Binders and Extenders
Many sausages contain some additional ingredients which may improve the flavor and help to
retain the natural juiciness (binders) or reduce the cost of the sausage formulation (extenders).
The most commonly used ingredients of this type are non-fat dry milk, cereal flours and soy protein
products. You may use these ingredients in most products, depending upon your taste.
Water
Water is added to most sausage formulations to re hydrate the non-fat dry milk and to replace the
expected moisture loss during smoking and cooking. Approximately 10 percent added water is
used in moist types of cooked sausage. A small amount of water (usually less than 3 percent) is
added to fresh sausage to aid in stuffing, mixing and processing. No water is added to sausages
which are to be dried, such as summer sausage or pepperoni.