Why does salt curing preserve meat

If you liked this article and the Bonus Facts below, you might also like:. Mushyrulez: Kosher salt is simply a coarser grain. Iodine is added to some table salt because iodine deficiency in children reduces IQ I think by an average of 7 IQ points from memory.

I read once that salt was such an important commodity that Roman soldiers were paid for their services in salt. Latin word for salt is sal, hence the modern word sal-ary was formed. Sorry my original message was a little sarcastic, very frustrated at that point trying to get that ad to go away! Thanks for the quick fix.

Great site. Typical Irish dinner: Corned beef is a delicious form of salt-preserved meat. Making your own isn't difficult. Photo by A1stopshop, Public Dominan, via Wikimedia. There are several processes that have been developed for the preservation of meats over the centuries. Here, I discuss these processes and talk about the basics of preserving meats with salt.

I describe several specific methods for preparing dried meats and meats seasoned in pickling solutions to provide you with the means of making your own. There are several salts that are used to cure, or preserve, meat. Sodium chloride, ordinary table salt, is the primary ingredient, helping create an environment where bacteria cannot grow and removing moisture within.

But other salts are needed to complete meat preservation. These salts are nitrates and nitrites. Thus, it is important that nitrites are used. And, they are used in very small amounts in curing salt mixtures.

Obviously, in addition to preservation, these salts add flavor. The table salt flavor would be plain if the nitrates and nitrites were not present. These preservatives also make the meat turn pink to red and also contribute to flavor.

They are the reason corned beef is red. Various forms of sugar are also frequently added to enhance flavor, and sometimes ascorbates are added to pickling brines to speed up the curing process and stabilize the color given by the nitrates and nitrites.

As salt levels increase in a solution, the growth potential and survivability of microorganisms like fungi and bacteria decreases. At the recommended levels for dry salting and pickling, microbial growth doesn't occur.

It is well known that proper salt preservation prevents contamination by Clostridium botulinum , the bacterium that causes the fatal disease known as botulism. Drying meat is an age-old tradition for meat preservation. Salt helps speed the curing process and prevents meat spoilage. Before you get started in any of the processes mentioned below, make note that you need to use cuts of meat that have very little internal and external fat.

Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Why does salt prevent food from spoiling? How does salt preserve food? By stopping bacteria in its tracks through tricks like dehydration.

Does salt expire or go bad? No, plain salt does not expire. But iodized salt typically has a shelf life of five years. How do you store kosher salt?

Keep kosher salt in a dry and cool place. This cure, which contains sodium nitrate, acts like a time-release cure, slowly breaking down into sodium nitrite, then into nitric oxide. The manufacturer recommends using 1 oz. It is important that consumers follow manufacturer directions carefully. For more information, please refer to the following products, companies, and available resources:. Commercially, nitrate is no longer allowed for use in curing of smoked and cooked meats, non-smoked and cooked meats, or sausages US FDA However, nitrate is still allowed in small amounts in the making of dry cured uncooked products.

Home food preservers should avoid the direct use of this chemical and opt for the mixtures described above. Some current recipes for curing have vinegar, citrus juice, or alcohol as ingredients for flavor. Addition of these chemicals in sufficient quantities can contribute to the preservation of the food being cured. Besides preservation, the process of curing introduces both a desired flavor and color. Cured meat flavor is thought to be a composite result of the flavors of the curing agents and those developed by bacterial and enzymatic action.

Because of the amount of salt used in most curing processes, the salt flavor is the most predominant. Sugar is a minor part of the composite flavor, with bacon being an exception. Because of the tremendous amount of salt used, sugar serves to reduce the harshness of the salt in cured meat and enhance the sweetness of the product ie.

Sweet Lebanon Bologna. Sugar also serves as a nutrient source for the flavor-producing bacteria of meat during long curing processes. Spices add characteristic flavors to the meats. Recent studies have suggested that some spices can have added preservative effects Doyle