Culinology - September 2017 - 7

E M E RGI NG trends

to the next LEVEL
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should always be considered," said
Michelle Wetzel, director of research
and development, meat seasonings,
Kerry, Beloit, Wis. "Consumers want
products with recognizable labels,
with pure and simple ingredients. If a
specific inclusion is listed on the label,
consumers want to be able to see and
recognize it in the final product."
The pH of the ingredients must also
be taken into account. Changes in
acidity may impact color, flavor and
texture. Another consideration is moisture. The movement of moisture can
go in both directions, inclusion to meat
matrix or meat matrix to inclusion. Too
much movement in either direction
results in product breakdown.
With some ingredients and manufacturing techniques, moisture is part
of the flavoring process. For example,
chefs for a long time have soaked
sausages in alcohols, wines and liquors to add flavor, according to Scott
Walnofer, director of culinary at Kerry.
"New-generation butchers are
bringing this technique back in a new
way," he said. "Combinations like
Riesling-soaked apricots or brandyspiked apples are making their way
into everyday retail sausages."
The moisture of cheese, in particular, may severely impact product
quality. But because cheese is a great
way to add flavor, color and even texture to sausages, it is an increasingly
common inclusion. Current clean-label
trends are to use natural cheese, as
it is minimally processed and typically
contributes very simple ingredients

to the final product, just milk, salt,
culture and enzyme. However, process cheese typically performs
much better in cooked sausages.

Taste rules
Consistency, taste and appearance are paramount in all foods,
sausages included.
"The key to deliver a good and tasty
sausage with inclusion mix is to have
an inclusion that has a consistent
taste, piece after piece, and
with a taste that is bold enough
to stand out against the rest
of the ingredients found in the
sausage," said Wayne Lutomski,
vice-president, international and
global ingredients, Welch's Foods
Inc., Concord, Mass. "Taste reigns.
Additionally, the inclusion's uniformity of size and an inclusion that
will not clump during processing of the sausage will make
sausage production much more
efficient and less costly. This
will ensure a quality product
sausage after sausage."
When it comes to sausage innovation, the sky's the limit. Doug
Sohn, founder of the now-closed
Hot Doug's, Chicago, said it well.
"If it can go through a blender,
it can go into casing and be
made into a sausage," he said.
"My approach to formulating
sausages is to take all of the
ingredients that go into a classic dish or entree and turn it into a
sausage." *

Craft sausage
companies
increasingly
offer a range of
inspired flavor
combinations,
antibiotic-free
meats and
individuallywrapped links.

SEPTEMBER 2017 | Culinolog y |

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