Sausage is a food made of chopped and seasoned meat. The meats used in making sausage include beef, game, pork, poultry, veal, and—in some countries—fish. Sausage is seasoned with herbs and spices, including salt, red and black pepper, sage, garlic, onions, sugar, and ginger. Most sausages contain some kind of cereal, which acts as a binder, and small amounts of curing agents called nitrites. Nitrites give sausages their color and also help prevent the growth of bacteria that cause a type of food poisoning called botulism. Europeans sometimes add gin or red wine to the sausage they make to give it a special flavor.
Most sausage meat is pressed into a long, round casing (skin). Natural sausage casings are made from the intestines of farm animals, especially sheep. Before these casings are used, they are cleaned and salted, or soaked in brine. Sausage casings made of cellulose materials are often used (see Cellulose). Skinless frankfurters are sausages that have had their casings removed.
Sausage meat and sausages are important products of the packing industry. People also make sausage at home. Fresh sausages are sold raw and may be boiled, fried, or broiled. Other types of sausage include uncooked, smoked sausages, such as country-style sausage links; cooked sausages, such as frankfurters; semidry sausages, such as salami; dry sausages, such as pepperoni; and specialty meats, such as luncheon meats.
The frankfurter, named for Frankfurt (am Main), Germany, is the most popular sausage. Experts believe frankfurters were first made in Germany during the Middle Ages. Frankfurters are also called hot dogs, red hots, and wieners in North America. American frankfurters can be made of cured and well-smoked beef, pork, poultry, or a combination of meats. Frankfurters served in buns are a favorite American food. Vienna sausage, or wienerwurst, looks like a frankfurter but is shorter. This sausage is named for Vienna (Wien), Austria.
