Michael seems to use this "pink salt" which is some sort of salt combined with sodium nitrite (or is it sodium nitrate? I never had either a decent chemistry or physics course, not that this is physics...). I think it's sodium nitrite, and I think I had some of it years ago when I tried to make the jambon persillee, and cured pork for it. Pretty certain I threw the stuff out, though.
Is it possible to find things like pork belly in central Kentucky? We'll see...
I think you all should check out his blog and give him a hard time. I suspect that he's going to cause me a great deal of work, if not grief...
Cheers, Lillie
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Pink Salt (which goes by many names) is 6.25%wt sodium nitrite.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alliedkenco.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/230
Both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate are used in curing; the difference is in, I believe, how the cured product is held (room temp vs. cold) but McGee is a much better source for this than my memory before coffee.
Jambon Persilée is on my list of things to try. Something about chopped meat in jelly is appealing. I want to singlehandedly bring back aspic. Not sure why.
"the difference is in, I believe, how the cured product is held"
ReplyDeleteWell, there should be some sort of chemical difference too, since one is an -ite and one is an -ate, but thanks to the most horrific of Organic Chem teachers ever -- such a shame as I actually liked the subject -- I've blocked all that from my memory.
But the difference isn't just in how the cured product is held.
(Sorry, I had to give him a hard time myself...)
Well, Christine, you're way ahead of me. I had a very lousy chemistry course in high school and that was sophomore year and I learned essentially nothing. I think it could be fascinating, but will probably never find out
ReplyDeleteOK. I admit I Bing-ed it. Nitrates have 3 oxygen atoms attached to the nitrogen, while nitrites have 2. But we're no farther than we were, since we don't know how that affects curing meats. I'm guessing Christine is right, though - it's more than how the cured product is held. McGee and coffee would probably provide an answer, as Michael suggests.
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