Steve Wertz wrote:
>
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004 13:58:00 -0500, Kate Connally
> > wrote:
>
> >Aha! That would explain the whole magillah. People were
> >curing meats and other things with salt long before there
> >were nitrates.
>
> Saltpetre has been in use for many centuries - long before the
> USDA and FDA came along.

I still think meat was being cured with only salt
before the discovery of saltpeter. The only thing
the addition of saltpeter and nitrates does is
improve the success of the curing and making the
results able to be kept longer.
Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?