Sujuk

{{short description|Sausage of Balkan to Central Asian origin}} {{About|a spicy meat sausage|the walnut candy|cevizli sucuk|Armenian confection|kaghtsr sujukh}} {{use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox food | name = Sujuk | image = Sucuk-1.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = ''Parmak sucuk'' | alternate_name = Sucuk, suxhuk, sudjuk, sudžuk, sudžuka, sudzhuk, sugiuc, sodjouk, soudjuk | country = | region = Central Asia | creator = | course = | type = Sausage | served = | main_ingredient = Ground meat (usually beef, lamb), cumin, garlic, salt, red pepper | variations = | calories = | other = }} '''Sujuk, sugou''' or '''sucuk''' (/suːˈd͡ʒʊk/) is a dry, spicy and fermented sausage which is consumed in several Anatolian, Balkan, Middle Eastern and Central Asian cuisines. Sujuk mainly consists of ground meat and animal fat usually obtained from beef or lamb, but beef is mainly used in Turkey, Egypt, Sudan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Georgia, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gregory-Smith|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xideDwAAQBAJ&q=sujuk|title=Turkish Delights: Stunning regional recipes from the Bosphorus to the Black Sea|publisher=Hachette UK|year=2018|isbn=978-08-57-83596-3|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Пальгов|first=Н. Н.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8dkyAAAAIAAJ&q=шужук+колбаса+казахстан|title=Казахстан|author2=М. Ш. Ярмухамедов|publisher=Мысль|year=1970|location=Москва|page=138|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Кадыров|first=Виктор|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cv2uDwAAQBAJ&q=чучук&pg=PA53|title=Кыргызстан. Традиции и обычаи киргизов|publisher=Litres|year=2019|isbn=978-50-41-88963-0|location=Москва|page=53|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://tmarketonline.bg/product/sudjuk-elenko-s-konsko-meso-170gr|title=Конски Суджук "Еленко" във верига магазини "T-Market"|language=bg|access-date=12 April 2021|archive-date=12 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412184543/https://tmarketonline.bg/product/sudjuk-elenko-s-konsko-meso-170gr|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Etymology== The Turkish word ''sucuk'' is derived from Old Turkic ''suğut'' or ''sugut'', a term attested in medieval Turkic sources.<ref name="NisanyanSucuk" /><ref name="Demirbulak2020" /><ref name="Yilmaz2024" /> Later forms, such as Persian ''zijak'', represent borrowings rather than the source of the Turkish term.<ref name="NisanyanSucuk" />

''Sucuk'' was first mentioned in the 11th century by Mahmud al-Kashgari in his ''Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk'' as ''suɣut'' (as a sausage made by stuffing spiced rice and meat into intestine casing).<ref name="Demirbulak2020" /> Another mention was made by Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati in his early 14th century work titled ''Kitab al-'idrak li-lisan al-'atrak'' ({{lang|ar|كتاب الإدراك للسان الأتراك}}). The word "suɣut" itself means "sujuk, or dried thing" and derived from Turkic root -suɣur meaning to dry or to drain off and the suffix "-çïk/-çuk" is Turkic diminutive suffix (Suɣutçuk => Sucuk).<ref name="NisanyanSucuk" /><ref>^ Clauson, Gerard (1972) “suğut”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 806</ref><ref>Hindoglu, Artin (1838) “سجوق”, in Hazine-i lûgat ou dictionnaire abrégé turc-français[1], Vienna: F. Beck, page 265a</ref><ref>Kélékian, Diran (1911) “صوجوق”, in Dictionnaire turc-français[2], Constantinople: Mihran, page 771</ref> Cognate names are also present in other Turkic languages, e.g. {{langx|kk|шұжық}}, ''shujyq''; {{langx|ky|чучук}}, ''chuchuk''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Eren|first=Hasan|author-link=Hasan Eren|year=1999|title=Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü|location=Ankara|language=tr|page=376}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Psychology Press| isbn = 978-0-415-30804-5| last1 = Csató| first1 = Éva Ágnes| last2 = Isaksson| first2 = Bo| last3 = Jahani| first3 = Carina| title = Linguistic Convergence and Areal Diffusion: Case Studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic| date = 2005| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qdA1K3E66UgC&pg=PA195}}</ref> Franciscus a Mesgnien Meninski in his ''Thesaurus'' recorded the word sucuk ({{lang|ota|سجوق}}) in Ottoman Turkish in late 17th century.<ref name="NisanyanSucuk" />

