The Armenian sausage.. a story of food that traveled with the Armenians and arrived in Egypt
The Armenian sausage, or yersig and sujuk, is part of Armenian food traditions, especially in areas such as Qaysariya and other cities in Anatolia.
The sausage itself is not an Armenian invention; because different types of dried and salted sausages existed in wide areas of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. But the Armenians had their own way of salting and seasoning, and sujuk remained part of the Armenian cuisine.
The sausage was a means of preserving meat.. and the taste in the details
Before refrigeration, preserving meat was a necessity. In many food traditions in the region, meat was salted, seasoned, and dried to last longer, and yersig and basturma were part of the preservation methods.
The traditional Armenian sausage relies on minced meat seasoned, which is then placed in a casing and dried, and it gives it the texture and flavor known for. Of course, there are differences from country to country and from recipe to another.
But FAO has a specific definition for the Armenian sausage: minced meat with fat, cumin, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, hot red pepper, salt, and garlic. It is classified as an Armenian specialty, and it is said to have been widely consumed in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.
So the spices here are not a small detail; they are an essential part of the sujuk’s character.
Qaysariya.. and the sausage that was enough for the house
Qaysariya, or Gesaria in Armenian sources, was famous for making basturma. And in the testimony of Artin Kitabjian, born in Qaysariya in 1896, he talks about the life of the Armenians there before 1915.
Kitabjian says that Caesar’s was almost like a factory for basturma / basturma, and that they used to make it and send it to Istanbul and Egypt. Then he mentions the yirshik, and calls it Armenian sausage. He says that every house used to slaughter a cow once a year, and they made basturma / basturma from the meat, and the yirshik from the meat as well. He says that both were used to feed the family for a year.
This is a very important testimony because it shows us that the sausage here was not just a dish on the table, but it was part of the way of life and a way to preserve meat in a society that needed to store food for long periods.
Caesar’s and Egypt
The point that matters here is that Kitabjian’s testimony directly mentions Egypt. The basturma made in Caesar’s was sent to Egypt, and this is clear evidence of the existence of trade in preserved meat products between Caesar’s and the Egyptian market before 1915. But the testimony mentions the export of basturma / basturma to Egypt, and it does not say that the yirshik itself was part of the shipments.
Therefore, we cannot say that we have evidence that the Armenian sausage was exported from Caesar’s to Egypt before 1915. What I can confidently say is that the basturma from Caesar’s was delivered to Egypt, and the yirshik was part of the same tradition of preserving meat among Armenians in Caesar’s.
The Armenians when they migrated… the food migrated with them.
After 1915, Armenians spread to many countries, and Egypt was one of the countries where a large Armenian community settled. And with them, the food traveled.
Basturma / basturma, sujuk, meat, and other dishes remained present in the homes and communities of the Armenians outside Anatolia. Sujuk remained a part of the Armenian cuisine in the diaspora.
Sujuk is present in the community of Armenians in Egypt.
In 2012, the AGBU Egypt archive documented the Easter market in HMEM Nubar Cairo, and mentioned the sujuk as one of the traditional Armenian dishes available for sale, alongside meat, dough, toffee, and pistachio.
In 2013, the sujuk appeared again in the Easter market, with meat, dough, toffee, and pistachio.
In 2014, the archive said that the sujuk was sold out quickly due to high demand.
In 2017, the AGBU Egypt archive described the sujuk as one of the traditional Armenian dishes available in the Easter market, and in the Christmas market, sujuk and toffee were among the items on display, and the products sold out quickly.
This is not just a name on a restaurant menu. We are talking about a dish that was prepared and consumed within the Armenian community in Cairo itself.
There is also regional food documentation that mentions Egypt by name among the countries where Armenian sujuk was consumed.
Alexandria also has evidence
In the Alex-Med newsletter from Alexandria Library in 2008, there is documentation of the International Food Festival in Alexandria, and the text mentions the Armenian sujuk among the dishes presented to the different groups.
This provides us with another piece of evidence of the presence of Armenian sujuk in the Alexandrian food scene.
So when did the name “Alexandrian sujuk” become popular?
In a report published by Ahram Online about the Latino restaurant in Glim, the writer mentioned that the waiter/Garson recommended the Armenian sujuk, and said that they call it the Alexandrian sujuk in Cairo. The sujuk was served with tomatoes and fried eggs.
The statement here does not say that the Armenian invented the Iskandarani sausage, nor does it say that every Iskandarani sausage is Armenian. It is evidence that in Cairo, there was a use of the name Iskandarani for the sausage that the restaurant served as Armenian sausage.
Therefore, it is not possible to conclude that the origin of the Iskandarani sausage is Armenian.
The Armenian sausage, egg, and tomato
The composition of the sausage with egg and tomato is not strange for the Armenian sausage.
The book Middle Eastern Cookery by Arturo Haroutonian presents the yirshish as an Armenian specialty, and says that it can be cut and used with egg, or it can be cut and used with tomato and egg as a type of omlet.
In Egypt today, there are still products that offer the Iskandarani sausage with the same idea. For example, Sojo Egypt sells the Armenian sausage, and mentions that it is cut and used with egg, or it is cut and used with tomato and pepper.
In Alexandria, there is a menu that offers a dish with egg and sausage.
Therefore, the composition of the sausage + egg + tomato has a clear presence in the ways of serving sujuk, and we do not need to attribute it to Egypt as it is an Egyptian invention.
Yirshish or sujuk?
The names may be a bit confusing.. Yirshish is the Armenian name that appears in the sources of the Armenian cuisine. As for sujuk, it is the name that you will find in different sources according to the language and the way of writing the name.
Therefore, you may find the same dish written in more than one form.
The sweet sujuk
In Armenian culture, there is a sweet sujuk that is completely different from the meat sausage, it is made from nuts, especially walnuts, and is covered with layers of grape mixture and then dried. This is known as sharouts in Western Armenian.
So when you hear “Armenian sausage”, you have to know the context:
sausage meat? Or sweet?
Sausage is still available in Egypt.
Until now, there are products sold in Egypt under the name Armenian sausage, and there are brands that offer it in different ways. So, Armenian sausage is not only present in the Armenian community in Egypt, but the name itself has also entered the lists of modern
Egyptian commercial food.
From home food to heritage
In 2025, official requests were made to the Armenian Republic to register geographical indicators for products such as Armenian lavash, Armenian butter, Armenian sausage, and Armenian matson. Then, the Armenian sausage appeared in the official register as a registered geographical indicator dated July 29, 2025.
The Armenian sausage is not a story of food invention. On the contrary, it is a food that has moved with people. From Armenian kitchens in Anatolia to their homes in the diaspora, and arrived in Egypt, and there it remained present in the Armenian community, and then it appeared in the Egyptian food market under different names and uses.
True, the name has changed from one place to another.. but the sausage has a part of the story with it.
Ahmed Abd El-Hamid
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2593237031103378&set=pcb.2593221621104919
