Although the Polish kielbasa is famous all over the world and everybody have heard about its wonderful taste, we did not invent a sausage. It is quite fascinating that the first records of such product can be found in Odyssey by Homer, where we can find information about ground pork meat in casing made of animal intestine. Then, we speak about 8th century BC. It turns out that the ancient Romans would eat sausages made of brain, eggs, pine nuts and spurge. The author of this idea was Caelius Aplicus, who is also believed to have written the first cookbook.
Poland has been known from production of kielbasa since 14th century. This began thanks to the royal court that promoted autumn and winter hunting, aim of which was to supply the court with sausage for a whole year!
Sausage production was a skill desired in Saxon times. That was the beginining of the Golden Era of Polish Sausages. Until a sausage of the same name had many variants and although the basic recipe remained the same, different regions used different spices which led to different qualities of the product.
The typical example was the sausage known as Kabanosy that in started to appear in all areas of the country. In someone in the newly organized government came up with a brilliant idea of standardizing Polish meat products using traditional time proven recipes. The official list of meat products and sausages was drawn and the Department of the Meat Industry started to work out details.
In the first official guide for making meat products and sausages was issued. Its name was 16 Collection of Recipes and Instructions for Making Meat Products and Sausages and it was reserved for internal use only. It was pages long and had sections on meat curing, making brines, grinding and emulsifying, cooking, methods of smoking, the whole factory process was described in details.
It covered 31 smoked products hams, butts, loins, bacons, 46 sausages, 11 headcheeses and 13 liver and blood sausages. In the 17 version was issued which was a slightly revised version of It was pages long and included: 39 smoked products hams, loins, bacons, ribs , sausages, 12 headcheeses, 19 liver and blood sausages and 11 pates and meat loaves.
In total meat products were covered and The additive was potassium nitrate which had been used for centuries and is still used even today by all meat processors although it is replaced by its easier to administer cousin - "sodium nitrite". In fifty years millions of pounds of meat products and sausages were made and sold without the use of chemicals.
Just quality meats and spices. Those government manuals helped to create the best meat industry that ever existed anywhere though its life was only about 50 years. Those manuals were not written by restaurant cooks or college students, but by the best professionals in meat science the country had. The recipes presented in this book come from these manuals and they were never published before.
The project was government funded and no effort or money was spared. This standardization allowed Poland to produce sausages of high and consistent quality. Moreover it taught people what to expect from a particular brand as its taste, texture, color and flavor were basically the same in all areas of the country.
On top of that all meat plants and retail stores belonged to the government and meat inspectors rigidly enforced the regulations. Suddenly the Kabanosy or Krakowska Sausage tasted exactly the same even when produced in different regions of the country. In Kabanosy were officially approved as the product name that would be sold in Polish meat stores.
In production instructions were worked out and in taking under consideration the traditional recipes of the product, the Government adopted the standard recipe that became the legally binding document that could not be changed. Although those products were of such high quality, their recognition and popularity was mainly limited to Poland. The country was behind the Iron Curtain, its communist system was the worst evil the world has ever known, there was always a possibility of a new war and the Polish currency was not convertible.
Those were not helpful conditions for trading sausages between countries of opposite political systems. From that time until the collapse of the system in Kabanosy and other meat products were always made the same way.
This uniform quality enforced by the government meat inspectors made them very famous Polish sausages. Some sausage makers were lucky and rich enough to bribe their way out to getting a passport, others simply defected crossing the border between Yugoslavia and Italy, those people brought the taste of Polish sausages to the USA and other countries.
The war damage and the general poverty did not provide the right conditions for fast rebuilding of the agriculture. Farmers raised pigs in traditional ways, feeding them with potatoes, grains and kitchen leftovers. Those were not conditions that would favor the growth of the economy but they were the ideal conditions for raising animals of the highest quality meat possible.
Those high quality meats, great recipes without chemicals and proper manufacturing practices allowed to make great products. Those government manuals covered not only sausages but also hams, bacons, loins, butts, ribs, picnics and all meats that could be boiled, baked, smoked or dried.
