Fermentation and chemical acidification of salami-type products - Effect on yield, texture and microstructure

The effects of using lactic acid bacteria (IAB), liquid lactic acid and encapsulated acids (lactic, citric and glucono-delta-lactone [GDL]) to reduce the pH of salami-type products were investigated. Liquid lactic acid caused an immediate pH drop, crumbling of meat particles and some moisture separation. This type of precooking protein denaturation resulted in the lowest springiness value and showed a microstructure with gaps among the cooked meat particles. The encapsulated acids did not produce such problems, and their effects on cook loss and hardness values varied. The nonacidified control (pH 5.60) provided the highest hardness value and low cook loss, because of less disruption to protein gelation during cooking. The slow acid release, during the overnight LAB fermentation, resulted in some binding prior to cooking, but a higher cook loss compared to the encapsulated acids.