ABSTRACT

The characteristics and types of a few fermented products can be found in Tables 1 and 2. Guidelines proposed in the U.S. (American Meat Institute 1982, Hui et al. 2004) for making fermented dry or semi-dry sausages include a definition of dry sausage as chopped or ground meat products

Table 1 Characteristics of different types of fermented sausages

Type of sausage Characteristics

Dry; long ripening, e.g. dry or hard salami (types – Arles, Genoa, Hungarian and Milano salami, Italian salami) Saucission, pepperoni (Italian for bell pepper) and these products are shelf stable

Chopped and ground meat (often beef/pork) Commercial starter culture or back inoculum U.S. fermentation temperature 15-40°C for 1-5 d. Most contain nitrite – red color Not smoked or lightly smoked, highly spiced U.S. Bacterial action reduces pH to 4.7-5.3 (0.5-1.0% lactic acid, total acidity 1.3% which facilitates drying by denaturing protein resulting in a firm texture), moisture protein ratio <2.3 : 1, moisture loss 20-50%, Moisture level <35% European bacterial action reduces pH 5.3-5.6 for a more mild taste than U.S., and processing at 22-26ºC for 12-14 wk Dried to remove 20-50% of moisture; contains 20-45% moisture, fat 39%, protein 21%, salt 4.2%, aw 0.85-0.86. yield 64% Moisture protein ratio no greater than 2.3 to 1.0 Less tangy taste than semi-dry

Semi-dry; sliceable, e.g. summer sausage (Spain – include salchichón, chorizo, and types of embutido)., Holsteiner, Cervelat (Zervelat), Tuhringer, Chorizos, refrigerate, usually shelf stable

Chopped or ground meat Bacterial action reduces pH to 4.7-5.3 (lactic acid 0.5-1.3%, total acidity 1%), processing time 1-4 wk Dried to remove 8-30% of moisture by heat; contains 30-50% moisture, fat 24%, protein 21%, salt 3.3%, aw 0.92-0.94, and yield 90% Usually packaged after fermentation/heating Generally smoked during fermentation Moisture protein ratio no greater than 2.3-3.7 to 1.0, No mold

Moist; undried; spreadable e.g. Teewurst (Rügenwaldestyle Teewurst; Mettwurst, Frishe, Braunschweiger

Contains 34-60% moisture, production time 3-5 days

Weight loss ~ 10%, aw 0.95-0.96

Usually smoked and cooked

Highly perishable, refrigerate, consume in 1-2 days, No mold

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