Designing Meat Flavor and Texture

Finally, acids and bases affect pH balances in meats. In some products, such as pepperoni, lowering the pH is desirable. Lactic acid bacteria are added to pepperoni to lower the pH, which helps speed up drying and creates a desirable flavor. Other times, a lower pH can be harmful to the product for it can denature the proteins, causing poor yields and an undesirable texture. It is generally okay to add acids as a surface treatment, like a lemon pepper pork loin rub, but if you’re using it internally, some considerations must be made. Ingredients that buffer pHs such as sodium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, or the salts of organic acids can be used. It can be a tough balancing act, especially since the pH is a desired flavor component.

Another way of using an acid is to encapsulate them. The acid granule is coated with a hydrogenated fat that is solid at ambient temperatures. The coating will melt once a certain temperature is reached, usually between 140 and 155 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows for the addition of citric acid for flavor while avoiding protein denaturation. By the time the coating melts, the proteins will already be set and texture maintained. This practice of encapsulation can also be used for salt. For example, while developing a hamburger you want to avoid extracting the salt soluble proteins and limit the amount of bind, but you still want a salt savory flavor.

While encapsulations have great benefits, they do come with several processing issues. The coats are fragile and can be ruptured, thereby exposing the internal substrate and foil what you are trying to accomplish. When using an encapsulate, it is best to add it last into the mixing process, avoid any extreme physical action after its addition such as grinding, and get the item into its final form (sausage casing or mold) and cooked as quickly as possible.

The Taste

Flavor is an obvious and variable component when considering the eating experience of meats. Spices, whether whole, ground, or extract, are commonly used in the flavor systems of meats. In some applications, it is desirable to see the spice particulates, like fennel seeds in an Italian sausage or thyme leaves in a Cajun rub. These particulates add an appealing flavor, as well as visual and tactile experience. If particulates are aesthetically unappealing, fine ground spices or spice extractives can be used. Besides stable availability and cost, extractives pose a unique advantage: the ability to add a lot of flavor at very low quantities.

Non-meat additives and flavors are also widely used. Whether you’re adding pistachio nuts to a mortadella or olives to a loaf, these additives enhance the flavor and visual appeal of a product. Sometimes just a flavor is needed, such as adding a dairy flavor to a cheddar bratwurst to bring out the cheese note.

There are several concerns when adding these adjuncts: they can add excess water to the formulation, bleed color, or even affect the pH. When using fresh or individually quick frozen vegetables, the moisture content needs to be considered. Therefore, a dried vegetable could make more sense. Additionally, if an item is acidic like a pickled jalapeno pepper, that acidity needs to be addressed by neutralizing and/or rinsing away the brine.

The Timing

When developing a desired texture and flavor, ingredients can and should be added in stages. For a sausage maker, adding the ingredients in stages is critical to the product’s success. The salt, water, and phosphates get added early in the process with the lean portion of the meat block to extract proteins followed by the addition of flavor and fat parts of the block. Similarly, to make a hot ham, a neutral marinade of water, salt, and sodium phosphate can be injected into a ham muscle onto which a rub of red peppers and spices is added prior to stuffing into casings.