100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders 🚀

Sausage

A Global History
Series: Edible
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Sausage by Gary Allen delves into the cultural, historical, and scientific aspects of one of humanity's oldest and most beloved foods: the sausage. The book explores its global variations and rich traditions, examining the blend of meats, spices, and techniques that make sausage unique across different cultures. This journey into gastronomy not only uncovers the fascinating evolution of sausage but also highlights its significance in human civilisation.
Read More
Format: Hardback
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Sausage. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're fascinated by the intersection of food and culture, delving into the rich history and science behind a universally beloved culinary staple. With an engaging exploration of global traditions and modern practices, it's a delightful read for those interested in the gastronomic sciences and the cultural significance of food.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Sausage: A Global History serves up a tasty, informative,and witty account of bangers and bratwurst from all different cultures andperiods, easing our fears about these 'mystery meats', and introducing thereader to a host of unusual treats from around the world.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

We know from murals that the ancient Egyptians made sausages from the blood of sacrificial cattle.

The word ‘sausage’ is derived from the Latin salsus, meaning ‘salted’.

The German Currywurst is so beloved that there is a museum dedicated to it in Berlin.

The popular pizza topping pepperoni is not Italian at all, but an American invention.

Mexican green chorizo is coloured with herbs, jalapeño chillies, and tomatillos.

The Chinese have made sausages since around 600 BC.

This book includes a selection of recipes.

From bangers to Bratwurst, and Cumberlands to chorizo, every country has its own special sausages. There is a veritable alphabet of sausage, from the Cajun andouille—and its less spicy forerunner, a French saucisson of the same name—all the way to the Italian zampone. As this rich and engaging history shows, people worldwide have been making sausages for thousands of years. They can be made of blood, meat, fish, or cheese; have a skin or be skinless; be dried, smoked, fermented, or fresh; tubular, spherical, or in a patty. The history of the sausage is one of relentless creativity and invention, as different cultures found countless delectable ways to transform otherwise unappealing scraps of meat.

Gary 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. Sausage is a must-read for anyone interested in the longstanding culinary journey of this versatile food.

