SEASONINGS USED IN MEAT PROCESSING

Seasonings are normally parts of plants which flavour food. The trade in and the processing of spices has developed into an important support industry for food processing enterprises in order to meet consumer preferences. Mixtures of seasonings were developed in order to serve as flavouring agents for various meat products. Natural spices, herbs and vegetable bulbs are the main groups of seasonings and are described hereunder.

Natural spices

The term “natural spices” includes dried rootstocks, barks, flowers or their parts and fruits or seeds of different plants. The most important natural spices used in processed meat products are pepper, paprika, nutmeg, mace, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, chilli, coriander, cumin and pimento. The most common natural spice in sausage making is pepper. Spices are mainly used in the ground form with particle sizes from 0.1 to 1 mm.

Fig. 113: Origin of natural spices

Herbs

Herbs are dried leaves of plants grown in temperate climates. The major herbs used in processed meat products are basil, celery, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme.

Vegetable bulbs

The main natural seasonings originating from vegetable bulbs and used in processed meat products are onions and garlic.

Extracts

Natural spices are often contaminated with high numbers of microorganisms, in particular spores, due to their production process. This may become a problem for the stability of the meat products. The microbial load of spices can be reduced by irradiation or fumigation. Such treatments are not allowed everywhere. Another option is the use of spices extracts. Extracts are produced by separating the flavour-intensive fractions through physico-chemical procedures (e.g. steam distillation) which results in germ-free flavouring substances. Extracts are preferably used in viscous liquid or oily form. Due to the absence of microorganisms, extracts are specifically recommended for the production of microbiologically sensitive processed meat products, such as cured-cooked hams or cured-cooked beef cuts.

Procession and handling

Most spices used in meat processing are milled or ground. The milling method used affects the quality of the spices. Spices are normally cold-milled at low temperatures. The raw spices are deep-frozen thus avoiding the loss of oleoresins, aqua-resins and essential oils, which are the active flavour components.

Spices (whole or ground, natural or extractives) should always be kept in a cool, dark and dry place.
They must be stored in tightly sealed containers or bags to avoid loss of flavour.
For processing purposes, spices should only be removed from the storage container using a spice spoon. Under no circumstances should spices be removed by hand as the adhering moisture and germs will lead to contamination, loss of flavour and clotting of the dry mixes.
For all production, spices should be added by exact weight in order to standardize flavour and taste of the product.
Products, which are consumed hot should be spiced mildly, as in the hot product higher amount of flavouring agents (oleoresins, aqua-resins and essential oils) will be released.
If spices are added to a product mix under high temperature, the seasoning should be strong. In case of cold consumption of this product less spice will be released and taste and flavour will be weak if there is not enough seasoning.

Table 3: Common Seasonings used in processed meats

Description and origin		Uses (in gram per 1 kilo of product)
A.	*SPICES*
	Black/white pepper Fruits seed	Used in a variety (almost all) meat products 1–2.5 g / 1 kg.
	Paprika (Fruit seed)	Used in frankfurters, minced specialties and other products. Sometimes used as a colouring agent. 1-5 g / 1 kg.
	Chilli (Fruit seed)	For spicy products
	Pimento (Fruit seed)	It has an aroma similar to a mixture of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Used in a variety of sausage products. Sometimes used as a partial replacement for black pepper in frankfurters and some smoked products. 0.3-3.0 g / kg
	Mace (Flower)	Used in liver sausages, frankfurters and bologna and similar. 0.4-1.0 g / kg
	Ginger (Rhizome) (Root)	Used in frankfurters and similar products. 0.3-0.5 g / kg
	Nutmeg (Fruit seed)	Used in bologna and minced ham sausages, frankfurters, liver sausage and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.3-1.0 g / kg
	Clove (Flower)	Used in bologna, gelatinous meat mixes and in blood and liver sausage. 0.3-0.5 g / kg
	Cinnamon (Bark)	Astringent and sweet, used in some countries in mortadella and bologna sausage. 0.1-0.2 g / kg
B.	*AROMATIC SEEDS*
	Cardamom	Rapid loss of aromatic constituents during storage. Used in liver sausage and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.3-5.0 g / kg
	Celery seed	Used in fresh pork sausages. 0.3-2.0 g / kg
	Coriander seed	Contains about 13% of fatty matter and a trace of tannin. It is used in frankfurters, minced ham, luncheon meat. 0.3-1.0 g / kg
	Cumin	Used for meat specialties with distinct flavour. 0.2-0.3 g / kg
C.	*CONDIMENTAL HERBS*
	Marjoram Thyme	Used in liver and white raw-cooked sausages and gelatinous meat mixes. 0.5-2.0 g / kg
D.	*CONDIMENTAL VEGETAB.*
	Onion (Bulb)	Used in liver sausage, gelatinous meat mixes, meat loaves. Sometimes replace garlic. 2.0-10.0 g / kg
	Garlic (Bulb)	Used in many types of raw-cooked sausages. 0.1-0.2 g /kg

Fig. 114: Selected seasonings used in meat processing

White, black and green peppercorns		Ground coriander and coriander seeds
Ground and whole nutmed	Ground mace and blades	Ground allspice and allspice berries
Cinnamon stick, quills and ground	Cayenne pepper	Whole and ground cloves