Abstract
The color of dry-cured meat products produced by the addition of nitrite or nitrate is determined by nitrosylmyoglobin, a nitrite oxide complex of myoglobin in its iron(II) form that is very sensitive to light in the presence of oxygen. For nitrate-cured products, nitrate reduction is mediated by microbial enzymes. In contrast, color formation in nitrite-cured meat is less dependent on microbial activity and may be characterized as "purely chemical," including the final reduction of nitrite to nitric oxide by endogenous reductants. In traditionally dry-cured meat products, produced without the addition of nitrate and nitrite, other pigments determine color. Zinc protoporphyrin IX is formed in a slow metal-exchange process according to the muscle enzyme, with ferrochelatase requiring longer product maturation, as has been recognized for Parma and some Iberian hams. Alternative methods for obtaining meat products of stable color without the use of nitrite or nitrate are of continuing interest in the meat industry, including in relation to the growing market for organically produced foods.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of fermented meat and poultry |
| Editors | Fidel Toldrá, Y. H. Hui, Iciar Astiasarán, Joseph G. Sebranek, Règine Talon |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Publication date | 31 Dec 2014 |
| Edition | 2 |
| Pages | 195-205 |
| Chapter | 23 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781118522691 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781118522653 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2014 |