Italian sausage

Italian sausage

Salsiccia with parsley, roasted in a pan
Alternative names	salsiccia
Course	Sausage
Place of origin	Italy
Main ingredients	pork, fennel or anise

In the United States, Italian sausage (salsiccia [salˈsittʃa] in Italian) most often refers to a style of pork sausage noted for being seasoned with fennel or anise as the primary seasoning. In Italy, however, a wide variety of sausages are made, many of which are quite different from the product commonly known as 'Italian sausage' in the United States.

The most common varieties marketed as "Italian Sausage" in US supermarkets are hot[1], sweet[2][3][4][5], and mild[6]. The main difference between hot and mild is the addition of hot red pepper flakes in the spice mix of the former. The difference between mild and sweet is the addition of sweet basil in the latter.

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.