During my adventures with fermented, cured and matured meats i start to get some suspicious thoughts that not everything is working like commercial technologies, scientific papers, and books are telling. One of my suspicious was that CNS Staphylococcus strains not limited to work below pH 5.0 or lower than 10*C (50F). Another thought - that temp. around 12*C (55F) is shutdown LAB fermentation process. In other words - if you are fermenting salami at (example) - 22 *C (72F) at it reach pH 5.2 after 40 hours so moving them to curing chamber at 12 *C will seize fermentation and salamis will stay at that acidity level. (G. Feiner. - [ .....] "temperature inside fermentation room is reduced to 10-12 *C as the LAB stop fermenting sugars into lactic acid at such low temperatures. The remaining sugar is then used for development of color and flavor ". pg 157
As I start to not agree with that statement - so some days ago i start to make some experiment...
meats - lean trims from hams, pork butts, loins (lean to fat % ratio - 80/20_ - 7.1 kg -( 7.5 mm grinder plate)
trims from hams, loins butts - (80/20) - 3.3 kg (4.5 mm plate)
fatty trims from hams, pork belly, jowls, fat back - (30/70 - lean to fat) - 3.5 kg ( 10mm plate)
beef - very lean - 2.5 kg
22.5 g/kg - sea salt
2.5 g/kg cure #2
Black pepper (coarse) - 2 g/kg
Kubab pepper - coarse 1g/kg
nutmeg - 0.5 g/kg
garlic granulated - 3 g/kg
cardamom - 0.2 g/kg
Chinese five spices - 0.5 g/kg
dextrose - 2 g/kg
demerara sugar - 2 g/kg
Curing, mixing, grinding took me 5 days. During these days meats were in refrigerator (2-6*C) or some hours in garage temperature (10-11 *C).
Above listed meats and process are like base for my experiment.
Then I took 2.5 kg of that batter for my fanny thing. Rest of it has been divided for 4 same parts (by the weight).
#1 - no culture starter. to this part i added just 10 g/kg whole color pepper corns + 2 g/kg herb pepper (polish mix).
#2 - starter Texel DCM1 - (Staph. vitulinus, S. cornosus) - no any other additions
#3 - starter Bactoferm T-LC, spice mix (khmeli suneli) added at 1 g/kg
#4 - starter Bactoferm B-LC 007 used and fennel seeds 1 g/kg + 50 ml of mead ( for 3.5 kg of meats).
Laminated hog casings (3.25" x 15 ") used. For each type of salami i got 2 batons of batter plus leftovers from horn for measuring acidity probes.
Other words, I got 8 bats (2 of each). Leftovers also were divided for 8 probes (two of each salami).
One bat and one probe of each salami were fermented in temp. 22-23*C and 90+% humidity> second part (one baton and one probe were fermented at garage temperature of 8-10 *C and 90 % humidity).
So I got - same meats, same process, same sugars, same spices, same casings. Differences - touching spices/herbs, starter cultures. Two different fermenting temperatures.
After 24 hours:
Fermentation at 22*C Fermentation at 8-10*C
#1/1 - pH 5.01/5.05 #1/2 - pH 5.33/5.36
#2/1 - pH 5.08/509 #2/2 - pH 5.42/5.48
#3/1 - pH 4.92/4.92 #3/2 pH 5.36/5.33
#4/1 - pH 4.75/4.82 #4/2 - pH 5.39/5.38
After 38 hours
#1/1 - pH 4.92/4.98 #1/2 - pH 5.22
#2/1 - pH 5.08/5.02 #2/2 - pH 5.26
#3/1 -pH 4.92/4.91 #3/2 - pH 5.10
#4/1 pH 4.75/4.74 # 4/2 - pH 5.14
After 48 hours
at 22*C practically no changes in acidity level #1/2 - pH 5.09/5.08
so i Have decided to transfer them to curing #2/2 - pH 5.16/5.15
chamber # 3/2 - pH 4.99/4.96
#4/2 - pH 4.92/4.94
After 72 hours
(at 24 hours in temp of curing chamber
(12 *C and 80% humidity)
#1/1 - pH 4.99/4.94 #1/2 - pH 4.99/5.00
#2/1 - pH 5.03/5.03 #2/2 - pH 5.08/5.07
#3/1 - pH 4.94/4.95 #3/2 - pH 4.94/4.95
#4/1 - pH 4.75/4.73 #4/2 - pH 4.80/4.85
** two measurements because were used 2 pehameters
At that time all batons transferred to curing/maturing chamber for normal maturing temperatures - 12-14*C and 78-82 % of humidity.
Fanny part - when i took off 2.5 kg of batter. I added additional 3 g/kg dextrose and 3 g/kg demerara sugar + 100 g/2.5 kg dried tart cherries + 10 g/2.5 kg dried cranberries (no sugar added) + 25 g/2.5 kg sunflower seeds unsalted. I have used also starter culture Texel Sa 306.
That batter devided in two parts and tightly packed in rectangle meat press.
One bigger (1.5 kg) fermented in 22-23*C. smaller (1 kg) fermented in 8-10*C.
after 24 hours - bigger pH 4.71/4.68 smaller - pH 5.31/5.33
38 hours - bigger - pH 4.57/4.63 smaller - pH 5.13
48 hours - bigger - pH 4.61 smaller - pH 4.92/4.94
72 hours - bigger - pH 4.57/4.61 smaller - pH 4.79/4.82
Then batter removed from press and overwrapped (bigger in pasted hog sheets, smaller in hog blander).
It is end of my 1-st step. Further experiments needed. As today - fermentation is taking place in lower temperatures also, it just taking longer. From my point of view LAB fermenting until they have "food".
Second part - determination of rising pH during maturing process.