Process
Methods
14 process families. Each page lists the parameters that a published source attaches to that step, with the source. Where nothing is published for a step, the page says that rather than supplying a number.
6 published parameters
Dry curing
Salt and curing salts applied to the surface of a whole muscle, which then equalises and dries.
2 published parameters
Equilibrium curing
The cure is weighed as a percentage of the meat, and all of it is used, so the finished concentration is the dose.
2 published parameters
Immersion brining
The meat sits in a salt solution until the two equalise, or until a chosen time is up.
4 published parameters
Injection and pumping
Brine is pumped into the muscle rather than allowed to diffuse in.
4 published parameters
Fermentation with starter cultures
Lactic acid bacteria acidify the meat, and where staphylococci are included they develop colour and flavour.
4 published parameters
Air drying
Water leaves the product until its water activity is low enough that nothing grows.
2 published parameters
Equalisation and resting
The product is held, wrapped or unwrapped, while the cure distributes itself evenly through the piece.
2 published parameters
Cold smoking
Smoke is applied at a temperature too low to cook the product.
4 published parameters
Hot smoking
Smoke applied while the product is cooked to a lethality endpoint.
3 published parameters
Freezing for parasites
Sustained freezing at a specified temperature for a specified number of days.
2 published parameters
Curing without added nitrite
Products cured with a vegetable source of nitrate, or with no nitrate or nitrite at all.
3 published parameters
Casing and netting
The container the product dries in, and the geometry that follows from it.
2 published parameters
Mould inoculation
A commercial mould culture applied to the surface before or after stuffing.
4 published parameters
Cooking and stabilisation
A heat step to a validated endpoint, followed by a controlled cooling.