SAUSAGES - ANCIENT BEGINNINGS
The word sausage comes from the Latin salsus, which means something that is salted or preserved. The sausage is one of the worlds first prepared foods and the belief is that they were invented in Sumeria (modern day Iraq) sometime around 3000BC.
Sausages later appeared in ancient Greek and Roman writings, evidently suggesting that they were popular within these cultures. Indeed, Greek theatres had sausage sellers in the aisles so that the audience could enjoy a tasty snack during a play whilst the Greek poet Homer mentioned sausages in his book, The Odyssey.
Probably the main reason as to why the sausage was invented lies with the fact that refrigeration was not available for preserving meats. Therefore, adding lots of salt to any leftover meat and wrapping it in a casing made from the animal's intestines solved the problem.
The Romans are credited with bringing the sausage to Britain but the eating of sausages were ironically banned by the Roman Emperor and the Catholic Church in 320AD because of their link with the native pagan festivals. Nevertheless, the ban was eventually lifted and sausages inevitable grew in popularity.
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