Sausage fermentation heavily relies on the existence of LAB (lactic acid bacteria) and benefits from it in many ways. Fermented sausages are produced in different countries with similar ingredients and procedures. To make sausages, usually, pork is chopped and mixed with salts and seasonings before fermentation. LAB plays an important role during fermentation and always shows up as the most dominant microbiota at the end of the ripening stage, even if LAB biodiversity differs in fermented sausage produced from different regions. More details are demonstrated in this article.
LAB can also compete with spoilage and harmful bacteria for nutrition during fermentation, performing biopreservation functions. The growth of harmful bacteria, such as Listeria monocytogenes, is inhibited by limited nutrition and antibiotic metabolites produced by LAB. The quality and shelf-life of fermented sausage benefit from LAB; however, LAB growth also depends on sausage sodium contents. It is suggested that low-sodium content fermented sausage promotes LAC growth during fermentation but might not be a good choice for long-term storage. There is a review for this.
LAB fermentation is expected to be related to four different flavor compounds, including 3-Hydroxy-2-butanoue, octanal, ethyl hexanoate, and ethyl heptanoate, based on the publishment. In other words, LAB plays an important role on sausage fermentation for generating special flavor.
What type of sausages do you like best? Why? Expect LAB, what other bacteria do you know are involved in sausage fermentation?
Image credit: Kate