On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 348

and drying meat scraps to preserve them When salted scraps are squeezed together, microbe-laden surfaces end up inside the moist mass, and salt-tolerant bacteria that can grow without oxygen thrive there For the most part, these bacteria turn out to be the same ones that can grow in salty, air-poor cheese: namely the Lactobacilli and Leuconostocs (and such relatives as the Micrococci, Pediococci, and Carnobacteria) They produce lactic and acetic acids, which lower the meat pH from 6 to 4.5–5 and make it even less hospitable to spoilage microbes Then, as the sausage slowly dries out with time, the salt and acidity become more concentrated, and the sausage increasingly resistant to spoilage Southern and Northern Styles of Sausage Fermented sausages come in two general styles One is the dry, salty, well-spiced sausage typical of the warm, dry Mediterranean Italian salami and Spanish and Portuguese chorizos are 25–35% water, contain more than 4% salt, and can be stored at room temperature The other style is the moister, less salty, usually smoked and/or cooked sausage typical of northern Europe, whose cool, humid climate made drying difficult These “summer” sausages and German cervelats are 40–50% water, around 3.5% salt, and must be refrigerated Both can be eaten uncooked Making Fermented Sausages These days, nitrates (Europe) or nitrites (U.S.) to suppress botulism bacteria are added to the mix of meat, fat, bacterial culture, salt, and spices, as is some sugar, at least part of which the bacteria transform into lactic acid Fermentation lasts from 18 hours to three days, depending on temperature (60– 100ºF/15–38ºC, with dry sausages at the low end) and sausage size, until the acidity ... Italian salami and Spanish and Portuguese chorizos are 25–35% water, contain more than 4% salt, and can be stored at room temperature The other style is the moister, less salty, usually smoked and/ or... Sausages These days, nitrates (Europe) or nitrites (U.S.) to suppress botulism bacteria are added to the mix of meat, fat, bacterial culture, salt, and spices, as is some sugar, at least part of which... part of which the bacteria transform into lactic acid Fermentation lasts from 18 hours to three days, depending on temperature (6 0– 100ºF/15–38ºC, with dry sausages at the low end) and sausage