Salty flavour in bacon

Abstract

Abstract The flavour of bacon is usually much less salty than would be expected on the basis of the salt‐content. This is expressed by an “availability index” which is the ratio of the salty flavour observed, to that of a solution containing the same percentage of salt as the bacon, reckoned on fresh weigh. The availability index seems to be an expression of the muscular structure, since it is similar in symmetrical pairs of muscles on opposite sides of a pig, and is largely independent of the quantity of salt added to the meat. Because the availability increases with juiciness, it is suggested that the intensity of salty flavour depends on the speed at which salt is liberated in the mouth on chewing bacon. Juiciness increases with decreasing p H in muscles; hence the availability of salt increases with acidity in bacon. A bacon of p H 6·2 might perhaps contain twice as much salt as one of p H , 5·3, without tasting more salty. Besides the p H , other characters such as toughness are probably involved.