What is Mortadella Cheese?
Mortadella is a type of pork-based and heat-cured luncheon meat or Italian sausage. It is reminiscent of ham and has a silky smooth surface when sliced. Mortadella is made by forming the meat into a wide log shape. The skin of the mortadella is light brown and the meat is pale pink, studded with large dots of white fat and pale green pistachio slices. The flavor is sweet, salty, and nutty, with a smooth start and finish. Mortadella is eaten as a snacking meat and as a sandwich topping. It is much like a highly sophisticated slice of ham.
What does Mortadella Cheese Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Ground beef can be made from any cut of beef, though commonly the chuck steak and round steak are used. Chuck steak has a good meat to fat ratio, creating a savory and succulent burger or meatball. Ground beef is a reddish color and formed into thick "strands" from the meat grinder, with a soft and very pliable texture. Ground beef should be cooked before consuming.
Pork is a term for any meat that comes from a pig. The main cuts are the shoulder, loin, leg and side belly. Raw pork is pink and often has a white trim of fat, or dots of fat. The texture is moist and and semi-firm. Pork is used to make bacon, sausage, salami and other various meat products. Pork can be bought and used ground, or in specific cuts, such as for pork tenderloin, a delicate cut of meat, with a lower fat content. Pork is known for being a fatty meat and has a full flavor that is enhanced by salt and spices. Pork should always be cooked thoroughly before consuming.
The popular bacon streaked with fat that is used in American cuisine, comes from the belly of the hog. Bacon is cut in long, thin strips, salt cured and sometimes smoked or flavored with maple. Other cuts come from the back and loin. Raw bacon is pink in color with strips of fat, has a meaty and salty smell that can be smoky. Bacon must stay refrigerated.
Cheese is a dairy product made from milk. The milk protein coagulates creating a firmer product. Many cheeses are aged to add flavor and texture, making them denser and more umami. Fresh cheeses are softer and milder in flavor. Cheese is often made from cows milk and can be made from goat, sheep and other mammals milk as well. There are hundred of varieties of cheese and this versatile food product has many uses in both savory and sweet dishes.
Cornstarch is obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel. This is the main body and juicy part of the kernel. Cornstarch is a fine, white powder with a squeaky texture and neutral flavor. It is used in many foods, particularly in America. Cornstarch makes an easy thickener for liquids, such as sauces and an excellent binding agent for baked goods. In the 1800's cornstarch was used for starching laundry, making the clothing appear stiff and professional.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Soy protein isolate is soy protein or soy powder. It is a low fat, cholesterol free food product and contains about 70% protein. It has higher protein than soy protein concentrate. The soybeans go through a process to remove the fat content. The concentrate is beige colored and powdery. This product is used to emulsify and help with the texture of food items, such as processed meats.
Milk powder, also called dried milk, is made by evaporating the milk until it is dry, via various processes. Powdered milk has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration. The powder is soft and cream colored and can be used in exactly the same way that regular milk is used for cooking and baking. It is not generally used as a drink.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
There are a number of spices used in cooking and baking. Spices generally refer to a variety of seeds, barks, fruits and roots that are used to add specific flavors to food. Some spices are sweet, spicy, pungent or savory. The flavors range greatly and spices can be used whole or ground and are usually cooked, but generally cooking them is not required.
Antioxidants are useful additives in food production. They help to prevent oxidation. Think of how an apple or potato turns brown after being sliced and exposed to air, this is from the process of oxidation as the food breaks down. Antioxidants are used in numerous food products to help with this precise reason. Natural antioxidants include ascorbic acid; a form of vitamin c often obtained from cherries or lemons and tocopherols from vitamin E which is often obtained from soybean, olive, palm, or corn oil. Butylated hydroxyanisole and propyl gallate are examples of synthetic antioxidants which help to stabilize free radicals, and once again slow the breakdown of the food product.
