Sweetness is universally regarded as pleasurable. “Perception” is not the same thing as
“liking,” though the two are related. It is common knowledge that not all sweeteners taste equally sweet.
The perception of sweetness we get from items is different from one another;
each item brings with it a perception we think of as sweet with a good fl avor and also a point where it is too much and overpowering. This will drive us to use certain types and different amounts of sweeteners.
relative sweetness scale
COMPOUND RATING
Sucrose (granulated sugar) 100
Fructose 140
High-Fructose Corn Syrup 120–160
Glucose (dextrose) 70–80
Galactose 35
Maltose 30–50
Lactose 20
Relative Sweetness Scale – Sucrose = 100
In charcuterie, the relative sweetness of 1 lb/454 g dextrose is equal to ²⁄³ lb/303 g granulated sugar, which is also equivalent to 8 oz/227 g honey. You would need ²⁄³ lb/303 g sugar and only 8 oz/227 g honey to achieve the same taste of sweetness you get from 1 lb/454 g dextrose.
nitrites and nitrates
As the use of salt as a meat preservative spread, a preference developed for certain salts that produced a pink color and special fl avor in meat. The reddening effect on meats was fi rst mentioned during the latter part of the Roman Empire. Nitrate was probably present in the crude form of salt that was used: in many cases it was the re-sult of evaporated sea water. In the early 1900s, it was discovered that salt (NaCl) did not produce the red color, but that sodium and potassium nitrates present in impure salt did. It was also discovered that sodium nitrate was converted into sodium nitrite by bacteria found in meat, and then into nitric oxide. The amount of color change
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CURING & BRININGTHE ART OF CHARCUTERIE
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is dependent on the amount of myoglobin present in meat (the more myoglobin, the darker reddish-pink the cured color). Chicken has the lowest myoglobin content, whereas beef has the highest content. Seafood contains no myoglobin.
More important than for color enhancement, nitrites have been the only accept-able substance to prevent botulism in cured and smoked products, even though more than 700 substances have been tested as possible replacements.
Today the nitrite used in meat curing is produced commercially as sodium nitrite.
There is a movement to use natural nitrates from vegetable products, such as beet powder and celery juice.
COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS CONTAINING NITRITES AND/OR NITRATES:
INSTA CURE NO. 1 (TINTED CURE MIX [TCM]/PRAGUE POWDER NO. I)
This product is used to develop and stabilize the pink “cured color” in lean mus-cle tissue of meat and comprise 94 percent sodium chloride (salt) and 6 percent sodium nitrite. It inhibits the growth of a number of food poisoning and spoilage organisms, in particular the Clostridium botulinum organism. To prevent botulism, 4 oz/113 g of TCM is needed to cure 100 lb/45.36 kg of meat. TCM contributes to the characteristic fl avor of cured meats, and retards lipid fat oxidation—also known as rancidity—in product, preventing stale taste.
INSTA CURE NO. 2
This is a combination of salt, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and pink coloring. It is used for dry and dry-fermented products, particularly products with longer curing and drying periods.
saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
Use of saltpeter has been limited by the USDA since 1975. It is not allowed in the production of smoked or cooked meat or sausages. This restriction is primarily related to the fact that the exact level of residual nitrites in products treated with potassium nitrate is hard to determine in advance.
NITRITES AND CANCER
A controversy during the late 1970s came about when it was suggested that nitrite consumption led to the development of cancer. Tests found that when nitrite and nitrite-cured products were exposed to certain conditions, the nitrite changed into nitrosamine, which was believed to cause cancer of the pancreas and alimentary tract. The tests were done with laboratory animals, feeding them large quantities of nitrosamines. Nitrosamines develop when bacon is cooked brown. Nitrosamines also develop when pepper and paprika were mixed with nitrite in dry form and stored for a few months.
As a result of these tests, there is stricter control of the use of nitrite in food processing. Less nitrite is used to cure meats, and residual nitrites must be less than 200 ppm (parts per million) in fi nished processed meats. Today bacon contains erythorbate or some other vitamin C compound to prevent nitrosamine formation. Also, nitrite cannot be premixed with paprika and pepper in spice blends; they are packaged separately and should be mixed and then used right away.
seasonings
Here your creativity comes into play. Depending on what kind of fl avor you want to have in the fi nished product, you can add herbs, spices, and other fl avorings to cures so that those fl avors will develop in the product brining. You can also infuse them into brines by heating the fl avors (sage, rosemary, garlic, and ginger) as an example.
To infuse the items into the brine, you would bring the brine up to a simmer with the fl avorings to release the fl avors into the brine. You can also use dry spices or even toasted spices. There are also fl avors that you can purchase like liquid smoke, and fl avors developed by chemists that can be added to the brine to create certain tastes such as autolyzed yeast extracts, salt, and phosphates, and they may also include sweeteners, starches, and hydrocolloids, often called gums, soy proteins, or other in-gredients. Starches from a variety of natural sources, such as corn and potato, remain the leading hydrocolloids, followed closely by gelatin. Most important among these properties are viscosity (including thickening and gelling) and water binding but also signifi cant are many others including emulsion stabilization. The degree with which the hydrocolloid solutions mix with saliva can determine the fl avor perception you have. Selecting and blending these ingredients pose challenges, even to “seasoned”
chefs. Flavoring meat and poultry is still a trial-and-error process; you need to mix and remix seasonings many times to reach the fl avor profi le you want to achieve.
Over the last few years, there has been an explosion in the types of fl avors that meat processors are prepared to look at and consumers are willing to accept. The industry has gone from simple to very complex fl avor profi les. Ethnic foods are defi -nitely in, and the meat industry is no exception. Authentic ethnicity is key today. For example, although there is still a market for Tex-Mex food, consumers now want to see true Mexican cuisine rather than an Americanized version. Ethnic fl avor trends in-clude Thai, Caribbean, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Greek, and even Egyptian.
Other popular fl avors include teriyaki, honey, tropical orange, lime, coconut, ginger, garlic, and specifi c chiles. Sophisticated consumers are looking for high-quality, value-added meat and poultry products, eye appeal, and good taste. In food stores there is a variety of meats that are marinated and Cryovac-ed, so they develop fl avor as they are waiting to be sold to customers. But many chefs and customers will still prefer the basic fl avors developed with salt and pepper and basic seasonings.
water
Water is essential if you are going to use a brine. Water helps dissolve all the ingredi-ents and fl avorings, making the ingrediingredi-ents easier to be injected or to penetrate the mass by absorption.