Curing (food preservation)
Curing: an ancient method of preserving food by drawing out moisture with salt.
Curing is a method of food preservation that relies on the addition of salt to draw moisture out of food through osmosis. This process increases the solute concentration in the food, lowering its water potential and creating an environment where microbes responsible for spoilage cannot thrive. The practice dates back to antiquity and served as the primary means of preserving meat and fish until the late nineteenth century. Dehydration represents the earliest known form of curing. Many curing processes also incorporate smoking, spicing, cooking, or the addition of sugar, nitrate, and nitrite.
Meat preservation, encompassing livestock, game, and poultry, involves treatments that maintain the properties, taste, texture, and color of raw or cooked meats while keeping them safe to eat. Curing was the dominant method for thousands of years, though modern refrigeration and synthetic preservatives have since complemented and, in many cases, supplanted it. In developed countries, curing is now practiced mainly for its cultural value and its desirable effects on texture and taste, whereas in less-developed nations it remains essential for meat production, transport, and availability.
Salt is the primary curing ingredient; a concentration of nearly twenty percent is needed to create the osmotic pressure that draws water from microorganisms. Sugar, in forms such as honey or maple syrup, alleviates salt’s harsh flavor and feeds beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus. Nitrates and nitrites extend shelf life, kill bacteria, produce characteristic flavors, and give meat a pink or red color. These chemicals bond to myoglobin, acting as a substitute for oxygen and turning the meat red, while also inhibiting the bacteria that cause botulism. Curing salt—a combination of table salt with nitrates or nitrites—is dyed pink to distinguish it from ordinary salt. Some traditional cured meats, such as authentic Parma ham and certain Spanish chorizo and Italian salami, are cured with salt alone.
- field
- Food preservation
- known_for
- Preserving meat and fish by salt, nitrates, and nitrites; inhibiting microbial growth; imparting characteristic color and flavor
- primary_agent
- Salt (sodium chloride)
- modern_agents
- Potassium nitrate (KNO3) and sodium nitrite (NaNO2)
Lore & Background
Meat preservation in general comprises the set of all treatment processes for preserving the properties, taste, texture, and color of raw, partially cooked, or cooked meats while keeping them edible and safe to consume. Curing has been the dominant method of meat preservation for thousands of years, although modern developments like refrigeration and synthetic preservatives have begun to complement and supplant it. While meat-preservation processes like curing were mainly developed in order to prevent disease and to increase food security, the advent of modern preservation methods mean that in most developed countries, curing is instead mainly practiced for its cultural value and desirable impact on the texture and taste of food. For less-developed countries, curing remains a key process in the production, transport and availability of meat.
Reader's Guide
Salt (sodium chloride) is the primary ingredient used in meat curing. Removal of water and addition of salt to meat creates a solute-rich environment where osmotic pressure draws water out of microorganisms, slowing down their growth. Doing this requires a concentration of salt of nearly 20%. In sausage production, salt causes the soluble proteins to come to the surface of the meat that is used to make the sausages. These proteins coagulate when the sausage is heated, helping to hold the sausage together. Sugar added to meat for curing purposes comes in many forms, including honey, corn syrup solids, and maple syrup. However, with the exception of bacon, it does not contribute much to the flavor, but it does alleviate the harsh flavor of the salt. Sugar also contributes to the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus by feeding them. Nitrates and nitrites extend shelf life, help kill bacteria, produce a characteristic flavor and give meat a pink or red color. Nitrite is generally supplied by sodium nitrite or (indirectly) by potassium nitrate. Nitrite salts are most often used to accelerate curing and impart a pink colour. Nitrate is specifically used only in a few curing conditions and products where nitrite (which may be generated from nitrate) must be generated in the product over long periods of time. The combination of table salt with nitrates or nitrites, called curing salt, is often dyed pink to distinguish it from table salt. Neither table salt nor any of the nitrites or nitrates commonly used in curing is naturally pink. Some traditional cured meat (such as authentic Parma ham and some authentic Spanish chorizo and Italian salami) is cured with salt alone.
Did You Know?
- Curing can be traced back to antiquity and was the primary method of preserving meat and fish until the late 19th century.
- Dehydration was the earliest form of food curing.
- The use of nitrite and nitrate salts for meat in the US has been formally used since 1925.
- The World Health Organization's review of more than 400 studies concluded, in 2015, that there was sufficient evidence that 'processed meats' caused cancer, particularly colon cancer.
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