Sobrassada facts for kids
Home-made Minorcan sobrassada
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| Course | Sausage |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Region or state | Balearic Islands |
| Main ingredients | pork |
Sobrassada (called Sobrasada in Spanish) is a special kind of sausage from the Balearic Islands in Spain. It's made from ground pork, a spice called paprika, salt, and other spices. Unlike many sausages, Sobrassada is not cooked. Instead, it is cured, which means it's preserved over time.
Sobrassada is a very old and important food in the Balearic Islands. People there, especially on Minorca, Mallorca, and Ibiza, have traditional events in autumn and winter. These events are called matança and involve preparing pork products like sobrassada. The special weather in the Balearic Islands, with high humidity and mild cold, helps the meat dry and cure perfectly.
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The Story of Sobrassada
After many years when the Iberian Peninsula was ruled by Muslims, pork became popular again in the Middle Ages. Later, in the 1400s, paprika was brought to Europe from the Americas. This new spice was added to sobrassada.
People believe sobrassada first became popular in the Crown of Aragon. This was a powerful kingdom that included parts of the Mediterranean Sea like Sicily, the Balearic Islands, and Sardinia. Similar sausages are still made in these areas today.
For a long time, the people of Mallorca ate a traditional Mediterranean diet. This diet didn't include much meat. Sobrassada and other pork sausages were often the main or only source of pork. Bigger meat dishes, like roasted pork or lamb, were usually saved for special celebrations. Even today, a whole roasted pig is mostly served on important occasions.
What's in Sobrassada?
Sobrassada is made from different parts of the pig. This includes pork loin and pork bacon, which is locally called xuia. These meats are minced (ground up) and mixed with paprika, salt, and black pepper. Some people also add cayenne pepper to make it spicy. This spicy version is called coent.
The mixture is then put into a pig intestine. It is hung up for several weeks to cure. The string tied around the sausage can tell you if it's spicy or not. A red string, or a red and white string, means it's the spicy coent type. If it's not spicy, it's called dolça, which means "sweet."
Different Sizes of Sobrassada
Sobrassada comes in different sizes and shapes:
- Small, thin sobrassades are called llonganissa. They are made using the small intestine.
- Bigger and thicker ones are called cular or pultrums.
- The largest type uses huge pig bladders and is called bufetes or bisbe (meaning "bishop").
Thicker sobrassades take longer to cure. This means people can eat the thinner ones in winter and the thicker ones later in summer or autumn.
Sobrassada Beyond the Balearic Islands
Sobrassada is mostly known from the Balearic Islands. However, it also has connections to a few other places around the Mediterranean Sea:
- In Algeria, when it was a French colony, sobrassada (called soubressade) was very popular. After Algeria became independent, pork was no longer eaten because of Islam. Today, you can only find soubressade in France, often in shops run by people who used to live in Algeria. Algerians now sometimes make a version with beef instead of pork.
- In Catalonia, which shares history and culture with the Balearic Islands, you can find sobrassada. The mountains in the eastern Pyrenees are even known for their own mountain style of sobrassada.
- The village of Tàrbena in Alicante was settled by people from Majorca a long time ago. They brought their traditions, including their own way of speaking Catalan and making sobrassada.
- On the island of Sicily and in Calabria (Italy), a similar sausage called soppressata has been made since the 1400s or even earlier.
Other Sausages from Mallorca
Mallorca has other traditional pork products besides sobrassada:
- Botifarró is a sausage made from coarsely ground pork, including liver. It's spiced with salt, pepper, and aniseed, which gives it a special taste. These sausages are boiled and eaten right away.
- Other typical pork products from Mallorca include camaïot, veria negra, and xuia (which is a type of pancetta).
See also
In Spanish: Sobrasada para niños
