Pretreatments for Meats II (Curing – Smoking)

GRAIVER NATALIA; PINOTTI ADRIANA; CALIFANO ALICIA; ZARITZKY NOEMÍ

Operations in Food Refrigeration

Taylor & Francis Group, LLC,

Año: 2010; p. 1 - 50

Meat curing is the application of salt, color fixing ingre­dients, and seasoning in order to impart unique properties to the end product. Cured meat products are characterized by addition of nitrate and/or nitrite, while other ingredients, particularly sodium chloride (salt), are essential parts of typical cured meat formulations. Nitrates and nitrites, either potassium or sodium salts, are used to develop cured meat color. They impart a bright reddish, pink color, which is desirable in a cured product. In addition nitrates and nitrites have a pronounced effect on flavor, sodium nitrites also prevent the growth of food poisoning microorganisms.