Drying characteristics were evaluated for summer sausages (50% beef, 50% pork) prepared with three meat particle sizes obtained through grinding variations. Increases of chemical components (protein, fat, ash, salt, lactic acid) during 45 days of drying were dependent on the rate of moisture removal from sausages. Summer sausage produced with a 9-mm grinder plate for the pork and a 6-mm plate for beef (9-6 grinding combination) had a 34% shrinkage at 45 days, whereas sausages of a 3–6 and a 6-6 grind combination had shrinkages of 37% and 40%, respectively. The rate of moisture removal for an all beef summer sausage was lower for larger diameter sausage when 52, 62, and 73 mm sizes were compared. Moisture content of the outer one-third radius portion of the sausages was 5 to 7% lower than the moisture content of the inner two-thirds radius portion from 5 days through 45 days of drying. Both types of summer sausages (beef-pork and all beef) having greater than 1.2 kg/cm2 of shearing force were generally of poor eating and slicing quality because of the dried fibrous condition of the meat.

Beef summer sausages were fermented to pH endpoints ranging from 5.5 to 4.6. A nonfermented sausage of pH 5.9 served as control. Fermentation time requirements using a frozen concentrate of Pediococus cerevisiae ranged from 7–8 h (pH 5.5) to 19–21 h (pH 4.6). Water holding capacities (WHC) of sausage mixes during the fermentation phase rapidly decreased as sausage pH decreased, reaching a minimum at pH 5.2. An increase in WHC from pH 5.2 to pH 4.6 was attributed to the combined effect of pH reduction and remaining functional protein. Bacterial counts (total viable and lactic bacteria) showed a stepwise increase from 2.4 × 108 cells/g (lactics) to 6.6 × 108 cells/g (lactics) during fermentation. Reductions of bacterial counts during heat processing appeared dependent on the sausage pH and phase of bacterial growth. Compositional changes (fat, protein, ash, salt, lactic acid) during the drying phase were significantly correlated to moisture loss of the sausages. Within drying intervals (days), sausages of pH groups 5.9 and 5.5 had significantly less weight loss and required lower shearing force when compared to pH groups 4.8 and 4.6. For summer sausages examined at 20 days of drying, panelists rated higher preference and “tanginess” scores as sausage pH decreased.

The relationship between filtration rate and the resultant green body microstructure was examined for aqueous alumina slips cast at two different deflocculation states. The volume loading of both slips was 40%. Slip viscosities of 500 and 60 mPa.s were produced by different tetrasodium pyrophosphate additions. The filtration rate of these slips varied by a factor of 2; however, mercury porosimetry results showed the same average pore size for both samples. Single and multiple small-angle neutron scattering results showed the specimen cast with the higher-viscosity slip to possess a bimodal pore size distribution. The body cast with the lowviscosity slip showed unimodal porosity and, consequently, the filtration is attributed to the toroidal region between the packed particles. These results showed that mercury porosimetry does not provide a pore size that predicts filtration behavior of slips with different degrees of dispersion.

S Turkey sausage mixes utilizing breast, thigh and skin tissues were inoculated with either lyophilized or frozen concentrate starter cultures of Pediococcus cerevisiae. Main phases of production were examined to determine where and at what rate compositional, microbial and physical changes occur. Fermentation of the sausages was more rapid with the frozen concentrate (6–8 hr lag phase) than with the lyophilized culture (12–14 hr lag phase), as determined by the rates of pH reduction and lactic acid production. The sausage meat waterholding capacity during fermentation using either culture form showed a minimum at pH 5.0, the approximate isoelectric point of major muscle proteins. During heat processing to 71°C internally, counts of total viable bacteria and lactic acid bacteria were reduced by 5 log cycles. Changes in concentrations of chemical components (protein, fat, moisture, salt) and shear force values during the drying phase were highly correlated with the amount of shrinkage and moisture removed. A semidry product was attained in 10–12 days.