Types and varieties of sausages: classification, taste characteristics and compliance with GOST requirements

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Sausages are a type of food made from s alted minced meat with spices and subjected to a certain heat treatment. Today there is a huge number of various types and varieties: boiled sausages, raw-smoked and boiled-smoked sausages. They differ not only in the method of processing, but also in the type and composition of raw materials, in the pattern of minced meat on the cut and type of shell, in nutritional value and quality, which, in turn, is determined by the color, taste and smell of the product.

A bit of history

The first mention of sausage was found in the annals of Ancient Greece, where it was about boiled or fried minced meat packed in pig stomachs. Gradually, the recipe for this dish spread throughout the world, as merchants and sailors would certainly take such sausage with them on distant wanderings. It was then that people noticed that a well-prepared dish can be stored for more than a year without losing its taste.

Sausage was also loved by the ancientsSlavs. They learned how to cook it no worse than other peoples. To prepare this dish, they used pork and beef giblets, which were densely stuffed with minced meat, lard, eggs, cereals and animal blood. Then the blanks were boiled and smoked over a fire.

In 1709, the first sausage factory appeared in Russia. By decree of Peter the Great, German meat specialists began to produce delicious sausages. Varieties, by the way, even then there were a lot. From that moment on, a fashion for sausage appeared in Russia, and today it is difficult to imagine life without this product. Modern butcher shops and supermarket departments are filled with a huge assortment of sausages, among which it is easy to find smoked, boiled, and dried varieties.

Classification

Depending on the composition and method of preparation, but regardless of the variety, sausages are divided into:

• smoked (semi-smoked, raw-smoked, boiled-smoked);
• boiled;
• stuffed;
• liver;
• sausages, sausages;
• sujuk;
• brawns and jelly;
• meat loaves;
• bloody.

Smoked sausages

These varieties of sausages contain the least amount of moisture. They have a pleasant taste and aroma and are stored longer. Semi-smoked products are nutritious because they contain a large amount of fat (about 40%). According to GOST, the recipe for premium sausages includes the addition of predominantly trimmed beef meat of the 1st grade, lean pork and pork fat orbrisket. For the manufacture of sausages of lower grades, the use of meat trimmings, pork and beef heads, protein stabilizer, starch or wheat flour is allowed.

Of course, the best sort of sausage (smoked or any other) is the highest. But others are in demand among the population. Consider a few items from each category:

• top grade - "Krakow", "Tallinn", "Ukrainian fried", etc.;
• 1 grade - "Odesskaya", "Ukrainian", etc.;
• 2 grade - "Lamb", "Polish", etc.;
• 3 grade - “Special” (made from head meat and offal).

All varieties of raw smoked sausages have a peculiar aroma and spicy-s alty taste. In the preparation of products of the highest grades, the best quality beef, lean pork, bacon or brisket are used. From spices, black and allspice, nutmeg or cardamom are usually added here. Cognac is added to some types of such sausages, Madeira is added to others.

The most common meat products of this type are:

• highest grade - "Grainy", "Pork", "Moscow", various servelats and salami, etc.;
• 1 variety - "Amateur".

Cooked-smoked and semi-smoked varieties of sausages have a mild and less spicy taste. Of the spices, garlic, pepper and nutmeg are usually used here. Among the sausages of this type, the most common are:

• highest grade - "Delicacy", "Rostovskaya", "Servelat" and "Moskovskaya";
• 1 variety - "Amateur", "Lamb".

Cooked sausages

Probably the most popular sausages in the world are boiled. They are made from s alted minced meat and boiled at a temperature of +80˚С, therefore, regardless of the variety, boiled sausages are not stored for a long time, because they contain a large amount of liquid.

According to GOST standards and the rules for conducting the technological process for the preparation of products of this type, the following ingredients should be used: pork and beef meat s alted for two days, bacon, tongues, milk and spices. At the same time, the meat is crushed and thoroughly mixed with the rest of the ingredients, the resulting mass is filled with a natural or artificial casing, boiled and then cooled.

Depending on the quality of the ingredients used, the prepared products are divided into:

1. Cooked sausage of the highest grade. For cooking, premium beef, lean pork, bacon and spices (nutmeg, pepper, cardamom, garlic) are used.
2. Boiled sausage of the 1st grade. According to the recipe, 1st grade beef, pork, bacon, vegetable protein, spices, s alt, garlic are used for the manufacture of such products.
3. Sausages 2nd grade. They include 2 grade beef, trimmings, pork, bacon, vegetable protein, flour, spices, garlic.

Assortment of premium products - low-fat sausages. The most popular here are "Doctor", "Milk", "Russian", "Veal" and many others.

Cooked sausages of the first grade are products such asOrdinary, Canteen, Ham, etc.

In the assortment of the 2nd grade, the most popular products are known as "Tea", "Youth" and others.

Stuffed

Stuffed sausages are considered elite boiled sausages of the highest grade. Such products have a delicate and refined taste. In addition, they are attractive due to the complexity of the special pattern that can be achieved through the use of a variety of ingredients: selected veal meat with the addition of lean pork, loose or crumbled bacon, blood mass, tongue, milk, butter, eggs and pistachios.

In appearance, these are very massive stuffed products. Varieties of boiled sausages of this type also include tongue products. According to GOST, the recipe for their preparation uses top-grade beef meat and boiled tongues, hard and semi-hard bacon, low-fat pork, s alt, sugar and spices.

