In the United States, Italian sausage (salsiccia, in Italian) most often refers to a style of pork sausage noted for being seasoned with fennel and/or anise as the primary seasoning. In Italy, however, there are a wide a variety of sausages, many of which are quite different from the product commonly known as 'Italian sausage' in the United States.
The two most common varieties marketed in US grocery stores as "Italian Sausage" are hot and sweet (or, depending on what region of the US, mild,). The main difference between hot and sweet (mild) is the addition of hot red pepper flakes in the spice mix of the former.
In Australia, a variety of mild salsiccia fresca (literally meaning "fresh sausage") seasoned primarily with fennel is sold as "Italian sausage," which is popular in magazine recipes and often used in place of regular sausage.
Famous quotes containing the words italian and/or sausage:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“Here the sausage and garlic booth
Sent unholy incense skyward;
There a quivering female-thing
Gestured assignations, and lied
To call it dancing;”
—Anne Spencer (1882–1975)