T-SPX and Fermento

[Dennis Bickers]

Do you suggest I use T-SPX and Fermento in all dry-cure recipe regardless if the recipe doesn’t call for it? What is a good guideline of when to use and when not to use. Thanks for any help.

[Jim]

Hi Dennis,

Welcome to the forum, we recommend T-SPX because in our experience it does a good job at relatively low temps like 70F, which is normal room temperature available to most people in their home.
We don’t have any experience using Fermento. My understanding is that Fermento is not a starter culture but rather cultured whey protein powder which is recommended for semi-dry sausages like summer sausage, etc.
Fermento is probably used for fast acidification to simulate the tangy flavor of fermented sausage without having to actually ferment the sausage. This is probably not an appropriate product for dry sausage.
Starter culture is used to ensure that dry sausage ferments properly and the ph of the meat drops into the safe zone to protect against the growth of pathogens during the drying period. It also adds a complex tangy flavor traditional to most dry salami products.

[Steve]

Just joined this forum to ask the same question except with Bactoferm F-RM-52.

I’ve been perusing Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn, and find they have a few recipes using F-RM-52. Would you suggest I use T-SPX as a straight replacement using your Salumi bags and technique?

[Jim]

as it turns out this question was discussed on this forum in the attached thread:
http://www.drybagsteak.com/forum/17-dry-aging-with-drybags/3799-bactoferm-t-spx-instead-of-bactoferm-f-rm-52

[Steve]

So, that’s more or less a yes for a substitute then. Difference being (for the most part) is that I will loose a little sourness

[Jim]

Yes, and T-SPX ferments better at lower temp.

[Steve]

One last question on using interchangeably. Ruhlman uses a whopping 10grams of Bactoferm F-RM-52 for 5# meat. In comparison with Umai recipes this is a lot of bactoferm. There’s also discrepancies between your recipes and what is recommended on the sleeve (recipes use 1/2tsp per 5# and the sleeve says 1/4tsp per 5#). Can you suggest the quantity of SPX is should use per pound or 5#?

[Jim]

Yes, the amount of starter culture is all over the place. The manufacturer says that the 25g packet is good for 200 kg (440 lbs) of meat.
This translates to about 18 lbs/ 1g. From this you can see that for 5 lbs you would use 0.27g 🙂 Which is as you may realize a ridiculously small amount to measure with any teaspoon.
You can not go wrong with using a little more culture to make sure it incorporates evenly into the meat. As for Ruhlmans Book asking for 10g (I should let them address the reason why they recommend using this much).
For us 1/2 tsp works well for 5 lbs. of meat.

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