Fermento substitutes

[sausagejoe]

I will be making large quantities of venison sausage over the next few weeks. The main problem is the cost of fermento to get the aciduate taste. I understand you can use encapsulated citric acid or glucona delta lactone (GDL) to get the same effect.

I really like the taste I get with the fermento and I am somewhat affraid to try the other ingredients. Has anyone have any smoking experience along this line?

[Parson Snows]

If my memory serves me well, awhile ago there was quite a lot of postings on another forum regarding the so-called "fermento scam", apparently it consists of mostly soya protein concentrate, and it's not the fermento that imparts the tang into the meat. I'll see what I can dig up from my files.

kind regards

Parson Snows

PS howabout you posting your vension sausage recipe on the forum?

[sausagejoe]

I just made 40# of trail bologna with some fermento I had left over.

I really like to taste the fermento gives the sausage but the cost is really high.

Has anyone experimented with the use of GDL or encapuslated citric acid in comparison to fermento?

joe b

[Bad Flynch]

I have seen references to the use of Lactic Acid, Citric Acid, Acetic Acid, and a couple of other naturally occurring acids. Old-time use might have even included the use of phosphoric acid, but it is not generally used any more due to phisiological constraints. Natural fermentation, without the use of addititives, would probably favor the production of Lactic Acid, so its use as an additive might be logical if it produced the right acidic taste for your application.

[Wohoki]

You might want to try adding 10% live yogurt to your mix instead of water or stock, and giving the sausages 36 hours in the fridge to mature: it tenderises the meat wonderfully, and it adds a really nice sharp taste to the bangers. I made some with some lamb, flavoured with corriander, cummin, black pepper and fennel seeds ground up, some chilli flakes and fresh corriander leaf, with 10% couscous instead of rusk . Mmmmm.

Sorry, I just realised that you were talking about smoked: should still work tho'.