Curing salt

Not to be confused with pickling salt.

Curing salt

Curing salts are used in food preservation to prevent or slow spoilage by bacteria or fungus. Generally they are used for pickling meats as part of the process to make sausage or cured meat. Curing salts are generally a mixture of table salt and sodium nitrite. They usually contain sodium nitrite which serves to inhibit the growth of bacteria, specifically Clostridium botulinum in an effort to prevent botulism, and helps preserve the color of cured meat. Many also contain red dye that makes them pink to prevent them from being confused with common table salt. Curing salts are not to be confused with Himalayan pink salt, which is pure salt with trace elements that give it a pink color.

Types

There are many types of curing salts often specific to a country or region.

Prague Powder #1

One of the most common curing salts. It is also called Insta Cure #1 or Pink curing salt #1. It contains 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% table salt. It is recommended for meats that require short cures and will be cooked and eaten relatively quickly. Sodium nitrite provides the characteristic flavor and color associated with curing.

Prague Powder #2

Also called Pink curing salt #2. It contains 6.25% sodium nitrite, 4% sodium nitrate, and 89.75% table salt. The sodium nitrate found in Prague powder #2 gradually breaks down over time into sodium nitrite, and by that time a dry cured sausage is ready to be eaten, no sodium nitrate should be left. For this reason it is recommended for meats that require long (weeks to months) cures, like hard salami and country ham.

Saltpetre

Another name for potassium nitrate, saltpetre has been a common ingredient of salted meat since the Middle Ages, but its use has been mostly discontinued due to inconsistent results compared to more modern nitrate and nitrite compounds. Even so, saltpetre is still used in some food applications, such as charcuterie. It should not be confused with Chile saltpetre or Peru saltpetre, which is sodium nitrate.

See also

• List of dried foods