Sausages are a type of food product made from salted minced meat with spices and subjected to a certain heat treatment. Today there are a huge number of all kinds and varieties: cooked sausages, raw smoked and cooked smoked. They differ not only in the processing method, but also in the type and composition of the raw materials, in the pattern of minced meat on the cut and in the form of the casing, in nutritional value and quality, which, in turn, is determined by the color, taste and smell of the product.
A bit of history
The first mention of sausage was found in the annals of Ancient Greece, where it was a question about boiled or fried minced meat, packed in pork stomachs. Gradually, the recipe for cooking this dish spread throughout the world, as merchants and sailors would certainly take such sausages with them on distant wanderings. It was then that people noticed that a well-prepared dish can be stored for more than a year, without losing their taste.
The ancient Slavs also loved the sausage. They learned how to cook it no worse than other nations. To prepare this dish, they used pork and beef offal, which were densely packed with chopped meat, lard, eggs, cereals, and animal blood. Then the blanks were boiled and smoked over a fire.
In 1709, the first sausage factory appeared in Russia. By decree of Peter the Great, German meat experts began to produce delicious sausages. Varieties, by the way, even then there were many. From this moment sausage fashion appeared in Russia, and today it is hard to imagine life without this product. Modern butcher shops and supermarket departments are filled with a huge assortment of sausages, among which it is easy to find smoked, and boiled, and dried varieties.
Classification
Depending on the composition and method of preparation, but regardless of the type of sausage, they are divided into:
- smoked (half-smoked, raw smoked, boiled-smoked);
- boiled;
- stuffed;
- liver;
- sausages, sausages;
- sujuk;
- potions and jellies;
- meat loafs;
- blood.
Smoked sausages
These sausage varieties contain the least amount of moisture. They have a pleasant taste and aroma and are stored longer. Semi-smoked products are nutritious because they contain a large amount of fat (about 40%). According to GOST, the recipe for sausages of the highest grade includes the addition of mainly veneered beef meat of the 1st grade, lean pork and pork fat or brisket. For the manufacture of sausages of lower grades, the use of trimmed meat, meat of pork and beef heads, protein stabilizer, starch or wheat flour is allowed.
Of course, the best sort of sausage (smoked or any other) is the highest. But others are in demand among the population. Consider several items from each category:
- the highest grade - "Krakow", "Tallinn", "Ukrainian fried" and others;
- 1st grade - "Odessa", "Ukrainian" and others;
- 2nd grade - “Lamb”, “Polish” and others;
- 3rd grade - “Special” (made from meat of heads and offal).
All varieties of raw smoked sausages have a peculiar aroma and spicy-salty taste. In the preparation of products of higher grades, beef of the best quality, lean pork, bacon or brisket is used. Of spices, black and allspice, nutmeg or cardamom are usually added here. Cognac is added to some types of sausages, and Madeira is added to others.
The most common meat products of this kind are:
- premium - “Grain”, “Pork”, “Moscow”, various cervelats and salami, etc .;
- Grades 1 - "Amateur".
Cooked smoked and semi-smoked sausages have a mild and less spicy taste. Of the spices, garlic, pepper and nutmeg are usually used here. Among sausages of this kind, the most common are:
- premium - Delicatessen, Rostov, Servelat and Moskovskaya;
- Grades 1 - "Amateur", "Lamb."
Boiled sausages
Probably the most popular sausages around the world are boiled. They are made from salted minced meat and boiled at a temperature of + 80Ëš, therefore, regardless of the variety, cooked sausages are not stored for a long time, because they contain a large amount of liquid.
According to GOST standards and the rules of the technological process for preparing products of this type, the following ingredients should be used from the ingredients: salted pork and beef meat, bacon, tongues, milk and spices, salted for two days. In this case, the meat is crushed and thoroughly mixed with the rest of the ingredients, filled with the resulting mass of a natural or artificial shell, boiled and then cooled.
Depending on the quality of the ingredients used, the prepared products are divided into:
- Cooked sausage premium. For cooking, premium beef, lean pork, bacon and spices (nutmeg, pepper, cardamom, garlic) are used.
- Cooked sausage 1 grade. According to the recipe, 1 grade beef, pork, bacon, vegetable protein, spices, salt, garlic are used for the manufacture of such products.
- Sausages 2 grades. They include beef 2 grades, meat trimmings, pork, bacon, vegetable protein, flour, spices, garlic.
The assortment of premium products is low-fat sausages. The most popular here are Doctoral, Dairy, Russian, Veal and many others.
Cooked sausages of the first grade are such products as “Ordinary”, “Dining”, “Ham”, etc.
In the assortment of the 2nd grade, the most popular products are known as "Tea", "Youth" and others.
Stuffed
Elite cooked sausages of the highest grade are considered stuffed. Such products have a delicate and refined taste. In addition, they are attractive due to the complexity of the special pattern that can be achieved through the use of a wide variety of ingredients: selected calf meat with the addition of low-fat pork varieties, leaf or crushed lard, blood mass, tongue, milk, butter, eggs and pistachios.
In appearance, these are very massive products with a filling. Varieties of cooked sausages of this type also include language products. According to GOST, in the recipe for their preparation they use premium beef and boiled tongues, hard and semi-hard fat, low-fat pork, salt, sugar and spices.