The Turkish name has been adopted largely unmodified by other languages in the region, including: {{langx|gag|sucuk}}; {{langx|sq|suxhuk}}; {{langx|ar|سُجُق|translit=sujuq}}; {{langx|hy|սուջուխ|suǰux}}; {{langx|bs|sudžuk or sudžuka}}; {{langx|bg|суджук|sudzhuk}}; {{langx|el|σουτζούκι|sutzúki}}; {{langx|mk|суџук|sudzhuk}}; {{langx|az|sucuq}}; {{langx|ro|sugiuc or ghiuden}}; {{langx|ru|суджук|sudzhuk}}; {{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|separator=" / "|sudžuk|cyџyк}}; {{langx|ku|benî, sicûq|italics=yes}}.{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

==Origin== ''Sujuk'' is associated with Turkic meat-preservation traditions and is widely regarded as having developed in the Turkic world before becoming a prominent sausage of Ottoman and later Turkish cuisine.<ref name="Yilmaz2024" /><ref name="Kilic2009" /> It is now produced and consumed in Türkiye, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus under a variety of related names.<ref name="Yilmaz2024" /><ref name="Gagaoua2018" />

==Production== In Turkey, beef is the main raw material for sucuk production. At the beginning of the process the meat is preground in {{convert|14|-|16|mm|in|adj=on}} plates and tested for its fat content. Afterwards the meat is mixed with curing salt, which contains 0.5% sodium nitrite, and stored for 8–16 hours in {{convert|8|-|12|C|F}} for further processing. Later the preground meat is mixed with frozen and ground tail fat, beef tallow, suet and additives like spices, ascorbate, dextrose and starter culture. The mixture is ground again in {{convert|1.6|-|5|mm|adj=on}} plates, which forms the mosaic structure of sucuk. Thenceforth the product is filled in casings made of collagen or fiber and these casings are twisted or tied to portionize sucuk.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last1=Yılmaz|first1=Ismail|last2=Velioğlu|first2=Hasan|year=2009|title=Fermented meat products Figure 2. General Production Process of Turkish Sucuk|url=https://www.researchgate.net/figure/General-Production-Process-of-Turkish-Sucuk_fig1_273203736|access-date=2020-09-22}}</ref>

Sucuk is then prepared for ripening process, which consists of fermentation and post-fermentation stages. In the first day of fermentation stage the product is left in a high relative humidity (RH) environment around {{convert|22|-|23|C|F}}. After that the RH and the temperature is gradually dropped each day, resulting to {{convert|18|C|F}} and 88% RH in the last and third day of fermentation. At the end of the stage pH of the product must be dropped to 4.9–5.0. In the post-fermentation stage sucuk is matured and dried until the moisture content of the sausage is under 40%.<ref name=":1" /> <gallery mode="packed" heights="180px" caption="Regional varieties of sujuk"> File:Sudzhuk from Armenia 2.JPG|''Suǰux'' from Armenia File:Sudjuk.jpg|''Sudzhuk'' from Bulgaria File:Sucuk-1.jpg|Sucuk from Turkey File:Sucuk_(1).jpg|Home-made ''suxhuk'' from Kosovo </gallery>

== Nutrition == It was reported that sucuk from Turkey on average contained 24.5% protein, 31.5% fat, 35.65% moisture and 3.80% salt. Fat content of sucuk is highly variable; some sucuk brands tested contained only 23% fat, meanwhile others exceeded 42%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Omurtag|first1=A. Cemal|last2=Orbey|first2=M. Tevfik|last3=Yıldız|first3=Sulhiye|year=1973|title=Yerli Sucuklarımızın Besin Değerleri Üzerinde Araştırma|trans-title=The Research on the Food Value of the Native Sucuk (Suchuck) in a Rational and Balanced Nutrition|url=http://dspace.ankara.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.12575/45172/12809.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|journal=J. Fac. Pharm|location=Ankara|volume=3|issue=71|language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Yılmaz|first=Ismail|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272681090|title=Determination of Fatty Acid Composition and Total Trans Fatty Acids in Meat Products|journal=Food Science and Biotechnology|volume=18|pages=350–355|date=April 2009}}</ref>

