Hi Kirsty, welcome to the forum.
I started out wanting to produce my own salami and bacon so that I could avoid all those chemicals that seem to be present in our foodstuffs today.
I looked into lots of methods and researched what went into each.
For bacon and salami your main aim is to prevent spoilage and extend the period it can be stored for (whilst giving it a lovely taste
). To do this there are basically three methods that are employed;
Drying - bacteria find it difficult to grow when dessicated.
Salting - has a drying effect and can also kill some bacteria
Curing - adding nitrites/nitrates to kill the bacteria
One or all of these will be used to produce the desired effects, and each of them has benefits and risks (as does not doing any of them).
In the end I decided that, having understood the risks and benefits, If I am going to continue eating bacon and salami I am much better off making them myself and so have complete control over what goes into them.
So after all this which methods do I use?
All three!
BUT...
I calculate very carefully how much salt and cure is needed (with help from oddley).
I measure everything out very carefully.
I make sure I cure things for the correct amount of time.
And the results?
MUCH better than supermarket stuff and definately worth the effort.
I would certainly encourage you to try.
There is lots of discussion on this forum about all this so have a look around and if you have any questions, just ask.