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What are the skins of sausages? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
Lots of foods you eat have peels or skins. For example, bananas, oranges, and lemons all have “peels,” while foods like potatoes or kiwis have “skins.” But what about the skin of a sausage? It seems a little different than the skins on fruits and vegetables!
People have been making sausages for a very long time because it allowed them to preserve meat so it could be eaten at a later time without going bad. Sausages also allowed people to eat and enjoy parts of the animal that they otherwise couldn’t use, which helped to prevent waste. When it came to the sausages’ skins, or “casings,” people usually used the animal’s intestines or other organs. (It might sound like a yucky idea, but it was actually a very smart way to fully make use of the animal AND preserve the meat for a later time!)
Today, sausage casings come from all kinds of different things. Sometimes they still come from the animal or another edible non-animal substance, and sometimes they are made of special materials that can’t be eaten. (You can usually find out what kind of casing the sausage has by asking the butcher or reading the package.) Each different kind of casing allows the sausage to have a different flavor when you eat it -- yum!
Kids in the Kitchen!
Have you ever helped the grown-ups in your house with some of the cooking? If so, did you have a lot of fun? What kinds of things did you get to help with, and what did you cook?
Next time someone in your house makes sausages, ask if you can help! Ask the grown-up who is going to do the cooking if the sausages will be cooked with the skins on or off.
If they’re going to be cooked with the skins on, look at the sausages before they’re made and see what the casings look like. Then, compare what you see with how they look afterwards. What do you notice that is different?
If they’re going to be cooked with the skins off, watch how the grown-up takes the skins off, and ask if there’s any part of it that you can help with!
Pretty soon, you’re going to be a Star Chef!
People have been making sausages for a very long time because it allowed them to preserve meat so it could be eaten at a later time without going bad. Sausages also allowed people to eat and enjoy parts of the animal that they otherwise couldn’t use, which helped to prevent waste. When it came to the sausages’ skins, or “casings,” people usually used the animal’s intestines or other organs. (It might sound like a yucky idea, but it was actually a very smart way to fully make use of the animal AND preserve the meat for a later time!)
Today, sausage casings come from all kinds of different things. Sometimes they still come from the animal or another edible non-animal substance, and sometimes they are made of special materials that can’t be eaten. (You can usually find out what kind of casing the sausage has by asking the butcher or reading the package.) Each different kind of casing allows the sausage to have a different flavor when you eat it -- yum!
Kids in the Kitchen!
Have you ever helped the grown-ups in your house with some of the cooking? If so, did you have a lot of fun? What kinds of things did you get to help with, and what did you cook?
Next time someone in your house makes sausages, ask if you can help! Ask the grown-up who is going to do the cooking if the sausages will be cooked with the skins on or off.
If they’re going to be cooked with the skins on, look at the sausages before they’re made and see what the casings look like. Then, compare what you see with how they look afterwards. What do you notice that is different?
If they’re going to be cooked with the skins off, watch how the grown-up takes the skins off, and ask if there’s any part of it that you can help with!
Pretty soon, you’re going to be a Star Chef!
- “A Brief History of Natural Casings.” Sausage Mania. 20 Dec. 2010
- Marchello, Martin and Julie Garden-Robinson. “The Art and Practice of Sausage Making.” Agriculture and University Extension Program. 2004. North Dakota State University. 20 Dec. 2010
- "sausage." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 20 Dec. 2010