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Salting changes the texture and moisture content of cured foods. All food cells are filled with water. Salt and water are both polar molecules, which means they are potentially attracted to one another. When they are mixed together, it is inevitable that some of the water is going to bind with some of the salt. In this way, salt draws water out of food, dehydrating it. Since microbes that cause spoilage need water to live, they are destroyed in the process. Likewise, the salt-cured food becomes a less hospitable spot for the growth of harmful (or toxic) bacteria. Cured foods may be stored without refrigeration for weeks or months. Salt curing also makes foods texturally denser and more concentrated in flavor. In meats, curing breaks down and tenderizes tough protein fibers, resulting in, for example, the compact yet tender texture of dry-cured prosciutto.

Cures for meat traditionally contained potassium nitrate (saltpeter) or sodium nitrate (Chile saltpeter or Peru saltpeter), which morphs into potassium or sodium nitrite during curing. This conversion from nitrate to nitrite is a time-release function, giving the cure time to slowly work its way deep into meats. For briefer cures when nitrate’s time-release effect is not needed, sodium nitrite curing salts are used. In both instances, nitrite helps delay spoilage, especially from anaerobic bacteria, and it sets the red pigment in meats into the permanent rosy pink of cured ham, corned beef, and hot dogs. Nitrite and nitrate salts are both toxic: curing is the art of using this toxicity to kill bacteria without harming the eater.

The inclusion of nitrite in cures used to be ubiquitous because it was the only form of salt that inhibited the growth of dangerous bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. Because C. botulinum only produces toxins in anaerobic environments, it is not a hazard in cured meats other than very large dense hams and dry-aged meats in casings such as some sausages. Most cured meats (bacon, hot dogs, bologna) can be made nitrate-free without sacrificing safety, though they will lack the bright color and tang of traditionally cured meat. When nitrites interact with the amino acids in meats in our stomachs or in high-heat cooking, potentially carcinogenic nitrosamines are formed. However, during curing most of the nitrite breaks down to nitric oxide, a harmless chemical found naturally in the body.

Curing salts today are made primarily of sodium chloride, with a small percentage of nitrite and nitrate salts added. Prague powder #1 (also called Insta Cure No. 1 or simply pink curing salt), for example, contains 93.75 percent sodium chloride and 6.25 percent sodium nitrite, a ratio of about one ounce per pound. (A touch—0.004 percent—of FD&C Red #40 is added for color, and less than 1 percent sodium carbonate may be added as an anticaking agent.) Both #1 and #2 curing salts are tinted pink to ward off accidental consumption, which is why they are sometimes collectively called pink salt, sel rose, or, less romantically, tinted curing mixture (TCM).

Prague powder #1 is used to cure all meats that require cooking, smoking, or canning. This includes poultry, fish, ham, bacon, luncheon meats, corned beef, pates, and other products too numerous to mention. It is commonly used in wet cures (brines), and is the most commonly used curing salt. Prague powder #2 is also called Slow Cure because it is specifically formulated to be used for making dry-cured products, such as pepperoni, hard salami, Genoa salami, prosciutto hams, dried farmers sausage, capicola, and more. Every pound contains one ounce of sodium nitrite, and also ⅔ ounce sodium nitrate.

The tangy flavor of cured meats is, in part, the taste of nitrite, but the powerful flavors associated with curing are also products of the natural aging processes that happen over time. As food sits in a cure, enzymes inside the cells of the food break down protein into savory amino acids (like meaty-tasting glutamic acid), and fats into flavorful compounds that range from floral