Old recipe VS new

[Hurricane0331]

I am new to this and have been reading some older books and most of the recipes call for dry milk. I am lactose intolerant and cannot have milk. My questiona are, is there milk in the seasoning mixes? What is the purpose of the milk? What options are there other than milk? I appreciate any input.

[alanburkholder]

I’m also lactose intolerant…Dry milk powder is a binder to keep the sausage together, reduce “fat out” during smoking, etc. Sure gel is a well known binder that has the milk powder in it. Carrot fiber is a non-dairy alternative that I’ve been using. I think there is also a soy based product, but I’ve not used that.

[Hurricane0331]

alanburkholder awesome, I was thinking that maybe the carrot fiber did the same function.

[Buckmaster]

I have also used the carrot fiber and it works great…

[peterb]

I have used superbind with great results and have carrot fiber just delivered today to try out. If you are super sensitive to milk products, you also may need to make sure sausage mixes you purchase don’t contain any milk. Quite a few do contain milk, or milk products. Not an issue for my house but some friends I make sausage for have lactose intolerance issues so I try to pay attention.

[Buckmaster]

Thanks for the info good to know…

[JoeB]

Buckmaster I use egg whites old school recipe. Used as a binder. Buy them by the carton.

[Jonathon]

Hurricane0331 Yeah if you are lactose intolerant then carrot fiber (for fresh) super bind or soy protein blend (for cured sausage) are replacements for non-fat dry milk. Dont use sure gel, it has milk in it.

[Ray Hines]

Jonathon said in Old recipe VS new:

Hurricane0331 Yeah if you are lactose intolerant then carrot fiber (for fresh) super bind or soy protein blend (for cured sausage) are replacements for non-fat dry milk. Dont use sure gel, it has milk in it.

Good to know, but I’ve never had any kind of “bind” issue with my pork sausages, beef might be different (haven’t made any of those). Ice water and finely ground fat seem to do the trick for each of the 4 recipies that I currently make. The mix is always tightly bound and does not separate. I do want to try some hotdog recipes, so I will adhere to some of the advice here if I have any binding issues. “Powdered milk” just sounds wrong to me in all cases, but who knows - it’s definitely a sneak ingredient to those not expecting it that are lactose intolerant. I don’t have that problem, but many do and I wouldn’t expect a milk product in a sausage or hotdog unless it was a cheesy-recipe.

[processhead]

Nonfat dry milk added as a binder is generally used in amounts that are not detectable as a flavor.
Its pretty common in processed foods of all kinds.