Mediterranean vs northern European meat products. Processing technologies and main differences

The European Union (EU) meat industry mainly focuses its activity around the curing of pig meat. In Mediterranean countries the term ‘cured’ is usually applied to products which have undergone a long process of ripening, while in northern Europe products treated with nitrites are considered cured, although there are subtle differences which depend on the process of ripening. In this work the technological processes of curing normally used in the EU are described as a base for discussing the differences that exist between the techniques followed in the north of Europe and the Mediteranean region, and which perceptibly affect the sensorial characteristics of the products. The main differences are centered around dry-cured products, principally because of the diverse methods of curing and smoking in which concepts of preserving and the development of flavour are intimately connected. In the north of Europe, nitrite is used and smoking is considered an integral part of the curing process; in the Mediterranean regions nitrate and long ripening processes are used instead, and these differences are manifest in the sensorial characteristics of the products. Up to now, research has mainly focused around the effects of salt and nitrite as responsible agents in the development of cured meat flavour. Little attention has been paid to the effects of other components, like nitrate, and the microbial and muscular enzymatic systems, which constitute the flavour of dry-cured products. Therefore, further studies are required to evaluate the many factors that may contribute to the formation and differentiation of cured and dry-cured meat flavours.