Food Science and Technology

Food Processing - Meat

Sausage Making Lab

The students of the B.Sc. Food Processing - meat course demonstrated the theory they learnt on Sausage Making, under the guidance of Instructor Ms. Lesanne Quan Kep at the well-equipped lab.

Students were able to understand the role of protein, fat and water in meat processing and demonstrated the process in making sausages using synthetic cellulose casing.  They utilised Sausage Making equipment such as such as the Meat Grinder, Sausage Stuffer and Vacuum Sealer machines and were able to utilise two (2) different types of proteins to produce two (2) different types of sausages.

Students experimented first with lean protein using chicken breasts and were able to observe theory in action through the addition of cheese as a fat component in order to bind the lean protein. The product was filled into synthetic cellulose casing, which has its advantages of uniformity in size and weight; an important component for consistency. Students were also able to practice the art of stuffing sausages in the lab environment to produce the chicken, apple and cheese sausage which represented a "raw" or "fresh" category of sausage. During the cooking process, students learnt that synthetic casings need to be cooked at low temperatures, as well as the science behind heat expansion within synthetic casings and the need for venting to ensure even cooking and prevent sausages from bursting.

Secondly, students produced another category or sausage known as "pre-cooked - cooked" where the minced goat was precooked in geera (cumin) as a means of enhancing the flavour profile. Pushing the boundaries of local fare, this geera goat sausage surpassed expectations and provided students with the means to explore their creativity using the basic tenets of sausage making and local ingredients.

In this lab session, students were taught how to produce both the "fresh" and "precooked-cooked" sausages, without the use of any chemical stabilizers or additives including nitrites -anode to the clean eating trend of recent times.