by Bruce Armstrong
Spices play a key role in creating a truly satisfying sausage product for today's sophisticated and discriminating consumers.
But many sausage processors don't know what is in their sausage seasonings. The spice and seasoning industry is still somewhat of a unknown trade to the industry because few sausage manufacturing people understand it.
Larger processors may have people that do, but not many medium-sized, privately held processors know the flavor profile of their products from the standpoint of spices.
There is also a hidden factor to complicate matters. Under the words "spices, flavors and extractives" on a label, anywhere from two to 12 items may be legally hidden under any of those words, which contain the flavor identity of a sausage product.
Most sausage manufacturers get premixed spices and seasonings in a bag from a supplier and have no idea what is in the bag. Not knowing what spices and seasonings are in their products can hurt them.
Baker's dozen of spices
The sausage industry uses a baker's dozen of spices which accounts for the flavor in 99 percent of all processed sausage products in the United States:
-- Coriander has a rose-like flavor. It is sometimes used as an alternative to nutmeg in franks and bologna.
-- Mustard is the No. 1 spice used in sausage. It has no flavor, but it is 29-percent protein.
A 1-percent usage of mustard in a frank or bologna emulsion saves the meat processor about 1 cent per pound of finished product because of the additional water that can be added.
-- Fennel has a licorice-like flavor. It is used in Italian sausage, pepperoni and other Italian-flavored meats.
-- Garlic has a strong odor and flavor. It provides the hearty taste in beef franks and Polish sausage.
-- Cumin has a heavy, and sometimes possibly objectionable flavor. It is usually associated with Tex-Mex meat products, chili powder and curry powder.
-- Sage has a aromatic, bitter flavor. It is often in fresh pork sausage.
-- Paprika has a sweet flavor, but in the meat industry, it is used exclusively for its red color.
-- Chili pepper has a sweet, pungent, slightly burnt flavor. It is associated with Tex-Mex products and is often used to darken products.
-- Nutmeg is dark and has a pungent flavor.
-- Mace and nutmeg come from the same tree. Both spices provide the flavor most associated with franks and bologna. Mace has a stronger flavor and lighter color than nutmeg.
-- Red pepper has a strong, biting, hot flavor that is not detected in the front of the tongue. It is used for its throat sensation (heat).
A small amount of red pepper will seem to make a seasoned product more flavorful. It is commonly used in a crushed form to aid visual appearance of a meat product.
-- Black pepper is used for its mouth sensation (heat) and pungent flavor.
-- White pepper has a less pungent flavor than black pepper. White pepper is used in meat products for the same reason as black pepper, but it does not have black specs.