What are the Special Qualities of Natural Casings
We feel strongly that Natural Casings are the sausage makers' Best Choice because:- Natural Casings readily permit deep smoke penetration
- Natural Casings have excellent characteristics of elasticity and tensile strength, to allow for high efficiency production and expansion during filling
- Natural Casings protect the fine flavor of sausage, without contributing any conflicting flavorings of their own
- Natural Casing Sausage has that special "snap" and tender bite that's like no other man-made product, and is so highly demanded by today's knowledgeable consumers
- Sausage in Natural Casings stays tender and juicy
- The osmotic quality of Natural Casings permits superb cooking
- The term "Natural" is, and continues to be, one of the most powerful words influencing consumers' buying decisions.
For Sausage Makers, these characteristics yield high quality products that are uniform in flavor. For Retailers, the endothermic quality of Natural Casings means that the casing draws heat from the sausage and cools it below the temperature of surrounding air, providing better shelf-life and maintaining a juicier, fresher appearance. For Consumers, the osmotic quality allows an intermingling of flavors inside and outside the sausage while sizzling in the skillet. It also allows the wonderful scent of fine sausage to enhance appetite appeal, whether cooking in a skillet, under a broiler, or over an open flame on the barbecue grill.
Other less well known characteristics of Natural casings are:
- Superior tensile strength enables maximum yields
- Sausage in Natural Casings has a well-filled appearanc
- Natural Casing Sausages have a fine appearance at link ends
- A variety of product shapes contribute to an inviting appearance, and give sausage in Natural Casings strong display appeal
Natural Casings (a definition): Natural Casings are made from the submucosa, a largely collagen layer of the intestine. The fat and the inner mucosa lining are removed. Since small intestines are collagen in nature, they have many of the same characteristics common to all types of collagen, particularly the unique characteristic of variable permeability.
Natural Casings are hardened and rendered less permeable through drying and smoking processes. Moisture and heat make casings more porous and tend to soften them, which explains why smoking, cooking and humidity must be carefully controlled.
Before studying the numerous kinds of Natural Casings, it's important to understand that casings can vary in quality. Better casing suppliers and the sausage manufacturer will determine the specifications required based on the sausage manufacturer's purposes.These variables include:
1. equipment used for filling
2. type(s) of sausage being manufactured
3. coarseness of the grind
Together, the casing supplier and sausage manufacturer can determine the criteria to be used when inspecting the casing.