Ingredient
Sugars
Also known as Sucrose, Lactose, Maltodextrin, Table sugar
The sweeteners used in curing, from dextrose to sucrose and lactose, that feed fermentation, round off salt and aid browning.
Sugars do several quiet jobs in curing. They feed the lactic bacteria in a ferment, and the choice of sugar shapes how fast and how far the pH falls, since the bacteria take dextrose readily but other sugars more slowly. They soften the edge of the salt, they support browning and colour, and they carry flavour. Dextrose is the curesmith's usual first choice for fermentation and has its own entry; sucrose, lactose and the maltodextrins each behave a little differently.