On 3/14/2010 11:32 PM, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:11:39 -0400, brooklyn1 wrote:
>
>> Pete C. wrote:
>>>
>>> As for the other comment, I *want* nitrites in sausages, they are
>>> supposed to be there.
>>
>> Not so. Folks have been preserving meats for thousands of years
>> with plain NACL. Nitrites are a rather recent inovation but mainly as
>> a color fixitive.... without nitrites your pepperoni, tube steak,
>> bacon, and corned beef would be grey instead of red is all.
>
> As discussed here before, nitrites add a flavor as well. You will
> not find any professional chef or charcuterist who will agree with
> your statement.
>
> Without nitrites ham does not taste like ham, for example. And
> plenty of other examples. Nitrites are not usually used in fresh,
> raw sausages.

This notion that nitrites are new and a color fixative is politically
correct claptrap. They have a variety of effects one of which is to
retard the growth of the bacteria that causes botulism and another of
which is to slow the reactions that cause rancidity. As for their use,
prior to the discovery of nitrites, saltpeter was used as a preservative
for those thousands of years. In the late 1800s it was discovered that
the actual preservative was potassium nitrite, converted from saltpeter
by microbial action. So they started cutting out the massive quantities
of saltpeter and instead using much smaller quantities of nitrite.



>
> -sw