Weißwurst
Encyclopedia
Weisswurst is a traditional Bavaria
n sausage
made from very finely minced veal
and fresh pork
bacon
. It is usually flavoured with parsley
, lemon
, mace, onion
s, ginger
and cardamom
, though there are some variations. The mixture is then stuffed into fresh, clean pork casings and separated into individual sausages about ten to twelve centimeters in length and about two centimeters in thickness.
As it is very perishable, Weisswurst is traditionally manufactured early in the morning and prepared and eaten as a snack between breakfast and lunch—there is a saying that the sausages should not be allowed to hear the church bells' noon chime. Traditionally, Weisswurst may only be served until midday because the meat is not smoked and hence the sausage is made fresh every day. Before modern refrigeration technologies, in summertime the sausages would go bad before nightfall. Even today, most Bavarians eat their Weisswurst before noon.
The sausages are heated in water, broth, or white wine
just short of boiling, for about ten minutes, which will turn them greyish-white because no color-preserving nitrite
is used in Weisswurst preparation.
Weisswurst is brought to the table in a big bowl together with the cooking liquid used for preparation (so it does not cool down too much), then eaten without the skin. Ways of eating Weisswurst include the traditional way, called , in which each end of the sausage is cut or bitten open, then the meat is sucked out from the skin. Alternatively, the more popular and more discreet ways of consuming it are by cutting the sausage longways and then "rolling out" the meat from the skin with a fork, or just ripping the sausage apart and consuming the filling.
Weisswurst is commonly served with a special Bavarian sweet mustard
(Weisswurstsenf) and accompanied by Breze
n and Weissbier
.
Weisswurst is rarely eaten in other parts of Germany
besides Bavaria — a fact that helped coin the term Weißwurstäquator
.
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
made from very finely minced veal
Veal
Veal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
and fresh pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
. It is usually flavoured with parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
, mace, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
, though there are some variations. The mixture is then stuffed into fresh, clean pork casings and separated into individual sausages about ten to twelve centimeters in length and about two centimeters in thickness.
As it is very perishable, Weisswurst is traditionally manufactured early in the morning and prepared and eaten as a snack between breakfast and lunch—there is a saying that the sausages should not be allowed to hear the church bells' noon chime. Traditionally, Weisswurst may only be served until midday because the meat is not smoked and hence the sausage is made fresh every day. Before modern refrigeration technologies, in summertime the sausages would go bad before nightfall. Even today, most Bavarians eat their Weisswurst before noon.
The sausages are heated in water, broth, or white wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
just short of boiling, for about ten minutes, which will turn them greyish-white because no color-preserving nitrite
Nitrite
The nitrite ion has the chemical formula NO2−. The anion is symmetric with equal N-O bond lengths and a O-N-O bond angle of ca. 120°. On protonation the unstable weak acid nitrous acid is produced. Nitrite can be oxidised or reduced, with product somewhat dependent on the oxidizing/reducing agent...
is used in Weisswurst preparation.
Weisswurst is brought to the table in a big bowl together with the cooking liquid used for preparation (so it does not cool down too much), then eaten without the skin. Ways of eating Weisswurst include the traditional way, called , in which each end of the sausage is cut or bitten open, then the meat is sucked out from the skin. Alternatively, the more popular and more discreet ways of consuming it are by cutting the sausage longways and then "rolling out" the meat from the skin with a fork, or just ripping the sausage apart and consuming the filling.
Weisswurst is commonly served with a special Bavarian sweet mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
(Weisswurstsenf) and accompanied by Breze
Brézé
Brézé is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.-See also:*Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department*Claire-Clémence de Maillé-Brézé, born here in 1628, Princess of Condé...
n and Weissbier
Weissbier
Weissbier , also known as Weizenbier , is a Bavarian specialty beer in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat: a wheat beer. By German law, Weissbiers brewed in Germany must be top-fermented...
.
Weisswurst is rarely eaten in other parts of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
besides Bavaria — a fact that helped coin the term Weißwurstäquator
Weißwurstäquator
The is a humorous term describing the very different culture and dialect of the southern part of Germany, especially Bavaria, and the rest of the country...
.
External links
- Food from Bavaria published by the Bavarian ministry of state for agriculture and forests
- The correct treatment of a Weißwurst - essay about preparing and eating Weißwurst properly (pdf file)