Sound of sausages quietens as quality increases
A new report commissioned by British Sausage Week has shown that the sound of sausages are quieter than ever before, but it may not be a bad thing with the compromise on sound benefiting the quality of the sausage.
As British Sausage Week gets underway today, it has been revealed that sausage recipes from pre-1950 produce louder sizzles (75.5dB) than more modern sausages (71.4dB).
The research was carried out by food scientist Dr. Stuart Farrimond who analysed sausages made from ten different recipes dating back as far as 1845 and also including the more modern Cumberland and Lincolnshire sausages.
Farrimond said: “After analysing the data produced in the lab I was able to verify the secret to a loud and satisfying sizzle – and the reason sausages were originally nicknamed bangers – is a high water content; exactly the thing you want less of for great taste.
“Due to food shortages after the outbreak of the First World War, sausages were made with less lean meat, and bulked out with fat, fillers and water – sometimes with water making up more than a quarter of the weight of a sausage,” Farrimond continued. “Today, sausages are made with higher quality, leaner pork and less water, meaning they may taste great, but don’t quite hit the top notes of sizzle we used to hear in the past.”
In his tests Farrimond also found that each sausage recipe produces a “unique sizzle sound signature”.
British Sausage Week will also see the launch of Sausage FM, a radio station entirely dedicated to the humble sausage.
Available at www.lovepork.co.uk the radio station will be hosted by this year’s Sausage Week ambassador Jonathan Benjamin ‘JB’ Gill and is set to entertain sausage lovers, cafes, butchers and farmers by playing the biggest bangers and hosting all the latest sausage chat from around the country.
“It’s not every day you’re asked to DJ on a radio station that plays only the sounds of sizzling sausages,” said Gill. “Being a huge fan of the British sausage I can’t want to pump out some bangers during British Sausage Week!”
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