Mark - you are free to count me among the low-salt-dosage diciples, though more of taste reasons than because of the everlasting "cut down sodium" topic which, as far as I´ve noticed, is currently going a bit beserk in the US, where the "reduce-by-all-means lobby" are advocating values so low that i...

Nick - I´m impressed. To judge from the pictures you can compete with any a Pole
If the color fading remains an issue when slicing... did you consider adding sodium ascorbate or ascorbic acid ?

Mark - I´m happy if I can provide some info that you´ll find usefull in practice, and I´ve got a notion that with the care and devotion you invest in the process you´re already on a path that will bring home a lot of accolades and approving nods from those who degustate your output. Not to say that ...

There are pro´s and cons regarding the addition of dry milk powder and, sorry to say, but the statement: "...Dry milk powder contains 50% lactose (sugar) and is used in fermented sausages as a source of food for lactic acid producing bacteria" is simply incorrect and should never have found its way ...

Jeff, you shouldn´t worry bout the viability if the culture was kept at the safe below -20 degrees during storage. SACCO usually "overdose" the amount of bacteria in the packets, so that even on the expiry date the user will have a cell count identical to what is stated on the information sheet. And...

Hi Kiwi, Sounds good -apart from the flies :???: What was the temperature during fermentation before yoy went down to 13 degrees? Did you use the VMB-02 or which other starter? As for mixer; do you usually mix for a long time or how? I´m usually a bit picky on this because one has to be aware not to...

Hi guys! I´d like to ask you workingpoor, how much dextrose (or whatever sugar you use) you usually add pr. lb (or kg.) in your fermented sausages? With a low-level addition the bactoferm f-rm-52 ought not to become that tangy - but please let me know - I´m curious :roll: My personal thumb rule is: ...

Ducko - I´m not ashamed to admit that you´ve got the upper hand when it comes to chemical insight and how to make long-winded, obscure chemical logic accessible to a broader public. One reason why I opened this debate is that I think everybody on this forum ought to ask themselves "why" and "how doe...

...there does appear a rim a darkening towards the outside So it seems that there could be a problem with moisture being trapped inside if you register the inside as being markedly softer than the rim near the surface. You could have avoided it by prolonging the time of fermenting at high humidity ...

Thanks for the shots Kiwi, It seems that there are some wholes inside, and because of the overtly red colour I can´t really see if there´s a dry rim build up under the surface, though it seems like it...(?) If that´s the case it may well be that the surface dry out has prevented the moisture inside ...

"...it increases the rate at which nitrate reduces to nitric oxide, thus facilitating a faster cure and retaining the pink coloring. As an antioxidant structurally related to vitamin C, it helps improve flavor stability and prevents the formation of carcinogenic nitrosamines."[/i] Always pleasant t...

Witaj ponownie! Thank you for your thorough answer - I appreciate. But I don´t want you to muisunderstand me! I am not trying to play wiser than Marianski & co or the collective consensus. I just get a little bit afraid when somebody states loudly that "the more acidity - the more safe you get" beca...

Hi Duck-ooh :mrgreen: Here are some of my "why´s" We use cure in our meat products to counter the lethal dangers of a.o. Clostridium botulinum. Simultaneously we expose ourselves to the hazards of possible residue of sodium nitrite that may turn into the carcinogenic substance Nitrosamine, suspected...

Looking forward to your photos Kiwi! Recipe looks very allright to me - especially the fact that you´we used plenty of starter culture which should secure domination of the good fella´s right from the start. And not too much dextrose, which ought to give you a a tasty result without too much acidity...

Just to correct a spelling mistake: The carcinogenic substance that may be formed from nitrite residue is called Nitrosamine And it´s not because I want to scare the .... out of all who loves a crispy slice of bacon straight off the pan, but the formation of nitrosamines also takes place when you fr...