Sausages in Italian cuisine

The Italian sausage was initially known as lucanica, a rustic pork sausage in ancient Roman cuisine, with the first evidence dating back to the 1st century BC, when the Roman historian Marcus Terentius Varro described stuffing spiced and salted meat into pig intestines, as follows: "They call lucanica a minced meat stuffed into a casing, because our soldiers learned how to prepare it." as a speciality introduced in Rome by the Lucanian slaves. A recipe for preparation is provided in the first century Apicius. ==Types of sausage in Italy==

Mazzafegato Mazzafegato sausage ('liver mash', or 'liver sausage') is a sausage typically from Abruzzo, Lazio, Marche, Umbria, and Tuscany regions that includes mashed liver. The style from Abruzzo includes pork liver, heart, lungs, and pork cheek, and is seasoned with garlic, orange peel, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. These sausages differ from the Tuscan style sausage due the addition of crumbed, dried fennel seeds to Salsiccia fresca Salsiccia fresca ('fresh sausage') is a type of sausage that is usually made somewhat spicy. It is made from fresh meat (often pork) and fat, and is flavoured with spices, salt, and pepper, and traditionally stuffed into natural gut casings. Salsiccia fresca al peperoncino ('fresh chilli sausage') is a spicy sausage flavoured with chopped garlic, salt, and chilli pepper (which gives the sausage a redder colour). Salsiccia secca Salsiccia secca ('dried sausage') is an air dried sausages typically made from either the meat of domestic pigs or from the meat from wild boars. Salsiccia sotto la cenere Another Sicilian sausage, salsiccia sotto la cenere ('sausage under the ash') is a style of sausage traditionally cooked in the ashes of the hearth. Salsiccia toscana Salsiccia toscana ('Tuscan sausage'), also known as sarciccia, is made from various cuts of pork, including the shoulder and ham, which is chopped and mixed with herbs such as sage and rosemary. ==See also==