Additives & Ingredients

Most Additives used in sausage & jerky making are not spices and do not do necessarily "Season The Meat". They usually perform a function such as retaining color or moisture. They can also protect meat from bacteria while smoking or drying. However, some additives such as cures do affect taste and color to a degree.
Additives are also used to improve food by:

• Improving the keeping quality of a food by making it last longer on the shelf or in the fridge, Cures are used, for example, prevent the growth of bacteria. Binders are used to stop food from drying out.
• Improving to the taste and the appearance of foods by using enhancing flavors and colors.

Another benefit of food additives is that consumers can be offered a wider choice of foods. Many processed foods contain additives. Some common examples are bacon, margarine, ice cream and bread.

Some people believe that because food additives are chemicals they should be banned. However, everything in the world, including the food we eat and our bodies, is made of chemicals. Air, water, glucose and salt are chemicals in the same way that food additives are.

Many food additives occur naturally, such as red color from beetroot (Beet red), and purple color from grape skins (anthocyanins). These colors can be extracted and added to foods.

Some food additives found in nature can be manufactured, for example, ascorbic acid. Other additives are manufactured but not found in nature, such as aspartame, which is used to replace sugar.

Always follow the directions provided and do not add more than directed.

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