goofwayne t1_jeak5an wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:46 PM

i think that made sense back in the days, it made the food compact, better to heat up and its a good way to transport loose meat

DasHexxchen t1_jeallh3 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 4:55 PM

This,

The sausage as we know it is about 2000 years old, but it seems even the Sumerians used this preserving method. The first written mention is in Homer's Odysee and it was a common theatre food, called "Orya". And briefly sausages were even banned in Europe by the church.

It was hard to store smaller scraps of meat or more liquid parts like blood, so the just shoved them into a container that came with the animal, the intestines. Just made sense.

Though you guys would appreciate a short essay, instead of googeling around yourselves.

ShardAerliss t1_jec32qs wrote on March 30, 2023 at 10:41 PM

Listened to an interview waaaay back with an anthropologist who theorised that sausage was the first "dish", as in a meal with multiple steps, not just "cut it up, throw it at heat".

As you said; t's a way to cook/transport all the little bits of meat that are stuck to bone and small organs, and could have been utilised long before the invention of utensils and bags.

TaliesinMerlin t1_jebpl7v wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:09 PM

It also uses up more of the animal, specifically the intestines and some of the loose bits of meat. It's sort of like figuring out how to make stock out of bone and cartilage. The less of an animal you waste, the better.