St. Galler Bratwurst

The St. Galler Bratwurst, also known as the Olma Bratwurst after OLMA (the agricultural show where it is served as a staple) is a sausage produced in Northeastern Switzerland. It is partly made with veal and has a white color. It is named after the city of St. Gallen.

The St. Galler Bratwurst is produced in the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Thurgau. It is made with pork and veal meat. It also contains fresh milk, which gives it its distinctive white color. The sausage is flavored with a variety of spices, including cardamom, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, onion, leek, celery and lemon.

In the 1438 statutes of the Butchers' Guild of St. Gallen, it is stipulated that this sausage must be produced with veal, bacon, spices and fresh milk. The recipe has not changed since. Today it is protected by a PGI label.^[1]

It is commonly eaten as street food with very few accompaniments, such as bread and mustard. In the region of its origin the St. Galler Bratwurst is only served with bread without any sauces or mustard.^[2] But it is also part of several popular dishes, a notable example being rösti with veal sausage and onion sauce.^[3] Veal sausages, including the St. Galler, are the most popular sausages for grilling in Switzerland.^[4]

^ "St. Galler Bratwurst PGO". Swiss PDO-PGI Association. Retrieved 13 January 2023. In 1438, first reference was made to a Bratwurst in the statutes of the Butchers' Guild of St. Gallen. Therein it is stipulated that this sausage is produced from veal, bacon, spices and fresh milk. The latter also explains the white colour of the sausage. Since then, the sausage recipe has not really changed, the master butchers, however, can interpret it to their taste, as long as they stick with specifications.
^ "St. Galler Bratwurst (IGP)". Culinary Heritage of Switzerland. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Und here werden die Würste auch "richtig" gegessen. Der echte Kenner nämlich weiss, dass die Wurst ohne Senf am besten schmeckt. Nur so entfaltet sich das gesamte Fleischaroma. Viele Ostschweizer empfinden es gar als Beleidigung, wenn die Wurst mit Senf gegessen wird [And here (in St. Gallen) are the sausages eaten "right". The connoisseur knows, that the sausage without mustard tastes best. Only in this way the whole meat aroma unfolds itself. Many people of eastern Switzerland feel offended when the sausage is eaten with mustard]
^ "Saucisse de Saint-Gall: régal de bout en bout". Betty Bossi. Retrieved 9 January 2023. Sauces et moutarde auraient simplement pour effet de masquer le goût subtilement épicé de la saucisse. Seule exception autorisée: la sauce aux oignons lorsque la Saint-Galloise est escortée de rösti. [Sauces and mustard would simply mask the subtly spicy taste of the sausage. Only exception allowed: the onion sauce when the St-Galler is escorted by rösti.]
^ "St. Galler Bratwurst (IGP)". Culinary Heritage of Switzerland. Retrieved 13 January 2023. Die Bratwurst aus St. Gallen gilt als die Grill- und Bratwurst der Nation. In der Deutschschweiz und in der Romandie sind sie fast omnipräsent, im Tessin werden sie hingegen kaum hergestellt. [The St. Galler Bratwurst is considered the national sausage. Veal sausage are almost omnipresent in German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland, but they are hardly ever produced in Ticino.]

[1] "St. Galler Bratwurst PGO". Swiss PDO-PGI Association. Retrieved 13 January 2023. In 1438, first reference was made to a Bratwurst in the statutes of the Butchers' Guild of St. Gallen. Therein it is stipulated that this sausage is produced from veal, bacon, spices and fresh milk. The latter also explains the white colour of the sausage. Since then, the sausage recipe has not really changed, the master butchers, however, can interpret it to their taste, as long as they stick with specifications.

[2] "St. Galler Bratwurst (IGP)". Culinary Heritage of Switzerland. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Und here werden die Würste auch "richtig" gegessen. Der echte Kenner nämlich weiss, dass die Wurst ohne Senf am besten schmeckt. Nur so entfaltet sich das gesamte Fleischaroma. Viele Ostschweizer empfinden es gar als Beleidigung, wenn die Wurst mit Senf gegessen wird [And here (in St. Gallen) are the sausages eaten "right". The connoisseur knows, that the sausage without mustard tastes best. Only in this way the whole meat aroma unfolds itself. Many people of eastern Switzerland feel offended when the sausage is eaten with mustard]

[3] "Saucisse de Saint-Gall: régal de bout en bout". Betty Bossi. Retrieved 9 January 2023. Sauces et moutarde auraient simplement pour effet de masquer le goût subtilement épicé de la saucisse. Seule exception autorisée: la sauce aux oignons lorsque la Saint-Galloise est escortée de rösti. [Sauces and mustard would simply mask the subtly spicy taste of the sausage. Only exception allowed: the onion sauce when the St-Galler is escorted by rösti.]

[4] "St. Galler Bratwurst (IGP)". Culinary Heritage of Switzerland. Retrieved 13 January 2023. Die Bratwurst aus St. Gallen gilt als die Grill- und Bratwurst der Nation. In der Deutschschweiz und in der Romandie sind sie fast omnipräsent, im Tessin werden sie hingegen kaum hergestellt. [The St. Galler Bratwurst is considered the national sausage. Veal sausage are almost omnipresent in German-speaking Switzerland and French-speaking Switzerland, but they are hardly ever produced in Ticino.]

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