April 27 2022 - Sausages

 

Do you know how many kinds of sausage there are? Every European country has its own specialty.   Andouille — France Bratwurst — Germany Chorizo — Spain Italian Sausage— Italy Chorizo — Mexico Longaniza — Argentina Sai Ua — Thailand Longganisa — Philippines The most popular supposedly is Chorizo, from Spain.  Spicy pork with paprika and garlic.  And the most consumed sausage?  Germany consumes the most, followed by Poland.  The highest consumption per capita is tied between Cezch Republic and Germany at 19 kg per person, then Austria at 16 kg per person.  What about the hot dog?  "The hot dog is not an original sausage but merely an American adoption of German sausages, frankfurters, and wieners.  The texture of a hot dog is smooth and paste-like, while sausages have a more composite mixture of miniscule bits of meat."  Despite that authoritative sort of answer, there is wide consensus that it is a sausage. That's because what makes a sausage a sausage is really simple - it is its tube shape: "an item of food in the form of a cylindrical length of minced pork or other meat encased in a skin, typically sold raw to be grilled or fried before eating." How would we recognize it historically?  Look for the spelling sawsyge - mid-15th century England; saussiche for France.  We reference historical beginnings with the Romans, Greeks etc.  So we trace words back to Vulgar Latin - salsica ("sausage"), from salsicus ("seasoned with salt"). I like sausage jokes - especially the puns on wurst. Germany is telling its citizens to stock up on sausages and cheeses as the fear of Covid grows It’s the wurst-kase scenario Don't ever challenge a German sausage maker to a competition. It brings out the *wurst* in him. My friend has just fed German sausage to a bird. He’s taken a tern for the wurst. My kid left some uncooked sausage out of the freezer overnight. When I discovered it,  I realized I was dealing with a spoiled brat. I plan to get to Royal Botanical Gardens for the cherry trees - I saw a few in bloom in Grimsby yesterday.  My weeping cherry isn't blooming yet.  The RBG cherries are massive and old, full of sculpted branches.   Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

June 14 3032 - Wieners or Hot Dogs

 

Wieners or hot dogs?  What's the difference? And while we're at it what about frankfurters and sausages?  So many words - are they all the same thing?  I've concluded that they are. Wiener is the result of shortening Vienna sausage - in America.  I add that as I can't imagine confusing pronouncing Vienna with Wienna.   And what about hot dog - what is the origin of the name? "The credit of naming hot dogs goes to a sports cartoonist for the New York Times, Tad Dorgon. Hot dogs were called ‘red hots’ or ‘dachshund sausages’ before it took its current elusive name. When vendors in the New York Polo Grounds in 1901 were screaming, “They’re red hot! Get your dachshund sausages while they’re red hot!”, the cartoonist observed and drew barking dachshund sausages in a warm roll. He didn’t know how to spell ‘dachshund’ so he simply wrote ‘hot dog!’. This cartoon went on to become a sensation and the term ‘hot dog’ was coined. Although the historians have been unable to find a copy of the cartoon, the term was already in use in the 20th century." The Spruce has a recipe and instructions for making hot dogs.  You can imagine there's a lot of equipment involved if you are going to grind the meat yourself, prepare the casings and use a sausage stuffer to make the uniform links.  All this to elevate the hot dog to gourmet status. Do you want to eat fancy hot dogs in Toronto?  Check out this article HERE.   Do you want to know 14 hot dog varieties in America?  They are listed HERE. There are a few great names: Junkyard Dog, Blazin' Dog, Das Brat.  And this one? Cincinnati Coney – a pork and beef hot dog topped with cinnamon and chocolate-tinged chili and Cheddar cheese.  Not so tempting... Let's give hot dogs credit - they are fun to look at and easy to eat.  Kids love them so picnics work out all round. And picnics are happening again, so that's a good thing. Here's the humble 'bluebell', except in pink.  Aren't these amazing for their delicate shape?

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