Question on adding wine as an ingredient in salumi...

[harleykids]

In Ruhlman's book "Salumi", almost every recipe in the dry cured Salumi section calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dry wine (red or white, depending upon the recipe)

This liquid is in addition to the 35-60ml of distilled water + starter culture that is added for fermentation.

I noticed in many of the forum member's recipes, and in the forum recipe section, most do not have wine as an ingredient.

I would assume that the wine does play a part in the overal flavor of the finished salumi? Or am I wrong on this?

I would guess that most salumi makers long ago added wine to their salumi (they added wine to everything!) as wine was an essential part of their culture. I cant imagine anything Italian that doesnt have wine as a component.

Is there a reason why the forum members don't add wine?
Is there a safe wine % to add to any recipe?

I know adding liquid is counter-productive to most salumi endeavors, as the goal it to dry the salumi and added liquids will cause the drying process to take longer generally.

I am getting ready to make a batch of salumi (not sure which style yet) and wanted to clarify the addition of wine question.

Thanks for the help!
Jason

[Butterbean]

I have an Italian friend who has told me some stories about an old Italian lady he knows that said the wine was for "the bugs". That is all she would say. I don't think she really knows why she adds wine other than that was the way she was taught.

Looking at it from a scientific standpoint one might say the wine will lower the pH and add some sugar to the mince and sugar is not something either add to their salami so maybe they had better success when wine was added and this is why they both continue to use it. I'm sure it also adds some flavor and while I've heard some say the sugar would be negligible but some sugar is surely better than no sugar from a fermentation standpoint.

Also, neither he/she concern themselves with weight loss. Instead, they wait till they see the little "angel tears" coming out of the salami to let them know its ready.

I don't know but it all sounds reasonable to me.

[BriCan]

I add wine to mine all the time and depending the type of Salame denotes the type of wine/alcohol

Lions Salame ... this is a custom blend of mine

[BriCan]

Is there a reason why the forum members don't add wine?

I do all the time, but then again I do not add starer cultures

Is there a safe wine % to add to any recipe?

Safe is not the word .. too much can spoil the flavour also make it too wet and that will hinder the drying process

Normal % (amount) to use is 5% --- I have gone as high as 8% in certain (custom) blends/Salame's with no problems at all

[Butterbean]

That looks beautiful Brican

[Bob K]

Is there a reason why the forum members don't add wine?

Yea they drink beer

[redzed]

Well I almost always add wine to salami and often rinse off whole muscle cuts with it after the first curing phase. I guess it's probably because the Italians do it, so if youare making salami, who else knows better? And after I add a small amount to my salami, I get to finish the bottle and it makes the stuffing more fun. Traditionally the wine was used for many reasons: to add flavour, acid, it was a liquid free of nasty bacteria, and it basically became a tradition.

Why some choose not to add it is mostly a personal thing. Not everyone likes wine and not everyone always has a bottle at home. Others will swear that it does not make any difference or that they don't like any wine taste. I looked through my recipe books and Marianski, Cairo and Grigson don't use it, but Weiss, Ruhlman and Boetticer do.

We have had a number of discussions on the forum about the benefits and perhaps negative effects of wine in regular and died sausages. Might be wortwhile to peruse them again. There are a few nuggests of wisdom scattered throughout the various comments.
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... light=wine
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... light=wine
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... light=wine
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... light=wine
http://wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.ph ... light=wine

[harleykids]

Thanks Chris!

I used about 5% wine in my sopressatta recipe, but was told that was a ton of wine to use in a dry salumi. But it appears that others use as much as 5% as well.

Just wanted to make sure I wasn't hampering the outcome of my salumi by adding too much wine, etc.

I also use a final rinse of wine on my whole muscle cuts, after I rinse the spices and cure off I rub them down with a rinse of wine (white for coppa, red for bresoala) before I stuff them in a beef bung and net.