Series: Edible

View all
  • Liqueur
    Liqueur is a guide to the cultural history of liqueurs from a celebrated spirits journalist. The original recreational spirit, liqueurs travelled the Silk Road, awaited travellers at the Fountain of Youth, and traversed the globe from ancient times through the industrial revolution and beyond. In this thrilling exploration of liqueur's global history, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson describes how a bitter, medicinal...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Coconut
    From curries to creamy pina coladas, enjoy a delectable global history of the many culinary incarnations of the coconut. The flavour and image of the coconut are universally recognisable, conjuring up sweet, exotic pleasures. Often called the "Swiss army knife" of the plant world, the versatile coconut can be an essential ingredient in savoury curries, or a sacred element in...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Gin
    The story begins with the aromatic juniper berry, originally used by the Dutch to flavour the whisky-like genever. The drink then made its way to Britain, where cheap imitations laced with turpentine and other caustic fillers made it the drink of choice for poor eighteenth-century Londoners. Eventually replaced by the sweetened Old Tom style and then by London Dry, gin...
    Hardback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Hummus
    This is a global history of hummus bi-tahina, the delicious combination of chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic that we know and love as hummus. The story begins in the medieval kitchens of the Near and Middle East and ends with its rise in popularity in the Western world at the end of the twentieth century. This book also addresses the...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Melon
    Perfumed, sweet, succulent, cooling; a ripe melon can be one of the most delicious of fruits. Sylvia Lovegren untangles the melon's long and complex history and follows the journeys of the varied fruits known as melons from the sandy wastes of the Kalahari Desert, to the ancient kingdom of Ur in Mesopotamia, to the exotic oases of the Silk Road,...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Rum
    Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! A favourite of pirates, the molasses-coloured liquid brings to mind clear blue seas and weatherbeaten sailors. But enjoyment of rum spread far beyond the scallywags of the Caribbean. Charles Dickens savoured it in punch, George Washington served it at campaign rallies, Queen Victoria sipped it in the British Navy's grog, and Kamehameha...
    Hardback
    $3499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Tequila
    The ancient Mayans, Olmecs and Aztecs made pulque from the fermented sap of the agave plant, and later the Mexicans distilled tequila from agaves. Once described as like swallowing a 'yard of barbed wire', tequila has improved beyond recognition and exploded in popularity, and is now consumed in bars and homes worldwide. Featuring recipes for tequila-based cocktails, and offering advice...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Berries
    Berries are enmeshed with human history. Widely available in nature, they have been part of the human diet for millennia, and today they inspire everything from lip-gloss flavours to amusement parks. However diminutive their size, berries are of such significance to Northern and Eastern Europeans that picking them in the wild is everyman's right, interwoven with their cultural identity -...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Breakfast Cereal
    Simple, healthy, and comforting, breakfast cereals are a perennially popular way to start the day around the world. They have a long, distinguished, and surprising history—around 10,000 years ago, with the advent of agriculture, people began breaking their fast with porridges made from wheat, rice, corn, and other grains. It was only in the second half of the nineteenth century,...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Champagne
    'This short volume, wittily illustrated and beautifully designed, is a pleasure both to look at and to consume. Which, given the subject matter, seems fitting.' The Spectator 'A sparkling history of the world's greatest wine. Stories, pictures and mouth-watering cocktails.' The Lady Champagne signals celebration, fun and camaraderie, embodying luxury and decadence as the preferred drink for any toast. Now...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Cod
    This is the first culinary history of a truly remarkable fish. Elisabeth Townsend follows cod around the globe, showing how its pursuit began with the Vikings, and exploring its influence on human affairs ever since. The book looks at the different ways cod has been caught, cooked, and eaten, often by the descendants of explorers, enslaved people, and traders. Cod...
    Hardback
    $3299
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Chillies
    Despite their fearsome reputation, chillies have helped to shape the identities of innumerable world cuisines. Chillies traces the culinary journey of the spice and uncovers cultural and spiritual links between chillies and humans, from their use as an aphrodisiac, to the recent discovery that chilli heat shows promise as a treatment for neuropathic pain, prostate cancer, and leukaemia. It also...
    Hardback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Sausage by Gary Allen offers an impressive overview of various sausages from around the world, traversing regions and countries to explore broad categories and local specialties. While the book might not cover every aspect exhaustively, it highlights the diversity and creativity involved in sausage-making, featuring examples from German sulzwurst to Thai sai krok lueat. The descriptions evoke a sense of the resourcefulness and sometimes desperation behind humanity's culinary inventions.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781780235004

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 September 2015

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Reaktion Books

Illustration: 58 illustrations, 51 in colour

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 197.0mm

Height: 120.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 160

About the Author

Gary Allen is an Adjunct Professor at Empire State College (part of the State University of New York). His books include The Herbalist in the Kitchen (2007), Herbs: A Global History (2012) and Sausage: A Global History (2015), both from Reaktion.

More from Science & Nature

View all
  • Murder Under the Mistletoe
    BOOK 4 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'The best of the new cosy crime writers' Daily Telegraph 'You'll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds' Janice Hallett It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the...
    Paperback
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • John and Paul
    THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Raising Hare
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS 'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'I...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
    CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' — BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' — TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' — NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...
    Hardback
    $4200
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Nuclear War
    The Sunday Times bestselling non-fiction thriller that has to be read to be believed. Baillie Gifford shortlisted, a favourite of Steven Bartlett, with an average reader rating of 4.6, sure to be a mass-market hit. Up to now, no one outside of official circles has known exactly what would happen if a rogue state launched a nuclear missile at the...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Anxious Generation
    A powerful argument for reclaiming childhood—and all human relationships—from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces—communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Prisoners of Geography
    Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...
    Paperback
    $2899
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Booker Prize
    Orbital
    Winner of the Booker Prize 2024. Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, describes the winner as 'a book about a wounded world' adding that the panel's 'unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition'. Life on our planet as you've never seen it before. A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
    It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Place of Tides
    To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...
    Paperback
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Ultra-Processed People
    Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...
    Paperback
    $2500
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Island of Missing Trees
    The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a captivating and poignant novel that delves into the intertwined lives of two star-crossed lovers in war-torn Cyprus and their enduring legacy decades later. This Sunday Times bestselling novel intricately weaves themes of love, loss, and identity amidst a backdrop of cultural and historical turmoil. Set in 1974 on the island...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.