Myth one. "Soy" and "paper"
The myth that instead of meat they put soy or even cellulose in sausages was dispelled by Roskachestvo’s testing of Molochny sausages from 40 manufacturers. Soy was found in only three samples, and there was no cellulose at all.
“To make sure of this, you need to read the composition on the label,” adds Irina Borisova, chief technologist of the company (which, according to Roskachestvo, as well as according to the ROMIR study, has one of the best “Milk” sausages). “The main ingredient will be listed first, that is, the one that the product contains the most, because all ingredients on the label are indicated according to the principle: from most to least.”
Question answer
Do I need to remove the film from sausages before cooking? By the way, according to Irina, it is important for the manufacturer to include the composition of the product on the label, because some ingredients (mainly spices) may be allergens. People suffering from allergies should see this and choose products that are safe for themselves.
Sausages according to GOST: what should be included
Anastasia Semenova
Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor
– The composition of sausages is subject to GOST 23670-2019 “Cooked meat sausage products. Technical conditions". This document includes requirements only for several types of sausages, which are divided into two categories: category A - “Beef”, category B - “Cream”, “Amateur”, “Dairy”, “Russian”, “Special”.
For information
Category A means that the mass fraction of muscle tissue in the recipe of a cooked sausage product must be more than 60.0%.
Category B – mass fraction of muscle tissue from 40.0 to 60.0% inclusive.
The category indicates the nutritional value of the product, since muscle tissue is the most valuable component of meat for our nutrition. The more muscle tissue in the product, the more complete protein and essential amino acids. Next we tell you what sausages are made from, depending on the category.
Important!
GOST regulates the content of protein, fat, salt and food additives in sausages, such as food phosphates (E450, E451) and sodium nitrite (E250).
More about phosphates
– Food phosphates are mainly acidity regulators. Their addition allows you to stabilize the pH of the minced meat and ensure stable quality of the sausage product, explains Anastasia Semenova
. – For example, the addition of phosphates reduces the risk of separation of fat and broth under the sausage casing and allows you to obtain a product with a homogeneous structure, without broth and fatty edema. However, from a medical point of view, too much phosphorus intake from food is not recommended. Phosphorus should be supplied in the diet along with calcium, in approximately equal quantities.
What does the term "nitrite salt" mean?
“In recent years, buyers can see the words “nitrite salt” or “nitrite-curing mixture” in the composition of sausages, explains Anastasia Semenova
. – This is table salt containing no more than 0.9% of the color fixative sodium nitrite. It is intended only for the production of sausages. Previously, industry allowed the use of sodium nitrite in the form of a 2.5% solution. Currently it can only be used in the form of nitrite salt. This is done so that there is not the slightest risk of adding more sodium nitrite by mistake than allowed. The concentration of nitrite in nitrite salt is chosen so that if you add more than necessary, the product will immediately turn out to be overly salty. Each batch of manufactured products undergoes an organoleptic assessment, so an overdose of sodium nitrite is excluded.
Sodium nitrite, which is contained in salt, is completely consumed during the production of sausages to form the color and aroma of the finished product. At the same time, it ensures the microbiological safety of raw materials during salting: it suppresses the development of unwanted microorganisms and inhibits the formation of toxins. Sodium nitrite also protects minced meat from oxidation.
In finished sausage products, nitrite can be present only in trace amounts (less than five thousandths of a percent), which are safe for human health. And recent medical research abroad suggests that meat products made with sodium nitrite are not only safe, but also beneficial for the elderly. It turns out that nitrite compounds in meat products can compensate for the lack of production of similar compounds in older people by beneficial intestinal microflora (in old age, the amount of such microflora decreases).
In order for the correct, harmless compounds to be formed from sodium nitrite, ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate is added to sausages. This is vitamin C, but it also has E-indexes, like other food additives: E300, E301. If you do not add E300 and E301, then carcinogenic substances - nitrosamines - can be formed from sodium nitrite. In Russia, the content of nitrosamines is strictly controlled. In this regard, Russia is ahead of many, even European countries, which do not exercise such control.
What shouldn't be in sausages?
Which sausages have less fat?
Scientists have found that consumers rate the most delicious cooked sausages as those with a fat content of 20 to 30%. This is not surprising, given that muscle tissue itself is tasteless, but when it contains fat, the taste, aroma, and consistency are impressive. The only thing that confuses me is the increased calorie content of the product. For those who count calories, the following information will be useful.
Beef sausages contain the least amount of fat – 16.0%. They are followed by “Creamy” – 19.0%. Further, “Special” and “Russian” – 25.0% each, “Dairy” – 28.0%. The highest fat content in “Amateur” is 30.0%.
GOST regulates the mass fraction of fat in each product name. The manufacturer is required to indicate the fat content per 100 g of product on the label. If sausages are sold by weight, then the consumer has the right to demand such information from the seller.
For reference: what kind of meat are sausages made from?
GOST contains requirements only for those product names to which it applies, clarifies Anastasia Semenova. – Manufacturers who produce sausages according to their own regulatory documents (TU, STO) do not have the right to produce products with similar GOST fantasy names (“Special”, “Russian”, “Amateur”). An exception is made only for names formed according to the recipe ingredient: “Beef”, “Creamy” and “Dairy”. However, in this case, “Beef” sausages must contain beef, “Creamy” sausages must contain cream, and “Dairy” sausages must contain milk. But their quantity is already set by the manufacturer, and in the composition of “Beef” beef must necessarily be in first place.
