Soppressata, prosciutto, and other meats; how is it safe?
Call me naive, but isn't this essentially uncooked meat? Reading how prosciutto is prepared now, and I don't see any cooking involved, just salting, pressing, and letting sit, sometimes for years. Leaving food out for years at a time should make it accrue mold or etc.
Why doesn't it go bad, and why is it safe to eat? This isn't just for prosciutto, but soppressata, capicola, and more.
FWIW, these are some of my favorite things to eat in or accompanying a sandwich. I just don't grasp how they don't make you sick as raw meat would.
Best Answer
Salting, fermenting and drying render these products safe. Always salting (including sodium nitrite, also known as pink salt) and always drying. This creates an inhospitable atmosphere for unsafe organisms. That would cover dried/cured meat products like prosciutto, pancetta or bacon. Most salumi are also fermented, which produces that pleasant, slightly sour taste...and further increases safety by creating an acidic environment.
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Quick Answer about "Soppressata, prosciutto, and other meats; how is it safe?"
Salting, fermenting and drying render these products safe. Always salting (including sodium nitrite, also known as pink salt) and always drying. This creates an inhospitable atmosphere for unsafe organisms. That would cover dried/cured meat products like prosciutto, pancetta or bacon.How safe are cured meats?
Cured meat is made via processes that remove moisture from the meat through osmosis which in turn draws out potentially harmful bacteria.How safe is prosciutto?
Prosciutto is made from high-quality pork legs. The meat is covered in salt and left to rest for a few weeks. During this time, the salt draws out blood and moisture, which prevents bacteria from entering the meat (and is why it's safe for us to eat it \u201craw\u201d).Is prosciutto a carcinogen?
In 2015, the WHO classified all processed meat as a carcinogen \u2013 including bacon, sausages, ham, prosciutto and salami.Can prosciutto make you sick?
Italian-style deli meats like salami and prosciutto have been linked to salmonella outbreaks across multiple states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned on Wednesday.Italian Cold Cuts and Salami EXPLAINED
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