It also endows the meat with a distinct cured taste.ĭuring ages past, it has however not been nitrite that was added to meat to accomplish this, but its cousin, nitrate (NO3-). (1) Nitrite provides an indispensable hurdle against a particularly nasty food pathogen, clostridium botulinum. It will retain this colour for weeks and months if packed in the right conditions. (1) If one injects nitrite into the meat or rubs a mixture of salt and a small percentage of nitrite onto it, the meat will develop an appatizing reddish/ pinkish fresh meat colour (Hoagland, Ralph. Meat changes colour from the red fresh meat colour to an unappetising brown colour within days.

It is the essential ingredient in the meat curing process.

It is coloured pink to distinguish it from ordinary salt (sodium chloride). It is sold as Quick Cure or Insta’ Cure, Prague Salt, Prague Powder or simply Pink Salt or Curing Salt. The meat industry uses nitrite in the form of an ionic compound, sodium nitrite. Pork is changed into bacon by the reaction of nirtrite (NO2-).

One of the most amazing stories within the grand story of bacon, is the story of sodium nitrite. Everything about bacon is complex and beautiful. Neither the chemical reactions, nor the different mechanical processes are simple. This article is available for download in pdf: Concerning the direct addition of nitrite to curing brinesĬhapter 11.03: The Direct Addition of Nitrites to Curing Brines – the Master Butcher from PragueĬhapter 11.04: The Direct Addition of Nitrites to Curing Brines – The Spoils of Warīacon and the art of living is a study in the birth of the elements of bacon curing. Concerning the direct addition of nitrite to curing brine

Making saltpeter from chicken manure