I've been experimenting with different ingredients that I can add to my mince to introduce LAB's. Things like fresh garlic, sauerkraut juice, kombucha, kefir, buttermilk, yoghurt, kvass, things like that. So far the results have been incredibly promising. Achieving fermentation in meat is indeed in...

Lou, with the .35% dextrose and additional sugar in the paprika, you should have had a pH drop. What happened will probably remain a mystery. I probably had something to do with the meat, but I can't speculate further. I'll bet if you repeat the process and utilize meat from a different source you w...

Give us more info on the type of meat you used, the grind and spices. Source and freshness of the meat. Starting pH of 5.61 is on the lower end, possibly a younger animal. And are you sure you added the sugar? I know it's a dumb question, but last month I brined some bacon and beef tongues and forgo...

Yes P. nalgiovense can have hues of green/grey/turquoise in the later stages of development, but for the most part it's white, sometimes slightly off white or light beige. As to Victor's first post, it might be P. Salami, but without microscopic testing who knows? And there is never only one mould t...

Joe I wish I could have had one of those sandwiches! Looks delicious and I haven't had one of those in four years! I see many hobbyists make "pastrami" with all kind of cuts, but nothing compares to the original, made with beef brisket with a decent amount of fat.

Nice work as always Stefan. Can you give us your smoking times and temperatures? Do you check the humidity in your smoker, and you place a pan of water into the Caddy?

Lonster, please post your process and recipes when you begin using this starter. It is new and we want to learn more about it.

Hi Lonster. I would recommend that you add 3g of dextrose only and ferment at 70F. 3g of dextrose is more than enough to bring your pH to 5.2 or even lower, especially if you are also adding wine. Don't add any sucrose because the L. Sakei and Staphylococcus Carnosus do not metabolize that particula...

Here is a great deal for Canadians who would like to get the little Hanna meat tester. Works out to less than the American price of $99USD and free shipping. https://www.itm.com/product/hanna-hi-981036-foodcare-meat-ph-tester-kit?gclid=Cj0KCQiA1-3yBRCmARIsAN7B4H3MUwftvGtJqnTYuhc6ThO-DJ74GbuubUDoqQk-...

Salami looks really good! Nice even drying. After almost a year without a curing chamber I finally found some time and refitted another fridge and in this one I also nstalled a dehumidifier. Your pH readings are way out of whack because the meat is too dry. I'll bet that the true pH is no more than ...

OOPS! Thanks for catching that Dan. The correct link has now been inserted. I was surprised by these findings. It also makes you think twice about the practice of washing sausages that have unwanted mould growth with a warm salt solution because you just might be introducing more unfriendly spores. ...

Here is your weekend reading assignment. :D Most of us consider salt as being sterile, producing an environment hostile to pathogens. But according to one study, this is a misconception. Sea salts apparently may contain spores of potentially dangerous moulds. This is both interesting and important s...

Looks delish! You made me hungry this morning. What is your favorite way of eating it?

Thanks for the recipe razvangrig! And thank you for the full description and detail. It would be great if others would be so meticulous in posting the recipes here. I would love to try this sausage. Too bad I didn't know about it when we were in Romania in 2016. I just gotta get my hands on some mut...

Won't be easy, but I'm in!