Sausage making

The origins of meat preservation are lost to the ages but probably began when humans began to realize the preservative value of salt.^[1] Sausage making originally developed as a means to preserve and transport meat. Primitive societies learned that dried berries and spices could be added to dried meat. The procedure of stuffing meat into casings remains basically the same today, but sausage recipes have been greatly refined and sausage making has become a highly respected culinary art.^[1]

Sausages come in two main types: fresh and cured. Cured sausages may be either cooked or dried. Many cured sausages are smoked, but this is not mandatory. The curing process itself changes the meat and imparts its own flavors. An example is the difference in taste between a pork roast and a ham.

All smoked sausages are cured. The reason is the threat of botulism. The bacterium responsible, Clostridium botulinum, is ubiquitous in the environment, grows in the anaerobic conditions created in the interior of the sausage, and thrives in the 4 °C (39 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) temperature range common in the smoke house and subsequent ambient storage. Thus, for safety reasons, sausages are cured before smoking.^[2]