The science of sausage-making

Little need be said about fresh sausages, except that an unexpected ingredient in many recipes is ice. This is added to the meat used for sausages before the mixture is placed in a ‘bowl chopper’, a bowl which has a set of revolving blades at the bottom. It prevents overheating during the intense mechanical chopping and, in British sausages containing cereal, provides water which moistens the product. Chopping devices are favoured over mincers because the latter tend to crush the meat, squeezing out the juices.