Charcuterie

Charcuterie Charcuterie originated from the French term 'chair cuit ' which translates as 'cooked meat '. Charcuterie is known around the world and is considered to be the art and science of the pig. Charcuterie is an ancient art that began nearly 6,000 years ago (Amiotte, 2007).Charcuterie became popular during the Roman Empire when food started to become sophisticated. Charcuterie was extremely popular in France during the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, France started many different varieties of meatloaves, sausages, and cured items that were prepared and sold in meat shops. These shops were known as charcutiers. These shops were owned and operated by people called charcutiers (Amiotte, 2007). Charcutiers needed to know how to season and cook delicious food, but they also needed to present the food in a way that would attract customers who walked by their shops. In the late 1400 's and the early 1500 's, food related illnesses and diseases became an epidemic in France. The French government had to maintain a strict separation between fisheries, slaughterhouses, butchers, and charcuteries to avoid cross contamination (Smith, 2012). The decision of separation made by the government made the charcutiers very upset because the regulations kept the slaughtering of animals and fish away from meat markets and the charcutiers had to depend on the suppliers for product. Charcutiers were outraged at the situation the government had put them in since they now had to pay more for their supplies. The price of supplies went along with supply and demand, which did not always do well with the charcutiers (Amiotte, 2007). Their ability to slaughter and process their own animals, allowed them to control their supply and costs, had now been taken away from them along with their ability to create different food item.

References: Amiotte, C. (2007, January 30). The History of Charcuterie. Yahoo Voices. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-history-charcuterie-179536.html?cat=16 Bree (2012, March 31). Brief History of Charcuterie. SlideServe. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from http://www.slideserve.com/bree/brief-history-of-charcuterie Doherty, A. (2001). Charcuterie The History. Garde Manger. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from http://www.gardemanger.com/charcuterie.html Samuel (2011, September 20). Introduction to Charcuterie. SlideServe. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from http://www.slideserve.com/Samuel/introduction-to-charcuterie Smith, S. E. (2012, February 29). What is Charcuterie?. wisegeek. Retrieved May 28, 2012, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-charcuterie.htm