English Sausages

This book tells the history of English sausages from the Roman conquest to the present day. The story that unfolds is illuminating. Despite their current humble status, we discover that sausages have a distinguished pedigree and were once an exclusive food, favoured by kings, queens and their courts. Their culinary heritage is rich and varied: black puddings prepared with the blood of porpoise, opulently spiced sausages from the medieval court, embellished with pine nuts and saffron, and others flavoured with barberries, almonds and figs, served with a claret sauce. Over 100 sausage recipes, from antiquity to those made today, are brought together for the first time, with chapters covering: the sausages of Roman England; English fresh sausages; regional sausages; white puddings and hogs puddings; black puddings; and smoked and keeping sausages. The narrative that weaves through the recipes chronicles the culinary trends, regional customs and social changes that have shaped the English sausage – herbed, spiced, smoked, stuffed and skinless – and reveals how the sausage has earned a special place in England’s culinary culture. English Sausages is a culinary history and cookery book combined – a book to be read as much as it is to cook from.