The majority of books written on making sausages do not tackle the subject of fermented sausages at all. The topic is limited to a statement that this is an advanced field of sausage making which is not recommended for an amateur sausage maker. Well, the main reason for writing this book was that the authors did not share this opinion. On the contrary, they believed that any hobbyist could make wonderful salami at home, if he only knew how. For thousands of years we have been making dry fermented meats without any understanding of the process involved. Only in the past 60 years, sufficient advances were made in the field of meat science which explained the fermentation and drying of meats. Until then, the manufacturing process was shrouded in secrecy, and was more a combination of art and magic than a solid science. They were highly technical papers, that were published in Food Technology journals, unfortunately these works were written in such difficult terms, that they were beyond the comprehension of the average sausage maker.

Thus, was born the idea of bridging the technology gap that existed between Meat Science and the requirements of the typical hobbyist making products at home. Technical terms were substituted with their equivalent but simpler meanings, and to get the reader started fifty detailed recipes are included. With more information obtainable every day, and commercial starter cultures available to the public, there is little reason to abstain from making quality salamis at home, regardless of the climate and outside conditions.