There are still Master Butchers and Sausage Makers from that era and they have been holding on to those publications all their lives. We are very fortunate to have them as members of our site www. Those people are walking encyclopedias of sausage making knowledge and to them we are deeply indebted.
The Polish ham "Krakus" brand became the best ham in the world and the sausages that were exported had to conform to the highest standards. At that period, between the end of the war and collapse of the communist system Polish meat products were made the best ever. The decline in Polish meat products is synonymous with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent collapse of communism.
This opened Polish borders to the free trade with the West and created new business ventures between Poland and other European countries. Poland became a new undeveloped market and the capital started to flow in. European standards for making meat products were more relaxed than those in Poland and some countries feared competition from Poland once it became the member of the group.
As we mentioned the only chemical used in Polish meats or sausages was potassium nitrate even though the list of food additives allowed in Europe was long and impressive. In total different ingredients can be introduced to the food we consume.
The story goes that when Poland was invited to join the Common Market it was granted an exception and was permitted to use any quantities of food additives to its sausages. Kind of a catch up game: "jump on the waggon guys and start putting chemicals in your products".
Soon many meat processors established joint ventures loaded with capital and new partners. That allowed them to bring the latest technology meat machines and the products were made faster and cheaper. Factory made curing solutions were injected by brine injectors into meat to shorten curing time and to increase gain of the product. This peaceful revolution came so suddenly that the new government was not able to control all that was happening.
The meat industry imported the latest machinery and chemicals from other European countries and started to follow the same standards of production.
Unfortunately those standards were much lower than the high quality sausage standards that were enforced by the former Polish regime. When Poland officially joined the Common Market in the situation deteriorated even further.
Now the country had to conform to new common for all regulations and that did not make sausages any better. New standards allowed 5 mg of phosphates and of course manufacturers loved the idea as it amounted to higher profits. On the other hand now an average Polish consumer had to swallow three times more chemicals than before and was buying a product with more water in it.
Common Market policies have affected other countries as well. For instance, Germany never allowed the use of liquid smoke in its products. When the country became a member of the European Common Market it had to conform to new regulations and liquid smoke is now added to meat products.
Unfortunately, hundreds of smaller sausage makers who made wonderful products, could not compete with larger companies and went out of business. Very few managed to survive by charging higher prices for their superior products and catering to a more demanding consumer. Membership was highly seeked as those organizations provided many benefits to their members who in turn gained financial wealth. They also performed the following functions:.
The trade organizations structure remained basically the same. By BC, things did improve, thanks to some Turkish food innovation. Sujuk aka Sucuk was a dry, spicy sausage that what generally made from beef and a flavor bomb of sumac, cumin, garlic, pepper and salt. In some parts of Central Asia, a specialty Sujuk developed which was made from horse meat.
This is still eaten today. China started easing their way into sausage making in BC. However, it was the introduction of the Lap Cheong in AD that proved to be a winning meat. Lap Cheong is now sold all over the world and other countries throughout Asia have developed their own version of the sausage.
Northern Africa introduced the world to a very spicy sausage called Merguez circa Due to the hot African temperatures, this meat was dried so that it was less likely to go rancid. It is a spicy sausage made of mutton or beef and coloured red from chilli. Additional seasonings like sumac, garlic and harissa make it a force to be reckoned with on the flavour bomb scale.
By the early s, Germany gave the world Bratwurst. A sausage usually made with pork and fried before eating. It has remained a favourite in Germany throughout the centuries and they go hand-in-hand with a stein of beer. A key difference between the brat and a hotdog is that the texture of a brat is coarse and heavier. However, they are both delicious served on a bun with onions and mustard!
Not too long after Germany triumphed with their Brats, Italy produced the Mortadella. A massive looking sausage made of pork and lard. Occasionally, extras like pistachios and olives were, and still are, added to give some extra taste and texture. The Frankfurter is a hugely popular sausage throughout the world, especially in the U. Although it is commonly accepted that the Frankfurter was first made in Frankfurt there is still an argument that Vienna first produced this sausage.
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