Stuffed sausages can only be of the highest quality, as they contain the best quality ingredients. The manufacture of such sausages is entrusted only to experienced and skilled craftsmen. This is one of the most expensive types of sausages in the world.

Meat loaves

This type of sausage is prepared according to the recipes of the corresponding names of boiled sausages and baked in molds. In appearance, they resemble panned bread. Unlike the usual varieties of boiled sausages, the resulting products have a denser consistency. There are three types of meat loaves:

• highest (from minced meat forproducts of the highest grade) - "Custom" and "Amateur";
• 1 grade (from minced meat for sausage of the 1st grade) - "Ham", "Beef", etc.;
• 2 grade (from minced sausage 2 grade) – “Tea”.

Sausages, sausages, sausages

Another variety of boiled sausages. A distinctive feature of sausages and wieners is the absence of lard, the small shape and size of the bars. They are made from fresh, chilled, cooled or frozen meat. For premium products, fatty varieties of pork and beef are used, while pork sausages and sausages must contain only pork.

If chopped bacon and spices are added to minced meat, then this type of sausage is called spicachki. This dish came to Russia from Poland relatively recently, however, certain requirements are put forward for its production, reflected in the TU (technical conditions).

All meat products of this group are represented by two grades: the highest and the first. Gradation, as with other types of meat products, depends on the quality of the incoming ingredients.

Liver sausages

From beef and pork liver, kidney, lung and other offal, liver sausage is made. Most often, a natural casing is used, which is tightly stuffed with tender pasty minced meat. There are the following varieties of such sausages:

1. Higher - "Egg". Beef meat, beef liver, fatty pork, chicken eggs, wheat flour and spices are added to the composition of such a sausage.
2. 1 grade - “Boiled Liver”,“Ordinary”, “Smoked liver”, etc. Pork liver or beef and pork cheeks are used for cooking. According to GOST, it can be cooked or additionally smoked.
3. 2 grade - Liver with bacon. The composition of such a sausage may include meat, offal, chopped bacon and wheat flour.
4. 3 grade - "Liver vegetable" and "Liver boiled". Here, offal of a low category is used for cooking, and a lung is added instead of the liver. Such sausage can contain up to 20% boiled cereals or legumes.

Zeltsy

Made from pre-prepared, boiled and chopped offal. Cooked minced meat is stuffed into pork stomachs and boiled at a temperature of 80˚C, cooled and pressed.

Blood sausages

This type of sausage is made from bacon, pork and beef meat, offal and spices with the addition of defibrinated blood. They are distinguished by their darker color, the aroma of spices and the taste of blood.

There are four varieties of black pudding, differing in meat content, the presence of offal and flour:

• highest - "Blood Smoked", "Homemade";
• 1 grade - "Boiled", "Smoked", "Peasant";
• 2 grade - "Smoked";
• 3- grade - "Smoked vegetable", "Darnitskaya".

Sujuk

A type of lamb or beef sausage with beef or lamb fat. This product is not subjected to heat treatment asother sausages, but dried. Usually, sujuk contains a lot of spices and spices.

How to choose the right one

Today, the range of sausages presented in grocery stores is huge. And not always the marks "Extra", "Premium" or "Lux" indicate the good quality of the product. This often turns out to be a marketing ploy by the manufacturer.

The inscription GOST R 52196-2003 can tell you that you have a boiled product of good quality in front of you. It is equally important when buying boiled sausage, meat loaf, frankfurters, sausages and other sausages to pay attention to the presentation and expiration date of the goods.

Cooked sausages packed in natural casings have a shelf life of up to 5 days. Sausage packed in an artificial casing can be stored for up to 45 days under optimal conditions. If the shelf life does not match, it means that the manufacturer used synthetic additives in the manufacture of this product, which is a violation of the requirements of GOST.

It is worth noting that the surface of a quality product is always dry and clean, and the shell fits snugly against the meat loaf. Gray spots on the cut are a sign of a violation of the technological process of sausage preparation.

It is necessary to pay attention to the storage conditions of meat loaves. The optimum storage temperature for sausages and sausage products should not exceed +8 ˚С at a relative humidity of 75%.

If the taste of paper is felt during the consumption of the product, then this is an obviousa sign of the presence of a large amount of starch in it, which is a clear violation of state quality standards.

GOST for sausages: changes in recipes

According to unofficial statistics, only about 15% of meat and sausage products manufactured in accordance with generally accepted GOST requirements are present on the modern market. The rest of the products are manufactured according to specifications. Undoubtedly, this phenomenon is reflected in the quality of the products offered.

In fact, the composition of sausages does not always correspond to the ingredients specified in GOST. Often they contain fillers in the form of chicken fillet, potato starch, soy protein, flour or concentrated connective tissue proteins. The composition of some products does not meet the prescribed standards at all.

The quality of such products is determined by organoleptic and laboratory methods. Products should be allowed for sale, for which the indicators of laboratory tests, depending on the type of sausage, correspond to the permissible values:

• mass fraction of edible s alt varies between 1.5-3.5%;
• mass fraction of potato starch: in boiled sausages - from 1 to 3%, and in liver sausages - up to 5%;
• mass fraction of nitrites in boiled sausages - up to 0, 005%, in other sausages there should be no nitrites at all.