Historically, summer sausage predated refrigeration and referred to meats that could be consumed "in the summer months" when high temperatures would cause fresh meats to spoil. For this reason, they became popular gifts during the winter holidays, especially in German-American settler communities.[citation needed]
^Dennis Buege; Robert Gene Cassens; University of Wisconsin—Extension. Cooperative Extension Programs (1980). Manufacturing summer sausage. University of Wisconsin—Extension. Retrieved 20 January 2013.