Hot ones taste better
Sausages are already a cooked product. All you need to do is heat them up, no need to cook them. However, when heated, sausages are much tastier and they become juicier.
“Before heating sausages, you need to pay attention to the casing,” advises Anastasia Semenova
. – If the sausages are in a plastic (polymer) artificial casing, then it must be removed before placing the sausages in a pan of water or, for example, in a microwave oven. If the sausages are in a natural intestinal casing or in an artificial collagen casing (unlike plastic, it adheres more firmly to the product, has a matte surface, and no printed information is applied to it), then they are not cleaned, but heated and consumed directly with the casing. Collagen is a protein that humans also need to build their own collagen and maintain their own cartilage, joints, tendons and ligaments in good condition.
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Myth two. Expensive ones are the same quality as cheap ones
Any housewife can doubt this - from her own experience. And here is the reasoned opinion of a professional - R&D technologist of the company Elena Klochkova :
“The price of sausages must be correlated with the price of meat - their main ingredient. If meat now costs an average of 300 rubles. per kilogram, then high-quality sausages cannot cost 100 rubles.” A pack of sausages weighing 500 g contains approximately 350 g of meat, and this is no less than 200-250 rubles per kilo of the finished product. So think several times whether to buy sausages for 100 rubles per kilogram.
Myth four. Quality depends on the shell
As you know, sausages are produced in natural casings, cellophane and polyamide. Some people think that higher quality contents are placed in a natural shell, while others prefer cellophane, which is easily removed.
Question answer
Should sausages be boiled before frying?
“The content is absolutely the same,” assures leading specialist of the quality control department Natalya Marshalkina .
“But the natural casing reveals the taste differently, so many people choose products in it. In addition, after cooking sausages in such a casing, when you bite into it, a characteristic crunch appears, which many people like. That, in fact, is the whole difference from sausages in cellophane.” But sausages in a polyamide casing have another significant feature. The fact is that sausages are subjected to short-term natural smoking. It has a bactericidal effect on the product and at the same time improves its organoleptic properties. This gives the sausages a golden color and a slightly thickened, beautiful crust on the surface. But the polyamide casing does not allow smoke to pass through, so products that have not been smoked are sold in such a casing. They differ in color, which remains a natural soft pink and does not contain a hint of smoke - especially for those who do not like it.
What kind of sausages can you eat on a diet?
Diet and sausages are quite compatible, but only if the product is of high quality and does not contain a lot of “chemicals”. This means that you will need to prepare it yourself.
Experienced chefs warn that the first home-made sausages will seem bland, and their color will be grayish-white due to the lack of dyes and flavor enhancers . But very quickly the taste buds adapt to the new product, and the body perceives it as a “delicacy”.
Homemade sausages
Chicken
This product has a low calorie content - only 102 kcal per 100 g; they can be included in the menu even for people with problems in the digestive system . Sausages are easy to prepare, you just need to follow the algorithm:
- Grind 500 g of chicken fillet (“white” breast meat) in a meat grinder with a fine mesh or blender until “threads” appear.
- Add 5 g of salt, 3 g of ground black pepper and 1 raw egg to the prepared minced meat, mix everything thoroughly until the mass is as homogeneous as possible.
- Take a baking sleeve and cut it to obtain a film in one layer.
- Place a portion of minced meat on the resulting oilcloth and wrap it, forming a sausage with your hands, and tie the sides with thread.
- After packaging, make several punctures in each sausage to allow steam to escape.
- Place everything in boiling water and cook for 20 minutes at a low simmer.
You can prepare such sausages for future use and freeze them, you can steam them, you can add a small amount of beetroot juice or ground paprika to the minced meat, then the product will acquire the usual pink color.
Watch the video about making homemade chicken sausages:
Chicken with offal
First, prepare minced chicken fillet by grinding the meat in a blender or meat grinder - you should get 500 g of mass as homogeneous as possible (almost raw pate). Chicken hearts and liver (250 g of each component) need to be finely chopped and added to the minced meat, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 5 tablespoons of low-fat kefir, salt and spices are added to taste. Mix the mass thoroughly and lightly “beat” it, throwing it from a height into a bowl or onto the table.
Next, you can prepare classic sausages in a natural or collagen casing or cling film. Some people put the mass in a silicone mold and bake it in the oven - you get a meat loaf, suitable for those who are in the process of actively losing weight. In any case, the cooking time (boiling, baking) is 20 minutes.
We recommend reading the article about smoked foods for weight loss. From it you will learn about the beneficial qualities and dangers of smoked products, which nutritionists allow you to eat when losing weight. And here is more information about meat for weight loss.
Sausages for weight loss are a convenient and tasty product that can be used as a snack or lunch. But it is better if they are prepared independently and eaten together with fresh or baked vegetables. But even if you really want “junk” food, then nothing bad will happen from 1-2 sausages, although it won’t improve your health.
Myth fifth. GOST is a guarantee. TU - fraud
For those who believe that products manufactured according to Technical Specifications (TU), and not according to GOST, cannot be of high quality, Dymov specialists cite as an example the results of the international competition for products of food industry enterprises “Quality Guarantee”. This year the company received a gold medal for its “Smoked Turkey,” which is manufactured according to specifications.
“The products according to the specifications are original,” says Irina Borisova. Technical conditions give the manufacturer, on the one hand, the opportunity to be creative. On the other hand, they allow us to produce certain products to suit the tastes of different groups of customers: some, for example, like it saltier, others prefer sweeter tastes.”
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