Microbiological and biochemical changes during ripening of salchichon, a Spanish dry cured sausage

Development of the microflora and changes in the lipid and protein fraction s during the ripening of salchichon, a kind of Spanish dry cured sausage, w ere studied A commercial mixture of Pediococcus pentosaceus and Micrococcus varians was used as starter culture. Total aerobic bacteria, lactic acid b acteria, Micrococcaeae, Staphylococcus aureus, Entero-bacteriaceae, sulphit e reducer Clostridium, yeasts and moulds were determined The sarcoplasmic a nd myofibrillar solubility, denaturation and proteolysis index, parameters related to fat stability and the free fatty acid composition were analysed through out the curing process: after mincing, after the fermentation stage , after the 2nd week of drying and in the final product (4th week of drying ). The major changes in the characteristics of salchichon rook place during the fermentation stage. This was due to proteolysis and lipolysis phenomen a derived from high counts of lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcaeae in thi s stage. These changes were shown in the increase of the total free amino a cid content, the peroxide index and the carbonyl compound content, and in t he decrease of the protein solubility and the percentage of polyunsaturated free fatty acids, thus achieving the organoleptic characteristics of the f inal product. (C) 1999 Academic Press.