There are many kinds of fermented meat products in China, such as Chinese sausage, bacon and ham, which are naturally fermented by their own microorganisms. Naturally fermented meat products rely on the competition between lactic acid bacteria and miscellaneous bacteria in the microbial flora of raw meat, which has a long growth cycle and is difficult to control the product quality. In order to ensure the flavor and quality of products and shorten the production cycle, the early natural fermentation has been artificially carried out.
By inoculation. Now the industrial production of fermented meat products has been carried out by artificial fermentation, which has a considerable scale. The classification of fermented meat products, such as processing technology, screening of fermentation strains and preparation of starter, is often named after acidity (pH), raw material form (minced or not), fermentation method (inoculated with microorganisms or/and added with carbohydrates), mold growth and dehydration on the surface, and even by place names.
1 Classification of fermented sausages
① According to place names: Lebanese sausage, Sal Vilat sausage, European dry sausage and salami sausage.
② According to dehydration degree: semi-dry fermented sausage and dry fermented sausage: semi-dry fermented sausage with water content above 33% and dry fermented sausage with water content below 30%.
③ According to fermentation degree: low-acid fermented meat products and high-acid fermented meat products.
2 Classification of fermented ham
① Chinese fermented ham: Jinhua ham, Rugao ham, etc.
② Western fermented ham: boned ham, boneless ham, etc.