Longaniza

Longaniza is a Spanish sausage (embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines of several regions of Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Chile. In the Philippines, it is called longganisa and has hundreds of variants with different vernacular tastes and forms due to the 144 ethno-linguistic groups of the archipelago. Longaniza essentially tracks the spread of Latin culture (in the sense of the original Latini, from Italy) around the world. Longaniza derives from Lucanica, a sausage from Lucania in Southern Italy that was adopted by the Latins of Ancient Rome through military contact. From there it spread to Spain, and from Spain, centuries later, to every place in the world with modern "Latin" (e.g., Latin American) culture. In Spain, longaniza is similar to salchichón, though thinner; both differ from chorizo in that black pepper is used for them instead of paprika and may have different spices in them like nutmeg. In Argentina and Uruguay, longaniza is a very long, cured and dried pork sausage that gets its particular flavour from ground anise seeds. This results in a very particular aroma, and a mildly sweet flavour that contrasts with the strong salty taste of the stuffing. It is used mainly as an appetizer or in sandwiches, and very rarely cooked.

Source: Wikipedia