==Dishes prepared with sujuk== While sujuk can be eaten raw, it is typically cooked before consumption.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.yayla.de/en/products/garlic-sausage|title=Sucuk Garlic Sausage|first=Yayla Lebensmittelvertrieb|last=GmbH|website=Yayla.de|access-date=23 May 2026}}</ref> Thin slices of sujuk can be pan-fried in a bit of butter, while larger pieces may be grilled. ''Sucuklu yumurta'', which literally means "eggs with sujuk", is commonly served as a Turkish breakfast dish.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing| isbn = 978-1-4088-3990-4| last1 = Emina| first1 = Seb| last2 = Eggs| first2 = Malcolm| title = The Breakfast Bible| date = 2013-03-14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ve2DaGd_7EC&pg=PT110}}</ref> ''Sucuklu yumurta'' is a simple dish of fried eggs cooked together with sujuk,<ref>{{Cite web| title = Sucuklu Yumurta Nasıl Yapılır?| work = Sabah| access-date = 2018-07-17| url = https://www.sabah.com.tr/yemek-tarifleri/yumurta-tarifleri/2016/03/09/sucuklu-yumurta-nasil-yapilir | language = tr}}</ref> but sujuk may also be added to other egg dishes like ''menemen'' (which is similar to shakshouka but with scrambled eggs instead of poached).<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Crown Publishing Group| isbn = 978-0-8041-8775-6| last1 = Khong| first1 = Rachel| last2 = Peach| first2 = Lucky| title = Lucky Peach All about Eggs| date = 2017 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GvZMDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| publisher = National Geographic Books| isbn = 978-1-4262-0708-2| last1 = Rutherford| first1 = Tristan| last2 = Tomasetti| first2 = Kathryn| title = National Geographic Traveler: Istanbul & Western Turkey| date = 2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gm8E1By4D6EC&pg=PA42}}</ref>

Sujuk can be added to many dishes including bean stew (''kuru fasulye''), filled phyllo dough pastries (''burek'') and as a topping for pizza or ''pide''.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Hazer Ofset Matbaacılık Gazetecilik Limited Şti.| last1 = Sarlık| first1 = E. Emel| last2 = Sarlık| first2 = Mehmet| title = IV. Afyonkarahisar Araştırmaları Sempozyumu Bildirileri: 29-30 Eylül 1995, Afyonkarahisar| date = 1995 | language = tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media| people = Pelin Karahan'la Nefis Tariflerundefined (Director)| title = Sucuklu Pide Tarifi| access-date = 2018-07-17| time = 869 seconds| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDb1EeGm228}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px"> File:Turkish sausage & egg - Simit Palace 2024-04-01.jpg|Eggs with sujuk File:Samuna me suxhuk.JPG|Bread with sujuk </gallery>

==Geographical indication== In 2025, Armenia applied for geographical indication (GI) registration for Armenian sujukh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aipo.am/en/news/view/193|title=Applications for registration of geographical indications of "Armenian lavash," "Armenian basturma," "Armenian sujukh," and "Armenian matsoun" have been submitted|date=17 April 2025|website=Ministry of Economy of Armenia|access-date=6 September 2025}}</ref>

==See also== * Bresaola * Lukanka * {{ill|Makhan (sausage)|lt=Makhan|ru|Махан (колбаса)}}, a horsemeat sausage * Qazı * Salami * Soutzoukakia, spicy meatballs in sauce whose name means literally "little sucuk"

==References== {{Reflist|

<ref name="NisanyanSucuk">{{cite web |title=sucuk |url=https://www.nisanyansozluk.com/kelime/sucuk |website=Nişanyan Sözlük |access-date=2020-09-22 |language=tr}}</ref>

<ref name="Demirbulak2020">{{cite journal |last=Demirbulak |first=Ayşe |year=2020 |title=Dîvânü Lugat-it-Türk'te yiyecek ve içecekler |journal=International Humanities and Social Science Review |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=114–123 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1353062 |access-date=20 March 2026 |language=tr}}</ref>

<ref name="Yilmaz2024">{{cite journal |last1=Yılmaz Topçam |first1=Mahide Müge |last2=Arslan |first2=Betül |last3=Soyer |first3=Ayla |year=2024 |title=Sucuk, Turkish-Style Fermented Sausage: Evaluation of the Effect of Bioprotective Starter Cultures on Its Microbiological, Physicochemical, and Chemical Properties |journal=Applied Microbiology |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=1215–1231 |doi=10.3390/applmicrobiol4030083 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8007/4/3/83 |access-date=20 March 2026|doi-access=free }}</ref>

<ref name="Kilic2009">{{cite journal |last=Kılıç |first=Birol |year=2009 |title=Current trends in traditional Turkish meat products and cuisine |journal=LWT - Food Science and Technology |volume=42 |issue=10 |pages=1581–1589 |doi=10.1016/j.lwt.2009.05.016}}</ref>

<ref name="Gagaoua2018">{{cite journal |last1=Gagaoua |first1=Mohamed |last2=Boudechicha |first2=Hacène-Rabah |last3=Hafid |first3=Karim |last4=Boudjellal |first4=Abdelkader |last5=Lorenzo |first5=José M. |year=2018 |title=Ethnic meat products of the North African and Mediterranean countries: An overview |journal=Journal of Ethnic Foods |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=83–98 |doi=10.1016/j.jef.2018.02.004|doi-access=free }}</ref> }}

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