Servelat "Finnish": composition, GOST. Meat-packing plant "Ostankino"

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

The phrase "servelat" Finnish "probably causes a slight nostalgia among many residents of the former USSR.

Desired Soviet product

In the eighties of the last century, the majority of the inhabitants of the Soviet Union associated happiness with certain attributes, the presence of which implied the achievement of a certain degree of well-being by a person.

One of these attributes, of course, was the "Finnish" serverat, the presence of which at the table spoke of prosperity in the family. They always tried to save it for some holiday: May Day, New Year, family celebration, etc.

In those days, this type of sausage produced in Finland was very high quality and expensive. However, given the special relationship with this country, the trade representatives of the Soviet Union managed to acquire a serverat, the price of which was quite acceptable. Its purchases were made in huge volumes, immediately for the whole five-year period.

Historical background

Servelat all over the world is called delicious varieties of dry smoked sausage,for the manufacture of which veal, pork, horse meat or rabbit meat was used.

The term is taken from the lexicon of the German-speaking Swiss. A similar word is translated from Italian or French as "brain".

About five centuries ago, Milanese merchants used the word zervelada to call sausage with meat.

The very first recipes for its manufacture used pork, lard, cheese with the addition of exotic spices: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves.

Swiss Servelat Roots

Today the Swiss Servelat has worldwide fame and reputation. It differs in a rounded shape, a certain diameter of the shell, which is produced from the best bovine intestines. Brazilian bulls are considered ideal, as their guts allow you to get moderately smoked products, the skin of which crunches perfectly on your teeth.

This product in Switzerland is considered a "symbol of the identity of the nation", it can be found in the List of culinary heritage of this country. For its production, ice, seasonings, bacon, cracklings and beef are used. It is said to have an original, "perfectly curved shape" and a flavor referred to as "moderately smoky".

This is a traditional treat during the Carnival "Fastnacht", forever included in Swiss folklore.

Servelat "Finnish" according to Soviet standards

In the Soviet Union, the release of any product was strictly regulated. The manufacturing process, and then the manufactured finished product, must bewere tested.

According to Soviet standards, servelat (GOST 16290-86) was supposed to consist of one-fourth of beef (highest grade), one-fourth of pork (low-fat parts) and half of the fatty parts of pork, for example, could be used pork breast.

In addition, the recipe included a set of spices, consisting of s alt, sodium nitrite, sugar, ground black or white pepper, ground cardamom or nutmeg.

The shell was made dry, elastic, strong, without mold. She had to fit snugly into the stuffing.

Cutting the servelat loaf, one could see that it has a uniform color both in the center and along the edges, near the shell. The sausage had an elastic texture, was necessarily dense, and not loose. There should be no gray spots or extraneous inclusions on the cut.

GOST provided for the shelf life of this type of sausage - within thirty days, subject to the temperature regime: not lower than zero and not higher than plus four degrees Celsius. At the same time, the ambient air should have a relative humidity of 75 to 78 percent.

Today's servelat

Today, servelat for the bulk of the buyer is a boiled-smoked sausage of reliably high quality.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in Russia, some manufacturers began to produce varieties of sausage according to the recipe of servelat, for example, Ostankino, a meat processing plant with a reputation for its reputation, still produces this variety with success.

It is noteworthy that some sausage manufacturers sometimes go to the trick, they produce more than one variety of boiled-smoked servelat at once, giving one the name simply "Servelat", another - "Finnish Servelat" and so on. Usually this is just a marketing ploy, since this does not affect the essence of the sausage in any way.

All these are varieties of boiled-smoked sausages, somewhat different in their composition. Distinctive features of servelat are the presence of fine grain, pleasant taste and good aroma.

In April of this year, on the "First Channel" of the central television in the "Control Purchase" various varieties of boiled-smoked sausages from various manufacturers were investigated. Among others, the Finnish (Ostankino) cervelat was studied, which proved to be quite good.

In the process of transmission, the opinion of both ordinary buyers and expert experts was voiced, but no one indicated any similarity between the current samples and the "Finnish" cervelat of the Soviet period.

The only thing that was voiced was the desire to see fat in this product in pieces no larger than three millimeters.

About the recipe

Today, various manufacturers can slightly change the formulation of their products, according to the specifications approved for them.

For example, the Grodno Meat Processing Plant produces "Finnish Servelat Lux", consisting of pork, beef, side fat,table food iodized s alt, curing-nitrite mixture and food additives.

Firma Mortadel, located in the Moscow region, produces "Finnish Servelat", the composition of which is slightly different from the above. In addition to beef, bacon and pork, it contains additives from animal protein, milk powder, s alt, starch, spices and spices.

Zhupikov LLC, a Tambov meat processing plant, in the production of this type of sausage adds a set of powdered milk, s alt, sugar and natural spices to beef, pork and bacon.

Reviews about the "Finnish" servelat meat processing plant "Ostankino"

There are a lot of reviews about this product on Internet sites. It is noted that its price is quite high, but this is fully justified, since eating it is a real pleasure.

This type of sausage with the yellow Ostankino logo is positively reviewed. This meat processing plant has its own history. His products have always been in demand among the most sophisticated consumer.

This type of sausage with a light brown skin has a pleasant smell. It looks very impressive and attractive in cutting. Spices are added in sufficient quantity, in moderation. No unnecessary impurities are felt.

In addition to beef, there is pork in the composition, bacon is present in the form of well-chopped pieces.

It is curious that servelat loaves are sold in grams for two hundred less than a kilogram, so subconsciously it seems that the cost of the product is less.