The Influence of Additives on the Ripening of Fermented Sausages

B. Čavlek and Z. Mavračić*

Prehrambeno-biotehnološki fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb
*»Podravka« Prehrambena industrija, Koprivnica

Article history:
Received October 22, 1992
Accepted February 18, 1993

Summary:
The rapid development of the biotechnological sciences and of processing and measuring techniques has led to a better understanding of the ripening process in fermented sausages and to the commercial processing of this group of products. In the production of fermented sausages, the muscles and the fatty tissue are the substrates on which occur numerous processes caused or speeded up by the interaction of the natural active ingredients of the filling and of added ingredients. Some recent insights into the properties and interdependence of the individual ingredients, i.e. the starter culture of microorganisms, sugar, common salt, nitrate, nitrite and spices, and the basic components of the filling during processing are presented in this paper. A knowledge of the changes that occur in the filling during processing is essential, especially since the intensity of the changes can be influenced by numerous factors. Only a knowledge of the mechanisms and dynamics of the changes that occur in a complex biological raw material makes it possible to select nearly optimal conditions for processing fermented sausages. Furthermore, the more important reactions occurring in the filling of this group of products, such as sugar fermentation, the formation of protein gel, the formation of nitrosyl-myoglobin, and the decomposition of fats and proteins, which together make up the complex mechanism of conversion of the raw filing into a finished product of great biological value, are presented.