Salami
A salame (plural: salami) is a cured (fermented and air-dried) sausage of Italian tradition. The name comes from the Italian verb salare, meaning to salt.
Like most fermentation techniques this is an ancient technology though unknown in Dynastic Egypt (Darby p177). It certainly dates back at least to Roman times under the name lucanica. This word has entered numerous languages from Arabic to Basque. (Pork avoiding cultures could make salami from beef using fat from fat-tailed sheep.) The name suggests that the Romans first encountered this technology around 300 BC when campaigning in southern Italy: in Lucania. The success of this technology lay in its suitability for being incorporated into peasant culture. It converted a perishable product into a convenience food that could be stored at ambient temperatures for a year. For people who consumed very little meat it was used as a relish to add flavour in a meal of boring staples, usually bread. Peasant cultures were particularly reliant on salami, on campaign as soldiers and during the busy harvest periods when women worked in the fields. For modern society where overconsumption of such products is a problem, there is some possibility of reducing the sodium burden (Gou).
The basic manufacturing idea is to create warm humid conditions where a preferred type of bacteria grows by taking energy from breaking down, usually added sugar, though horses in particular might naturally have enough glycogen. Lactic acid, the breakdown product accumulates, lowering the pH, coagulating and drying the meat. The spices normally add needed manganese at trace element levels. Nitrate/nitrites are a necessary component of the preservation technique and if not added explicitly were a contaminant of many traditional salts. Under some conditions the nitrate probably comes from the breakdown of proteins. The salt, acidity, nitrate, dryness and possibly other bacterial products combine to make the raw meat safe. The extreme peasant way of manufacture is not wholly understood because methods are often secret and there is no money for such scientific understanding. But it is clear that traditional methods often varied to adapt to local climate which was a significant factor in manufacture. After fermentation the sausage has to be dried. This changes the casings from being water permeable to being reasonably gas tight. A white covering either mold or flour helps prevent the photo-oxidation of the meat and rancidity in the fat.
A traditional salame is made from a mixture which may include the following: chopped pork, beef, wine, salt, and various herbs and spices. More modern (but still traditional) mixtures include additional ingredients to assist in fermenting: nonfat dry milk, dextrose, lactic acid starter culture (bacteria), ascorbic acid, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrate. These more modern ingredients simply take the guesswork out of traditional curing and can be found in many of the finest salami varieties in the world, although some producers eschew the nitrates and nitrites due to health concerns. The raw meat mixture is usually allowed to ferment for a day and then the mixture is either stuffed in an edible natural or non-edible artificial casings and hung to cure. The casings are often treated with an edible mold (Penicillium) culture as well. Mold imparts flavor and prevents spoilage during the curing process. Most salami have the mold or the casing removed before being brought to the United States market. Purists insist that the mold should be left intact.
In Italy, salami come in many regional varieties. Other national varieties exist, and, throughout the world, amateurs enjoy the art form as well. Though uncooked, salami are not raw; it has been prepared via curing. The term cotto salame refers to salami cooked or smoked before or after curing. This is done to impart a specific flavor but not to cook the meat. Before curing, a cotto salame is still considered raw and is not ready to be eaten.
Styles of salami are as varied as types of cheese. Many Old World salami are named after the region or country of their origin. Examples include Arles, Genoa, Hungarian and Milano salame. Many are flavored with garlic. Some types — including a few varieties from Spain, most Hungarian types, and southern Italian styles (such as pepperoni, derived from salsiccia Napoletana piccante) include paprika or chili powder. Varieties are also differentiated by the coarseness or fineness of the chopped meat as well as the size and style of the casing used. The length of curing process is directly affected by the climate of the curing environment and the size and style of casing.
The process of curing does not just involve drying. It also involves fermentation with lactic acid bacteria, which are safe for human ingestion. The acid produced by the bacteria makes the meat an inhospitable environment for other, dangerous bacteria and imparts the tangy flavor that separates salami from machine-dried pork. The flavor of a salame relies just as much on how this bacteria is cultivated as it does on quality and variety of other ingredients. Originally, the bacteria were introduced into the meat mixture with wine, which contains other types of beneficial bacteria; now, starter cultures are used.
One of the most expensive and well-regarded types of salame, the Felino, brings a great amount of money to the local industry of the province of Parma and Emilia-Romagna in general. There is, in fact, a small statue in the town of Felino dedicated to the pig. According to what was written in the inscription of the statue, the people of these areas brought out the best quality of the pig to create the grandest of all pork-derived products in Italy if not in the whole known world: the Salame di Felino and Prosciutto di Parma. This gives a bit of perspective of how much pride and dignity Italians have for these traditions.
In the United States, traditional salami are either imported or referred to as an "Italian Salame", the protected term for salami made in the United States with authentic traditions. Other salami may include non-traditional ingredients, such as mechanically separated chicken, beef hearts, water, and corn syrup.
References
- Making Salami by Len Poli, Sonoma, California
- Jim Bacus "Utilization of Microorganisms in Meat Processing - a handbook for meat plant operators", Research Studies Press
- Campbell-Platt, G and Cook, P. (Eds) (1995) "Fermented Meats", Blackie Acedemic and Professional, Glasgow
- Darby W.J et al "Food: the gift of Osiris", London 1977
- Gou P. et al "Potassium Chloride, Potassium lactate & Glycine as Sodium Chloride substitutes in fermented sausages & in dry cured pork loin", Meat Science vol 42 nol p37-48 1996