Abstract

When you get right down to it, taking the intestine of an animal and stuffing it with the ground meat of that animal doesn’t really seem all that intuitive an approach to food preparation. But, as Gary Allen shows in this rich and engaging history, people worldwide have been making sausage for thousands of years. A veritable alphabet of sausages, from the Cajun andouille—and its less spicy forerunner, a French saucisson of the same name––and Mexican chorizo all the way to the Italian zampone, Allen tells a story of relentless creativity and invention, as different cultures found countless delectable ways to transform these otherwise unappealing pieces of meat. Allen peppers his account with examples from all over the world, as well as antique posters and advertisements, artworks and cartoons; together, they build a picture of a food that has been beloved—even as it’s scoffed at—throughout human history, and remains a spicy favorite today.

“Allen explores, region by region, and sometimes country by country, some of the broad categories and local specialties. These are slim volumes, and so far from exhaustive, but there’s an impressive overview here. From the German sulzwurst (a gelatine-bound sausage containing vinegar and/or pickles) to the Lebanese makanek (glazed with pomegranate molasses), from the beef sujuk (prevalent in Islamic countries) to Kazakhstan’s kazy (dried, smoked sausages made with salted horseflesh and garlic) to the Thai sai krok lueat (curry-flavoured blood sausages), the reader can’t help but be struck by the range of ingenuity—and perhaps sometimes desperation—that’s been applied to humanity’s most mobile meat.”
  — Hans Rollman, PopMatters
Gary Allen is adjunct professor at Empire State College, State University of New York. He is the author of several books, including Herbs: A Global History, also published by Reaktion Books.