Stuffed sausages can only be of the highest grade, since they include ingredients of the best quality. The manufacture of such sausages is entrusted only to experienced and skilled craftsmen. This is one of the most expensive types of sausages in the world.
Meat loafs
This type of sausage products is prepared according to the recipes of the corresponding names of cooked sausages and baked in forms. In appearance, they resemble shaped bread. Unlike the usual varieties of cooked sausages, the resulting products have a more dense consistency. There are three varieties of meat loaves:
- the highest (from minced meat for premium products) - “Custom” and “Amateur”;
- 1st grade (from minced meat for sausage of the 1st grade) - "Ham", "Beef" and others;
- 2 grade (from minced sausage 2 grades) - "Tea".
Sausages, sausages, pork sausages
Another variety of boiled sausages. A distinctive feature of sausages and sausages is the absence of fat, the small shape and size of the bars. They are made from fresh, chilled, cooled or frozen meat. For premium products, fatty varieties of pork and beef are used, while pork sausages and sausages must contain exclusively pork.
If chopped bacon and spices are added to the stuffing, then this type of sausage is called pork sausage. This dish came to Russia from Poland relatively recently, however, certain requirements are put forward for its production, as reflected in the technical specifications (technical conditions).
All meat products of this group are represented by two varieties: the highest and the first. Gradation, like other types of meat products, depends on the quality of the incoming ingredients.
Liver sausages
Liver sausage is made from beef and pork liver, kidney, lung and other offal. Most often, a natural shell is used, which is densely packed with delicate pasty forcemeat. The following types of sausages are available:
- The highest is the Egg. The composition of such sausages is added to beef, beef liver, fatty pork, chicken eggs, wheat flour and spices.
- 1st grade - “Liver boiled”, “Ordinary”, “Liver smoked”, etc. Pork or beef liver and pork cheeks are used for cooking. According to GOST, it can be cooked or additionally smoked.
- 2nd grade - “Liver with fat”. The composition of such sausages may include meat, offal, chopped bacon and wheat flour.
- 3rd grade - “Liver vegetable” and “Liver boiled”. Here, low-grade offal is used for cooking, and a lung is added instead of the liver. Such sausage can contain up to 20% of boiled cereals or legumes.
Brawn
Made from pre-prepared, boiled and chopped offal. Stuffed meat is stuffed into pork stomachs and cooked at a temperature of 80 ° C, cooled and pressed.
Blood sausages
This variety of sausages is prepared from bacon, pork and beef meat, offal and spices with the addition of defibrated blood. They are distinguished by a darker color, aroma of spices and a taste of blood.
There are four varieties of black pudding, differing in meat content, the presence of offal and flour:
- the highest - "Blood smoked", "Home";
- 1st grade - “Boiled”, “Smoked”, “Peasant”;
- 2nd grade - “Smoked”;
- 3rd grade - “Smoked Vegetable”, “Darnitskaya”.
Sujuk
A variety of sausages made of lamb or beef with beef or lamb fat. This product is not subjected to heat treatment like other sausages, but dried. Usually in the composition of sujuk there are many spices and spices.
How to choose the right
To date, the assortment of sausages presented in food stores is huge. And not always marks "Extra", "Premium" or "Suite" indicate a good quality product. This is often the marketing ploy of the manufacturer.
The fact that before you is a cooked product of good quality can say the inscription GOST R 52196-2003. It is equally important when buying cooked sausages, meat bread, sausages, sausages and other sausages to pay attention to the presentation and shelf life of the goods.
Cooked sausages packed in a natural casing have a shelf life of no more than 5 days. Sausage packed in an artificial shell, under optimal conditions, can be stored for up to 45 days. If the shelf life does not coincide, then the manufacturer used synthetic additives in the manufacture of this product, which is a violation of GOST requirements.
It should be noted that with a quality product, the surface is always dry and clean, and the shell adheres tightly to the meat bar. Gray spots on the cut - a sign of a violation of the technological process of cooking sausages.
It is necessary to pay attention to the storage conditions of meat loaves. The optimum storage temperature for sausages and sausages should not exceed +8 at a relative humidity of 75%.
If during the consumption of the product there is a taste of paper, then this is a clear sign of the presence of a large amount of starch in it, which is a clear violation of state quality standards.
GOST for sausages: changes in recipes
According to unofficial statistics, in the modern market for meat and sausage products manufactured in accordance with generally accepted GOST requirements, only about 15% is present. The remaining products are manufactured according to specifications. Undoubtedly, this phenomenon affects the quality of the products offered.
In fact, the composition of sausages does not always correspond to the ingredients specified in GOST. Often they contain fillers in the form of chicken fillet, potato starch, soy protein, flour or concentrated connective tissue proteins. The composition of some products does not meet the prescribed standards.
The quality of such products is determined by organoleptic and laboratory methods. Products for which laboratory research indicators, depending on the type of sausage, correspond to the permissible values, should be allowed for sale:
- the mass fraction of table salt varies in the range of 1.5-3.5%;
- mass fraction of potato starch: in boiled sausages - from 1 to 3%, and in liver sausages - up to 5%;
- the mass fraction of nitrites in cooked sausages is up to 0.005%; in other sausages, nitrites should not be present at all.