Abstract
No standard technologically based manufacturing method exists for dry, fermented, spicy Turkish style sausage (soudjouk) and current techniques yield techniques yield unacceptable, mostly rancid and putrid products with high levels of residual NO3 and NO2. A standard method of soudjouk processing was developed. Three different starter cultures (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. plantarum+Micrococcus aurantiacus, L. plantarum+M. aurantiacus+Debaryomyces hansenii) were added to the soudjouk mixture and ripened at three different temperatures (12–14, 16–18 and 20–22°C). The addition of mixed cultures significantly reduced the residual NO3 and NO2 levels, increased the lipid soluble carbonyl levels, and produced low thiobarbituric acid values in the ripened soudjouks. For better quality characteristics, addition of D. hansenii is advisable and a ripening temperature of 20‐22°C should be used.