Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

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Indaswamp
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Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 07:42

So, I've made 7 different batches of salami in my chamber so far. Been at this for almost a year now...learned A LOT from this forum and other sources, but learning more everyday. Marianski's yellow book really put all the pieces together for me and gave me the confidence to get started making salami.
Now, up to this point, I have not had a failure yet. My first two salamis, a pepperoni and Genoa from Marianski's book, were a success. I was hooked!
I attempted a pistachio and lemon salami like the recipe in the Olympia Provisions salami Recipe book. I did not use the F-LC called for in the recipe though, I used Flavor of Italy. I also used 3g dextrose and 3g raw sugar. I did not roast the raw pistachios and I did not dry the lemon zest. I'm wondering if this might be an issue. I achieved a pH 5.19 after 31 hours fermentation @69*F. I stuffed the salami into 60-65mm beef middles though they all look to be at the large end of 65mm. The salamis have been in my chamber for 9 days and have lost 9.51% so far.

Here is the issue...I am battling sticky mold/yeast on just this batch of salami. The other 3 types in my chamber (all made within the same week) did not develop this. Also, some of the pistachios look to be turning black. Is that normal?

What is going on here? Contamination from the nuts/zest maybe??

I did not test the raw meat pH; now I wish I had...but it was a very fresh double pack of butts I had just picked up that morning. Sanitized everything like normal, kept everything cold....the fermentation mince I had wrapped in cling wrap smelled fine after fermentation...sweet smell of fresh fermentation...so I thought it was fine @pH5.19...I did calibrate my Milwaulkee pH meter and used it successfully on all the other salamis so I know that is not the issue. I did innoculate with mold 600 but only after the last batch of the 4 different salamis were finished fermenting so the pistachio and lemon had been in the chamber for4-5 days prior to mold application...but I do have two pieces of salami covered with mold in the chamber when added the new salamis. Also, walls have some good mold growth as well...chamber is full of good mold...

I am perplexed here. What am I missing???
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 08:34

I tried to upload a picture of the salami from my phone but said attachment was too large. What do I need to do to upload the pictures?
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 10:06

Oh, I did add 20mL/Kg meat of sauvingnon blanc wine to the meat paste when mixing....
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by bcboy » Sat Jan 09, 2021 15:51

Indaswamp wrote:
Sat Jan 09, 2021 08:34
I tried to upload a picture of the salami from my phone but said attachment was too large. What do I need to do to upload the pictures?
You have to download an app for your cell phone to re size pictures.

Android.
https://m.youtube.com/results?search_qu ... roid+phone

https://blog.shortpixel.com/9-apps-resi ... id-device/

Apple.
https://m.youtube.com/results?search_qu ... +on+iphone

https://photo.wondershare.com/photo-edi ... phone.html
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 16:09

Thanks bcboy...
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 16:10

Thinking about this more, maybe I should have blanched the pistachios and the lemon zest to pasteurize them prior to adding to the meat paste.....
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by StefanS » Sat Jan 09, 2021 17:43

Can you clarified please - did you ferment mince then staffed into casing or did you ferment in already staffed batons?
Also 6 g/kg of sugars + Flavor of Italy starter and only pH 5.19?
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 17:55

I stuffed in 60-65mm beef middles, then fermented @69*F in my fermentation trash can. I took the left over mince in the stuffer hopper and wrapped it with cling film as my pH test piece. I put it in the fermentation can with the salamis.
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 18:09

Maybe what I am seeing is the pistachio peels through the casing. They were not noticeable when first stuffed when the casing was moist and opaque. But now that the casing is clear after a little drying, the peels are noticeable now. Was I suppose to remove the pistachio nut peels?
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 18:30

Little more info:
I used Trader Joes Pistachios (halfs and pieces). I just checked, and the nuts are pasteurized during processing so probably did not introduce harmful bacteria like unpasteurized nuts would.
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sat Jan 09, 2021 20:23

Ok, little more info... I could not stand it...poked a small hole in my tester chub where one of the pistachios was (short salami I make for tracking weight and to use up most of the leftover mince), it is the peeling I am seeing through the casing that looks dark-almost black. Next time I will remove them just for better visual appeal as I see now that they are removed when including pistachios in Mortadella. I believe I will be OK. Color formation looks great with the flavor of Italy culture. Next salamis I make, I think I'm going to play around with the other cultures I purchased just to become familiar with them. But so far I do like the Flavor of Italy for it's reliability as someone new to salami making.
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by redzed » Sun Jan 10, 2021 19:06

I've never made salami with pistachios so I cant comment from experience, but I don't think it should make that much difference whether they were with or without the skin. Might affect the visual result but not the taste. Ine thing that it is always recommended is that nuts should be toasted when used in salami. The six grams of sugar added to your salami with Flora Italia more than likely dropped your pH to about 4.8. Did you test it after the 31 hours?
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sun Jan 10, 2021 23:04

Thanks for posting redzed. About the pH testing...

Still new to this salami making endeavor. The mince I saved and wrapped in cling wrap was a small piece relative to the diameter of the stuffed 65mm casings. I was testing the sample and it never occurred to me the lag phase might be longer for the salamis. I pulled the salamis out of my fermentation can when pH got to 5.19 in the sample. I think I may have hung them in the chamber prematurely before fermentation was complete. I took the small chub and speared it with the pH probe to test it, pH is only down to 5.45. Chamber is running 54*-75*F and RH is set around 82.5%. The salamis have lost around 9% weight as of now. Do you think pH will slowly continue to fall.
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by redzed » Sun Jan 10, 2021 23:10

How long has it been in the chamber and at what temp?
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Re: Ok...educate me on adding nuts, citrus zest, etc,,,

Post by Indaswamp » Sun Jan 10, 2021 23:14

this would be day 10... that was a typo in my previous post...chamber has been running 54-57*F
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