How to Choose a Quality and Tasty Sausage: 14 Signs of a Good Product

Sausage is a very frequent guest on the table of Ukrainians. The choice of sausage in the store should be approached carefully to ensure that the product is of high quality and has a good composition.

How to choose a quality sausage – signs of a good sausage

• Don’t chase the low prices. A good sausage cannot be cheaper than meat, because it is made up of meat.
• If it says “made according to GOST” on the front of the package, it may be a marketing ploy.
• The production standards should also be indicated on the back. In this case, doctor’s sausage can not be made according to GOST, because it does not contain such a variety.
• Pay attention to the composition of the sausage. It is acceptable to have only meat, lard, spices, and sodium nitrite (antibacterial additive). Meat must be in the first place in the composition. It should not just be “pork” or “poultry meat”, but grade meat.
• A quality sausage should not contain complex food additives, carrageenan, gum, starch, and soy. Such ingredients indicate that the manufacturer has saved on meat.
• If the composition indicates “animal protein” without specifying the type of meat – such a sausage is better not to buy. This phrase most likely refers to skin, gristle, veins, and other meat waste.
• Mechanically deboned meat is another reason not to buy. It is obtained by grinding the whole carcass of the chicken along with the bones, skin, and connective tissues.
• Monosodium glutamate or E621 in sausage indicates a questionable composition. A good sausage does not need this additive.
• The very bright color of a sausage is a red flag. Natural sausage should have a gray color. On the contrary, dried sausages should have a rich dark color, indicating the presence of horsemeat or beef.
• The casing of the sausage should fit tightly to the product and should be flat (except for smoked sausage – its surface is wrinkled).
• Sausages and sausages of low quality are usually packed in inedible casings, and high-quality sausages – are in a casing of cellulose and protein. But it depends on the producer.
• A white coating on raw sausage and raw smoked sausage is allowed. There are also certain types of sausages with noble mold. In other cases, you should not buy sausage with plaque.
• If the composition of the sausage is written small and illegible, and it is difficult to read – it is better not to take such a product. Producers of good sausages have nothing to hide in the composition.
• If there is lard in a sausage – it should be white in color, without yellowing.
• The quality of cooked sausage can be checked at home with iodine. If you drop a little iodine on the sausage and the spot turns blue, there is too much starch in the sausage. On a quality, sausage iodine will remain brown.

How to replace sausage

• Homemade sausage is a tasty and nourishing substitute for store-bought. It is made from your favorite meat and bacon, and the casing used pork intestines. You need a meat grinder with a special attachment to make it.
• If you want something less caloric and more dietary – make homemade sausages. They are made only from chicken fillets, eggs, and milk, and do not require additional appliances. Such sausages can be given even to children.
• Bologna, chinca, smoked chicken, and carbonated are good substitutes for sausage, which is definitely made from meat.