The union between sage and onion stared first in sauces and relishes, but the first known marriage was recorded in a Mrs Glass's cookbook in 1747: 'Some love a knuckle of pork stuffed with onions and sage, shred small'. A century later, Mrs Beeton (1861) goes for a thickened stuffing, using breadcrumbs, recommended as a good digestive aid with duck and goose.