Understanding mould on salami & cured meats
Mould glorious mould! It might sound strange, but it is a very important part of the process of making charcuterie…
Charcuterie, cheese and antipasti sharing board
MOULD FOR FLAVOUR
Not only does it add an unparalleled flavour to the salamis but it also helps protect them during the ageing process (similar to cheese). We deliberately cultivate a layer of white mould on the outside of our products. This helps with both flavour and the drying of the salamis.
AIR DRYING CHARCUTERIE
Making charcuterie involves curing and air-drying meat. Mould acts as a buffer against the outside air and makes sure salamis and chorizo dry at just the right speed. Without the mould there is a risk of the outside of the product drying too fast. Eventually it gets so hard that the middle cannot dry through the dry exterior (this is called case hardening). A slow drying process allows the flavour to develop and will give the charcuterie a wonderful depth of flavour.
FERMENTING
Our salamis and chorizos are fermented before being moved into a ‘moulding’ phase in our custom humidity and temperature controlled drying rooms. Mould is a very important part of the charcuterie process.
UNIQUE TO OUR DRYING ROOMS
The mould that we want on our salamis is Penicillium Nalgiovense and is completely harmless. We have cultivated this mould for nearly a decade at The Real Cure and so it is safe to say that our strain is unique to us. It adds it own unique flavour profile to British charcuterie.
Our mould is unique to The Real Cure’s ageing rooms which means you won’t taste our charcuterie anywhere else – it’s completely unique and our products, including Coppa, Bresaola, Salami, Chorizo and Nduja have received multiple Great Taste Awards as a result of this.
In this recipe
Stock your cupboard, ready to make this recipe. You can rest assured that we only use British free range pork, wild venison and grass fed beef in all of our great British charcuterie products. We believe our sustainable sourcing and traditional preserving methods make the best tasting charcuterie in the UK.
More about Us
About The Real Cure
We are an artisanal charcuterie producer based in Dorset, delivering our British charcuterie to your doorstep. We also run charcuterie courses and provide our award-winning charcuterie to trade suppliers including delis, farmshops, pubs and restaurants.