Use of vacuum impregnation in food salting process

Salting is an ancient preservation method, usually used separately or in co mbination with other processes such as air drying and pH lowering. Traditio nal salting processes are divided into brining and dry salting, each of the m specifically applied for particular products. In this work, the use of br ine vacuum impregnation (BVI) instead of dry salting or brine immersion (BI ) at atmospheric pressure is discussed. The influence of different process variables (length of vacuum pressure period, temperature, sample structure and dimensions) is analysed, in terms of kinetic data and process yields, f or meat (ham and tasajo), fish (salmon and cod) and cheese (Manchego type c heese). In general, BVI processes imply a notable reduction of salting time , increasing the process yields in line with the greater values of the rati o salt gain to water loss. Likewise, samples lose natural gas or liquid pha ses entrapped in their structure and reach a flatter salt concentration pro file than that obtained in the conventional salting methods. (C) 2001 Elsev ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.