Mettwurst
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
made from raw minced pork, which is preserved by curing
Curing (food preservation)
Curing refers to various food preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, nitrates, nitrite or sugar. Many curing processes also involve smoking, the process of flavoring, or cooking...
and smoking. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst
Teewurst
Teewurst is a German sausage made from two parts of raw pork and one part bacon, which are minced, seasoned and packed in casings before being smoked over beech wood. The sausage then has to mature for seven to ten days in order to develop its typical taste...
. Braunschweiger mettwurst is smoked somewhat but still soft and spreadable, while other northern German varieties such as the Holsteiner are harder and more akin to salami
Salami
Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent...
, due to longer smoking. The Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
word mett, meaning minced pork without bacon, is derived from the Old Saxon
Old Saxon
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of Germany and in the Netherlands by Saxon peoples...
word meti (meaning food), and is related to the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word 'meat'. Mettwurst can be cooked or fried or spread on rye bread
Rye bread
Rye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
with onions and eaten raw.
Due to the large German immigration to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
(for example, the town of Hahndorf), mettwurst (sometimes spelled metwurst) is very common and is created in the North German style. It is often used in school lunches and for snacks during parties. Well-known South Australian brands include Linke's, Steiney's, Kalleske, Wintulich, Smallgoods of the Riverland and Barossa Fine Foods.
The town of Mineola, Iowa
Mineola, Iowa
Mineola is an unincorporated village in Mills County, Iowa, United States. This community on the highlands east of Keg Creek was first established as Lewis City during construction of the Wabash Railroad. The land had previously been owned by German immigrant freighter Louis Lanz and Germans long...
, which was settled almost exclusively by immigrants from Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
, hosts an annual heritage dinner with "Schoening-style" cold-smoked Mettwurst known in the Low German
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
dialect as "Metvuss".
It is important that high quality, fresh ingredients are used otherwise deadly microrganisms and toxins can develop. In January 1995, 23 children became very ill, one of whom died, which the coroner found was a result of eating garlic mettwurst on 20 January 1995 made by Garibaldi Smallgoods Pty Ltd of Adelaide, South Australia.
Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
meetvursti resembles the Dutch metworst
Metworst
Metworst or droge worst is a type of traditional Dutch sausage. The sausages have a very strong flavour and are made from raw minced pork which is then air dried....
or salami
Salami
Salami is cured sausage, fermented and air-dried meat, originating from one of a variety of animals. Historically, salami has been popular among Southern European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for periods of up to 10 years, supplementing a possibly meager or inconsistent...
: it is dry, hard, strong-flavored and dense, and is eaten as a cold cut on bread.