoroughly cooked

For example: Italian pork sausage, the British banger

Question 11

What is fresh smoked sausage? (2) Give examples.

Answer 11

Fresh sausage that is smoked

After smoking, it can be refrigerated and cooked thoroughly before eating

For example: mettwurst, roumanian sausage

Question 12

What is dry sausage? (3) Give examples.

Answer 12

Sausage made from a selection of meats

It is the most complicated to make as the drying process has to be carefully controlled

Can be readily eaten, or kept for long periods of time under refrigeration

For example: salami’s, summer sausage

Question 13

What are the two categories of sausage?

Answer 13

Fresh and cured

Question 14

What is fresh sausage? How is it stored? Give some examples.

Answer 14

Sausage that is made up of minced meat and spices and cooked just prior to serving, traditionally stuffed into casings but can be formed into patties

It will only keep for a few days in the fridge but can be frozen for future use

Examples: Italian breakfast sausage, English sausages

Question 15

What are the two kinds of cured sausage?

Answer 15

Semi dry and dried sausages

Question 16

What are semidry sausages? (2) Give examples.

Answer 16

Sausages that are cooked in hot water or a smokehouse

Will keep under refrigeration for months

For example: hot dogs or Summer sausage

Question 17

What are dry sausages? (2)

Answer 17

Sausages that aren’t cooked but dried to about 75% of their stuffed weight over a period of several months

They will keep for years at room temperature

Question 18

What can cause fermentation in both dry and semidry sausages? (2)

Answer 18

The addition of lactic acid can cause fermentation which produces bacteria culture that provides a wonderful tang to the sausage

It also enhances the long-keeping qualities

Question 19

Which food borne illness requires you to take precautions when making sausages? Why is it deadly?

Answer 19

Botulism, a food poisoning caused by the bacterium Clostridium Botulism

The bacteria is deadly because it can occur in food products before the first hint of a foul odor or other forms of food spoilage occurs

Question 20

Why must you take extra precautions when making cured sausages? (2)

Answer 20

The botulism bacteria can be easily destroyed by boiling but their toxin producing spores are not so easily destroyed at 100 degrees Celsius (boiling point of water)

They thrive in low acid, moist environments that are lacking oxygen, and when the sausage is between 4 and 60 degrees Celsius, which is where semidry and dry sausages fall

Question 21

What does cured mean?

Answer 21

An agent or process was used to provide long term keeping properties to the sausage

the use of salt, drying and fermentation are all common curing techniques

Question 22

What do modern public health practices demand the use of?

Answer 22

Demands the use of chemical agents in the form of nitrites and/or nitrates to assure the destruction of pathogenic organisms like those that cause botulism

Question 23

What are the seven steps to cleanliness?

Answer 23

1. Use bleach or sanitizer and water to clean counter surfaces before and after use
2. Use hot soapy water to clean all tools before washing a second time with sanitizer
3. Rinse all tools before using them (no dust or hair)
4. Wash hands frequently
5. Use surgical gloves
6. Keep everything not in use in plastic zip-lock bags to keep as fresh as possible
7. When playing with foods cooked in the botulism zone, take as many precautions as possible

Question 24

What are sausages made from?

Answer 24

Minced/ground meat which can be bought ground from a butcher or ground in the kitchen with a meat mincer

Question 25

How do all mincers operate? (3)

Answer 25

An auger pushes the meat into a rotating blade that chops the meat as its forced through the stationary output plate

The size of the holes in the plate determine the coarseness of the meat

Real sausages are stuffed into casings which requires a stuffer which can be added to the same mincer

Question 26

What are the 2 classes of casings?

Answer 26

Natural and man-made

Question 27

What are natural casings made of?

Answer 27

The intestines of animals, specifically cows, hogs and lamb or sheep

Question 28

What are man-made casings?

Answer 28

Those made from anything other than animal intestines (cellulose, collagen, synthetic)

Question 29

What preparations are required for casings? (2)

Answer 29

Man made requires like or no prep, except fibrous which needs to be soaked

Natural casings come in a package of brine or heavily salted brine/water paste, sometimes in a cake of salt, so they need to be pre-treated before use to dilute the salt and prevent them from getting tough

Question 30

How, specifically, do you prepare natural casings? (6)

Answer 30

1. Place the casings in a large bowl, spread out.
2. Separate the amount you need (be excessive).
3. Place the casings to be used in a second bowl and fill it with as much water as possible
4. Allow to soak for a few minutes then drain and refill
5. Drain casings again, then take one, opening one end and fill the entire casing with water from the tap
6. Repeat

Question 31

What are the four steps of the basic sausage making process?

Answer 31

MASS

1. Mincing the meat
2. Adding spices and flavorings
3. Stuffing the casings
4. Storing

Question 32

What is one extremely important thing?

Answer 32

KEEP THE MEAT COLD

Refrigerate throughout the process and keep it as stiff as possible

Question 33

What is the process of mincing the meat? (5)

Answer 33

1. Cut your meat to fit the size of the mincer
2. Refrigerate the cubed meat
3. Get the mincer and dishes set up
4. Take the meat out and mince
5. Cover minced meat and return to fridge

Question 34

What is the process of adding spices and flavorings? (5)

Answer 34

1. Add the spices to minced meat
2. Mix spices throughly
3. Don’t compact the meat too tightly
4. Keep meat cold prior to mixing
5. Return meat to fridge

Question 35

What is the process of stuffing the casings? (5)

Answer 35

1. Keep casings in a bowl of cold water to keep lubricated
2. Find end of casing and slip this over stuffing horn, then push it all over the stuffing horn like an accordion (keeping wet)
3. Leave some casing hanging over stuffing horn and tie a knot
4. Start stuffing casings, controlling the flow of sausage to not over stuff (will burst) by holding the casing with you thumb and forefinger (increasing and decreasing pressure as needed)
5. As the sausage comes out, you can tie the ends or make links by twisting the sausage

Question 36

What is the process of storing? (2 for drying, 2 for freezing)

Answer 36

For dried sausage:

1. hang the sausage over a broom handle covered with aluminum foil between two chairs in a cold environment
2. Keep sausage cool to prevent bacterial growth

Freezing sausage:

1. Place sausage in a ziplock bag, using a straw to suck out as much air as possible
2. Seal bag and freeze quickly