[Sausage]
Among meat products, sausages have a particularly long history and are loved around the world. During the travels I have visited so far, I have encountered sausages from many different countries with unique characteristics.
For example, the herb-scented Weisswurst from Munich, Germany, which the butcher reminded me to eat fresh in the morning. The black pudding, handmade by the owner of an Irish B&B, is a simple but powerful sausage made with pig's blood. The Laotian sai oua we ate on the banks of the Mekong River was an aromatic dish with spices and herbs, with a fresh spicy flavor typical of Southeast Asia. Then there was the Korean sundae, pork intestines stuffed with vermicelli, glutinous rice, and pig's blood. I have fond memories of tucking into this dish with a beer in one hand and smacking my tongue with the other. It was very interesting to see the differences in ingredients, cooking methods, and ways of eating sausage in different countries and regions, and it has become one of the pleasures of my travels.
Sausage originated from an ingenious way to use meat without wasting it and to preserve it for a long time. The process of adding salt and spices to ground meat and stuffing it into a skin (casing) such as intestines has developed over a long period in various regions. The history of this method is very old, and in the epic poem “Odyssey” written by the Greek poet Homer in the 8th century B.C., goat stomachs stuffed with blood and fat are mentioned as a portable food for soldiers. In addition, clay tablets from the Akkadian civilization of ancient Mesopotamia record a dish of minced meat stuffed with intestines. In China, dried hard sausages such as “lăochăn” (臘腸) already existed during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-589 A.D.), and a book dated 455 described the process of stuffing meat into a casing.
In medieval Europe, sausage production flourished against the backdrop of royal hunting in Poland in the 14th century, and preservation was mainly done by smoking. This technique has been inherited by today's traditional Polish sausages such as “krakowska” and “kielbasa.” On the other hand, in Germany, the “Act on Thuringian Rostbratwurst” was enacted in 1432. This law contained specific regulations regarding ingredients and consumption periods, such as “sausages made from pork must be eaten in the morning after they are made,” indicating the institutional development of sausage culture in each region.
In Japan, during World War I, five sausage makers, including Karl Jahn, were among the approximately 1,000 German soldiers held at the Narashino POW camp in Chiba Prefecture, who actually made sausages in the camp. The Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, which at the time was focusing on sausage as a high-nutritional food, took notice of this technology and dispatched an engineer from the Livestock Experiment Station to provide instruction on German-style sausage production. Eventually, the technology spread to meat processors throughout Japan through workshops held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, marking the beginning of full-scale sausage production in Japan.
Knowing the history of sausages and the diversity of sausages in each region, it is tempting to try making sausages myself. However, since making sausage from scratch seemed too difficult, I tried a simple “sausage-style” version that can be shaped with plastic wrap. Add herb salt, minced garlic, and black pepper to ground pork, knead well, and wrap in plastic wrap to form a shape. Then, after boiling in boiling water, lightly brown it in a frying pan, and it is ready to eat. The succulent juices spreading in the mouth and the aroma of herbs spreading softly are irresistible, not to mention the fresh taste. While enjoying the pleasure of tasting my own sausage, I feel as if I am touching just a little of the roots of sausage, which was born as a preserved food, all the while reminiscing about my trip. This moment becomes a rich experience that blends the joy of food with cherished travel memories.
Rikucho Ogasawara's Fish Pan
https://www.shokunin.com/en/rikucho/fishpan.html
References
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%BD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausage
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurst
https://www.narashino-cci.or.jp/narashino_sausage/history/
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E3%82%BD%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BB%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8
https://www.orangepage.net/recipes/301977 (reference recipe)
https://yonasato.com/column/food/detail/sausage_howtomake_280524/ (reference recipe)
