On every family table you can meet everyone's favorite product called "sausage." It has a different shape and composition, so with its help you can create many dishes. But few people think about when such a popular culinary creation appeared.
Sausage - what is it?
From the dictionaries you can find out what a common word like "sausage" has many meanings. Some of them:
- A product that can be eaten. It looks like minced meat, packed in a transparent shell.
- Minkowski sausage - an ordinary geometric fractal.
- Separate air hoses in pneumatic brakes that can be found on old-style trams.
- A certain kind of pointer that determines the direction of the wind.
Etymological origin of the word sausage
The original form of the word sausage is "kalb". The oldest mention of this expression in Russia can be found in birch bark letter No. 842 from Novgorod. This document is a list of products sent by the package.
Korsch claims that the word "sausage" was formed from the Turkish expression kul basti - "meat made in the original way." Fasmer has a different opinion on this. He suggests that the sausage was borrowed from the Turkic language külbasty - "fried meat patties." But at the same time, he does not deny the possibility of the qol and basdı coming from the Turkic words - “hand” and “crush”, related to the method of preparation of this product. Indeed, in those days they were already cooking minced meat and manually stuffed lamb intestines with them.
As for the origin of the word "sausage," etymology puts forward a couple more theories. One of them is based on the fact that it comes from Hebrew, where there is a similar expression kolbāsār meaning "all flesh", but not everyone agrees with this opinion: in biblical stories this word refers to any living creature. In addition to this, Jews do not eat pork, which is the main element of sausage.
There is a less popular version of the origin of this word, according to which "sausage" comes from the word "bun", because they have a similar shape.
The history of the origin of the word "sausage" in Russia
For some time, the theory of the German origin of "sausage" was popular among researchers. Allegedly, they were the first to bring sausage into Russian territory and taught local residents how to cook it. But over time, it was refuted. Among the documents of Novgorod found a birch bark letter of the XII century, proving that the sausage already existed in those days. Unfortunately, researchers have not yet found later references to this product: after the 12th century, sausage disappears from history until the 16th century, when Domostroy was written, where the sausage was briefly remembered.
In the XVII century, German settlers arrived in Russia, who began to create small sausage shops. It was they who shared their experience with the Uglich masters who produced local sausages. Thanks to new knowledge, they have turned everyone's favorite product into a gourmet dish that has gained popularity far beyond the borders of their country. It impressed Peter I so much that in 1709 he personally chose the best foreign professionals to create sausage workshops. These people taught Russian masters all the tricks of their craft, and by the beginning of the 19th century, sausages of impeccable quality were on any table of the Russian family. By the end of the 19th century, there were 2,500 sausage shops on the whole Russian territory, of which sausages were mass-produced 46. In the era of the USSR's prosperity, a new raw smoked sausage appeared.
In 1936, an experimental batch of non-smoked diet sausages was produced. They consisted of pork, they were very delicate in taste. This product has gained popularity among the Soviet population, it is remembered under the name "Doctor's sausage." Its main consumers were sick people or patients undergoing the postoperative period.
Interesting Facts
The first version of the sausage looked like minced meat, seasoned with spices, which filled the intestine or other shell similar to it. This product is unique in that it does not have a homeland as such. Each nation can find a peculiar version of sausage, and invented it, not knowing about the culinary preferences of neighboring nations. The whole secret is that the sausage was a home-cooked product that can be stored for a long time. It was very convenient, especially in the absence of suitable conditions for storing perishable meat, so sausage was prepared in every house.
For 500 years BC, in ancient Greek, Chinese and Babylonian documents, sausage was first mentioned. Over time, it was discovered during the translation of Homer's Odyssey, and no less famous Epiharm created a comedy in her honor - Sausage.
This product was found not only in Greece, but also in Rome. There was terrible heat in this area, so the housewives were looking for methods to keep the meat fresh for as long as possible. And they found such a way: so that the meat does not spoil for a long time, it is chopped finely, seasoned with spices and salt and stuffed into pre-prepared intestines, which were thoroughly washed and cleaned. When all the intestines were stuffed with meat, their ends were pulled by threads and hung in places where there was no sun.
In the history of the origin of the word "sausage" and the interesting facts of its creation, one can highlight an equally surprising moment - the sausage was on the list of products that the Roman armies supplied without fail.