Sausage of the Future

Is it even important to know how the sausage was made? Maybe the better question is, how will the sausage be made? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, humans on earth are facing a serious shortage of protein-rich food. Now more than ever, progressive meat consolidation could mean the survival of our kind. And could give us something to look forward to.

The sausage is one of mankind’s first-ever designed food items. A paragon of efficient butchery, it was designed to make the most of animal protein in times of scarcity, and dates back as far as 3300 BC. Today, the sausage remains a cornerstone of our food culture. England alone has over 470 different types of breakfast sausages. Now, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), we are facing a serious shortage of protein-rich food. Meat, in particular, will be scarce. One reason for this is over-consumption: in today’s world, we simply consume too many animal products.

So can we look to the sausage to provide a solution once again, in order to reduce the consumption of meat? Can the use of new ingredients replace the meat and increase the diversity of our diets? To answer these questions, a chef of molecular gastronomy, a master butcher and a designer have teamed up to look into sausage production techniques and potential new ingredients―like insects, nuts and legumes―to create the “future sausage.” This book takes the reader on a journey through all the building blocks of a sausage and presents lesser-known ingredients, carefully selected for their “future potential.”