Sausage!!!

Yesterday, I ate raw sausage. Yes, I said RAW! It was the most delicious sausage that I have ever eaten. I was of course skeptical to give it a try, but in the past, I have eaten cured and almost raw sausage, so I decided to give this new option a try.

My friend Alessio purchased the sausage from a guy who he deemed to be knowledgeable on the subject because he was a very large man, who had wrists three times the normal size. He was selling his wares at the same fair where Alessio and I were selling chocolate and sweets. So, what you must understand is that all these products are "artiginale" or homemade, for lack of a better translation. In this case, the sausage would be considered "fresh of the farm."

Another thing you must understand is that in Italy, there are much stricter regulations than in the United States about food products, especially those labeled artiginale. When making sausage, one cannot just stuff anything that wasn't used for meat processing into the casing. Here, everything is regulated and that's a good thing. Food here is infinitely more healthy, hygenic, as well as unfiltered and fresh. Most foods in Italy can be eaten raw, including all sorts of meat.

I am now inclined to believe that in some cases, such as the raw sausage from yesterday that cooking may actually ruin the flavor of food. The sausage was flavored with just the basics: salt, pepper, and I think some garlic. It was fantastic.

Today, sadly, I am sick with a cold, otherwise I would go back to the fair and buy some sausage for tomorrow! In any case...I think I need to take another look at uncooked food, at least in Italy.