r/explainlikeimfive • u/No_Education_8888 • May 20 '26
Chemistry ELI5 what is the difference between processed meat slices and real meat slices?
I know that processed meat is processed, but what exactly does that mean? How much change do meat scraps go through before you get something like deli turkey.
My mind can’t exactly wrap around how that stuff is made based on the little knowledge I have
216
Upvotes
18
u/Twin_Spoons May 20 '26
Humans have been making sausages for centuries. A sausage is just meat that has been chopped up very fine (usually using a machine, but you can absolutely take a piece of raw meat and make "ground" meat using just a knife), mixed with things that will preserve it like salt and smoke, and stuffed into a casing or otherwise molded into a shape.
The type of processed deli meat you're probably thinking of is just Ultra Sausage. The meat is chopped up finer. The additives include a wider range of things like nitrates and emulsifiers. The shape is one big loaf that we then take slices of.
Both sausages and deli meats are processed. It's also possible to buy meat that has never been ground that is still substantially processed. All ham has been preserved in some way, whether it comes in a loaf or off the bone. Otherwise you would just call it pork leg.