Lactic acid

[afreetrapper]

Question for the group this is one of those wierd thoughts that lands in my head occasionaly. The old way of fermenting sausages before manufactured starters and backslopping was to rely on the chemistry of the meat itself to start the process which was reliable.
When mamals work there muscles to the extreme lactic acid builds up in the muscle. Back in the day before slaughter houses animals would have been under more stress up to the time of kill lactic acid levels would have been very high. How would this figure into the whole fermentation process.

No guessing here would like to if anyone out there has any real science on this.
Dean

[the chorizo kid]

the experts will chime in that this is not only unsafe, but it gives varying results from batch to batch. they are probably correct.
if you happen to raise and slaughter you own meat, you can limit inherent bacrerial contamination. otherwise, it is iffy. obviously a local meat processor you trust is a step in the right direction. but what if you buy your meat form a chain gorcer?? where did they get their meat form? how old is it? etc.
second, if you live in the correct climate, it is also helpful, but only if you make sausage in the correct time of year. hint: fall [slaughter of pig time followed by dry winter and a smokey chimney to hang the meat].
but, if you buy commercial meat, and if you want to make sausage year round, use a starter. buttermilk works. i bet yogurt does too, but i have not tried it. pure acidophilus from a health food store works.

[the chorizo kid]

oh yes, in reply to your actual question,i doubt the stress of the slaughterhosue would build up lactic acid. that process would be the result of anaerobic metabolism, ie too much exercise relative to blood flow and oxygen intake. i would guess the opposite in a slaughterhouse. no exercise and lots of oxygen intake due to panting of the animal and the rapid heartbeat, from excitment, which increases cardiac output and gives lots of oxygen to the muscles. it would be different if someone had to catch the animals that were trying to run away from the process.
i think an african gazelle being chased by a lion would be closer to what you are describing. IMHO
ps sorry i did not uibderstand your question at first. i am in th office early.

[wheels]

...Back in the day before slaughter houses animals would have been under more stress up to the time of kill lactic acid levels would have been very high...

Is that the case?

Phil

[afreetrapper]

I wrote that post very late in the light of day it doesnt make much sense.

--working muscles generate energy anaerobically. This energy comes from glucose through a process called glycolysis, in which glucose is broken down or metabolized into a substance called pyruvate through a series of steps. When the body has plenty of oxygen, pyruvate is shuttled to an aerobic pathway to be further broken down for more energy. But when oxygen is limited, the body temporarily converts pyruvate into a substance called lactate, which allows glucose breakdown--and thus energy production--to continue. The working muscle cells can continue this type of anaerobic energy production at high rates for one to three minutes, during which time lactate can accumulate to high levels.--

I wasnt planning on relying on this lactic acid to try to make sausage It was just a curiosity. Back when man first started making sausage animals werent as contained it would be likely there was some extra stress put on the animal before it was killed creating high levels of lactic acid before any fermentation starts. Less stress less lactic acid this may have accounted in some way for the inconsistancy in the finished product. Any thoughts on this.

Dean