Curing and Brining (food preservation)

Curing In food preparation, curing refers to various preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, sugar and either nitrate or nitrite. Many curing processes also involve smoking. The etymology of the term is unclear, but it is thought to derive from the same Latin cura, -ae, from which the other English meanings are also derived. Terminology Curing with salt and sugar may be called salting, salt-curing, sugar-curing or honey-curing. The application of pellets of salt, called corns, is often called corning. Curing in a water solution or brine is called wet-curing or pickling or brining. curing of fish is sometimes called kippering. Chemical action of curing Salt inhibits the growth of spoilage-causing microorganisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis. As the unwanted bacterial population decreases, other beneficial bacteria, primarily of the Lactobacillus genus, come to the fore and generate an acidic environment (around 4.5 pH). The sugar included in the cure is used as food by the lactobacilli; generally dextrose is preferred over sucrose, or table sugar, because it seems to be more thoroughly consumed by the bacteria. This process is in fact a form of fermentation, and, in addition to reducing further the ability of the spoilage bacteria to grow, accounts for the tangy flavor of some cured products. Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria. Smoking adds chemicals to the surface of an item which affect the ability of bacteria to grow, inhibit oxidation (and thus rancidity), and improve flavor. Nitrate and Nitrite Compounds not only help kill bacteria, but also produce a characteristic flavor, and give meat a pink or red color. Nitrate (NO3), in the form of either sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate, is used as a source for nitrite (NO2). The nitrite further breaks down in the meat into nitric oxide (NO), which then binds to the iron atom in the center of myoglobin's heme group, preventing oxidation. The presence of nitrates and nitrites in food is controversial due to the development of nitrosamines when the food, primarily bacon, is cooked at high temperatures. The nitrate and nitrite compounds themselves are not harmful, however, and are among the antioxidants found in fresh vegetables. The usage of either compound is carefully regulated in the production of cured products; in the United States, their concentration in finished products is limited to 200 ppm, and is usually lower. In the 1970s, newspaper articles discussed the safety of meat products cured with nitrite. Under certain conditions not yet fully understood, the natural breakdown products of proteins known as amines can combine with nitrites to form compounds known as nitrosamines. There are many different types of nitrosamines, most of which are known carcinogens in test animals. Not all cured meat products contain nitrosamines; when present, they usually are in very minute amounts. According to S.R. Tannenbaum and T.Y. Fan in "Uncertainties about Nitrosamine Formation in and from Foods," proceedings from the Meat Industry Research Conference, University of Chicago, 1973, many variables influence nitrosamine levels: amount of nitrite added during processing, concentrations of amines in meat, type and amounts of other ingredients used in processing, actual processing conditions, length of storage, storage temperatures, method of cooking, and degree of doneness. For example, the USDA now requires adding ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or erythorbic acid to bacon cure, a practice that greatly reduces the formation of nitrosamines. The effects of heating meat products cured with nitrite have been investigated. The previously cited study, "Effect of Frying and Other Cooking Conditions on Nitrosopyrrolidine Formation in Bacon," by J.W. Pensabene, et al., indicated that when bacon was fried at 210 degrees F for 10 minutes (raw), 210 degrees F for 105 minutes (medium well), 275 degrees F for 10 minutes (very light), or 275 degrees F for 30 minutes (medium well), no conclusive evidence of nitrosopyrrolidine could be found. But when bacon was fried at 350 degrees F for 6 minutes (medium well), 400

degrees F for 4 minutes (medium well), or 400 degrees F for 10 minutes (burned), nitrosopyrrolidine formation was conclusively found at 10, 17, and 19 parts per billion. Thus, well done or burned bacon probably is potentially more hazardous than less well done bacon. Bacon cooked by microwave has less nitrosamine than fried bacon. Consumers should cook bacon properly. It is unknown at what levels, if any, nitrosamines are formed in humans after they eat cured meat products, or what constitutes a dangerous level in meat or in humans. Nitrosamines are found very infrequently in all cured products except overcooked bacon, as discussed above. Feeding studies report using meats containing high levels of nitrite showed no evidence of carcinogenesis. However, nitrosamines still are considered a definite potential hazard to human health. Bacon manufacturers are under a USDA surveillance program whereby bacon is sampled, cooked, and tested for nitrosamines. Levels above a certain maximum amount are not permitted. Although nitrite is a controversial food additive, recent studies indicate that nitrite can inhibit the production of malonaldehyde, which may be toxic to living cells. In small quantities (yet at 1,000 times the levels of nitrosamines), malonaldehyde frequently is found in food products that turn rancid. Wieners, ham, bacon, and corned beef resist the accumulation of malonaldehyde due to their nitrite content. Brining and Marinades Overview In cooking, brining is a process similar to marination in which meat is soaked in a salt solution (the brine) before cooking. Brining makes cooked meat moister by hydrating the cells of its muscle tissue before cooking and by allowing the cells to hold on to the water while they are cooked. Marinades are usually made up of three components: acid, oil, and herbs. The acid helps to partially denature the meat's proteins, opening up "tunnels" in the meat structure where flavor can seep in. But marinades mostly penetrate only the surface. Marinades work best on meats such as chicken breast and fish, because the muscle structure is not as dense as it is in steak. For denser meat, marinades work best when the meat is cut into smaller pieces so the marinade can penetrate a larger surface area. However, if marinades are left on too long, the acids can "cook" the surface, causing the meat to dry out. Some meats, such as pork and steak, can marinate for hours. Other less dense cuts of meat, such as chicken breast and most fish, only need to stay in a marinade for a short time. Brining meat (that is, putting meat into a salt-water solution) adds moisture to the meat through osmosis. Osmosis happens when water flows from a lower concentration of a solution to a higher concentration through a semipermeable membrane. In meat, this membrane is the plasma membrane that surrounds the individual cells. When meat is placed in a brine, the meat's cell fluids are less concentrated than the salt water in the brining solution. Water flows out of the cells in the meat and salt flows in. The salt then dissolves some of the fiber proteins, and the meat's cell fluids become more concentrated, thus drawing water back in. Brining adds salt and water to the cells so that when the meat is cooked and water is squeezed out, there is still water left in the cells because water was added before cooking. The brine surrounding the muscle fiber cell has a higher concentration of salt than the fluid within the cells. This leads salt ions to enter the cell via diffusion. The high salt concentration immediately begins to do its work on the protein complexes within the muscle fiber (see below for detailed explanation). The end result is the muscle fibers draws in and retain a substantial amount of water by both osmosis and capillary action. The meats weight can increases by 10% or more, allowing for greater moisture in the food after cooking. In addition, the dissolved protein does not coagulate into the normally dense aggregates, so the cooked meat seems more tender. Read the textbook On Food and Cooking pp. 155-156 for more information on brining meat.