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Why are some sausages curved? And why are they called bangers?

Richard Cornish
Richard Cornish

What puts the bend in bangers?
What puts the bend in bangers?William Meppem

Why are some sausages curvy? L. Thompson

Guts. It's all about guts. Those curvy sausages are made from natural casings or intestines. Animal intestines are cleaned, partially dried and salted. They are washed and soaked before being filled. Intestines are not straight. They meander around the belly, hence the slight curve in some snorkers. Straight sausages are made from collagen casings. These are often made from cowhide that has been chemically broken down and reformed into fine tubes. Sausage aficionados (there are such people and I am waiting for them to produce their own magazine) prefer the texture of the natural casing. Some collagen casings have the tendency to slough off if cooked too hard too quickly. Some butchers prefer collagen casings as they give better shelf-life to the sausage. As an interesting aside, sausages became known as "bangers" during World War I. A shortage of meat in Britain saw the sausage mix extended with vegetables, more bread and water. The amount of water in the sausage would cause the sausage to explode when cooked – hence "banger". I was slightly disappointed with the etymology of this one, I was expecting it to be slightly more ribald.

Can I wash mushrooms? J. Fleischman

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Yes, if you want to. You can rinse them under a tap to wash off the compost then dry them off in a salad spinner. The common misunderstanding is that mushrooms are sponges and will absorb water if washed and will take longer to cook. If mushrooms were not waterproof, they would be destroyed by rain. When rinsed, a small amount of water is trapped between the gills but not enough to affect cooking times and temperature.

Can I forage the greens growing on the beach? L. Chambers

If you were washed up on a deserted beach, miles from help, with nothing else to eat, I reckon you could justify hoeing into native flora. Otherwise, please don't pick the native greens. Those little sea celery and beach bananas are part of the amazing interwoven ecological web we used to call Mother Nature. They were food and shelter for beach creatures long before we got here. It can also be illegal. You can cop a whopping fine for foraging without a permit on Crown land – in NSW national parks it can be more than $100,000. Farmers are now commercially growing native sea plants for human consumption and they are rather tasty. Order them online at farmhousedirect.com.au/snowyriverstation.

Send your vexing culinary conundrums to brainfood@richardcornish.com.au or tweet to @Foodcornish.

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Richard CornishRichard Cornish writes about food, drinks and producers for Good Food.

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