Have you ever wondered why dried sausages started to be made?
We are so used to enjoying fresh products that it is hard to imagine how we would organize if we had to do it without the fridge and freezer. In the past, people had many problems enjoying fresh meat or fish throughout the year, especially in summer. For this reason, ways of keeping meat, fish, fruits and vegetables were developed for times of the year when it would be impossible to enjoy them. To be able to enjoy tomato in winter, for example, or fresh meat in summer.
The same goes for all kinds of tinned food we saw in our grandparents’ pantry when we were little, peppers preserved in oil, salted cod, smoked foods, syrups, jam … The pantry was the perfect place for preserving it, it used to be in the colder area of the house, under the stairs and without windows where the light came in. So, in the absence of a fridge, it was the best place to store food.
How to preserve dried sausages
The fridge is the new pantry
There are many ways to preserve sausages, but the most effective is to put them in the fridge. It is an ideal artificial version that is very close to what was once the pantry. In the fridge the healing process is slowed down and you will have the sausage in the ideal drying point longer.
Vacuum packed sausage also has to be in the fridge
When vacuum packing, we lose the white mushroom that covers the sausage. The fungus is born by contact with dry air, and if it is removed, the fungus is also eliminated. What we do with vacuum packaging is to keep the taste stable longer, but nevertheless, we always recommend packing vacuum-packed sausages in the fridge.
The stuffing can go to the freezer
Yes, the stuffing can go in the freezer. The goal is another than when we have it in the fridge, but in the freezer it will also retain its properties. The shelf life of a sausage, for example, is between 5 and 6 months, but if we want to keep the healing state that it has at a specific time, the best option is to freeze it.
Cold slows down and even stops the curing and drying process of the sausage. The fridge and freezer are a good choice when you know you’ll be away for a few days without eating the sausage you already have at home. When you recover it, it will be at the same point of healing.
We are heirs to a rich gastronomic culture that uses canned food in all its forms. At Pedragosa we like to experiment, try, create new recipes, innovate, but we do not always look at the latest technologies, on the contrary, we look in old books in the family library for recipes to cure the best and most traditional sausage. It is an entertaining and laborious job, but from our findings we make the most delicious sausages and with all the guarantees.
Here is a sample of ancient writings that inspire us to continue refining our range of selected sausages.
