NEWBIE Sanity Check

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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby Deanot2000 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:04 pm

Hi, thought I’d close the loop so to speak. Finished the drying after 7 weeks and was left with a nice firm product with a very palatable, if a little mild taste, nice to eat as is and lovely when cooked.
My only negative is the quite strong taste the mould has added. The covering of Mould 600 was very thick from early on and frankly has dominated the final product. Did I use too much? I sprayed liberally with a preparation as directed in the Marianski book, I’m assuming less applied equals slower growth or less coverage? It’s detracts quite a lot from the taste and I’m retiscent about using it again.

Thoughts?
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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby wheels » Thu Mar 08, 2018 7:43 pm

Is it that or the culture added to the mix?
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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby Deanot2000 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:53 pm

Hi! I wiped the majority of the mould off a portion of sausage and did a side by side comparison. The mould has a definite taste to it. As described earlier the pH was quite low as well post fermentation and accounts for another fairly distinctive taste. It’s not unpleasant in any way but definitely not what I was aiming for! As it’s only my first go and still nice to eat I’m not disappointed, but I’d like to learn from this and modify what I do for the next batch!

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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby wheels » Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:56 pm

You can control the pH by adjusting any dextrose/sucrose etc.

Phil
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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby Deanot2000 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:37 pm

Thanks. I plan to throttle back on the dextrose and allow the pimenton sugars to do the job next time. I was thinking of upping the pimenton as well as this batch was very mild. Would the TSP-X metabolising the pimenton (hence the low pH) affect the taste? I’d like to understand the underlying chemistry here to better control it next time.

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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby wheels » Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:33 pm

You've got me there Deano, I've never given and thought to any sugars in the pimenton/paprika. I don't even know what the level of sugars are in it.

I've looked - there's 10.34gm per 100gm of paprika according to the USDA, so 1% - but is it available to react with the culture? That's the question I can't work out. I assume so.

Maybe someone with a more scientific bent can advise?

Phil
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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby Deanot2000 » Thu Mar 08, 2018 10:49 pm

I hope so Phil! The pH drop I noted was very fast and I’m thinking is the cause of the ‘tang’ I’m getting. Next batch I’ll half the dextrose and monitor the pH a bit more often.

On another note I’ve been researching the the mouldy taste I’ve got from the Mould 600. Loads of very contradictory advice reference the requirement for ‘beneficial mould’. Lots of people saying it’s imperative to prevent bad (green/blue/slimy mould...which can be a write off) and loads of doomsday prophesies accompanying eating anything it’s ever been on.

Then I found this:

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/125619 ... -sausages/

And I’m frankly lost. Professional Salumeri with frankly hideous looking product on display, which turns out is both fine and delicious.

This is going to take some unravelling!!

Deano
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Re: NEWBIE Sanity Check

Postby NCPaul » Thu Mar 08, 2018 11:45 pm

I believe the 10 % sugar in the pimenton is fermentable so you could make allowance for it. I would still be inclined to use dextrose at 0.3 %. The pH only needs to be checked after the fermentation step. The mold is not required; I don't care for it myself so I simply wipe down the salami on a weekly basis early on. In order to slow down the moisture loss (one of the benefits of the mold), it's necessary to keep the humidity high at the start of the aging process (I target 90 %).
Fashionably late will be stylishly hungry.
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