Green Technology for Pork Loin Wet Curing—Unconventional Use of Cow and Soy Milk Treated with Non-Thermal Atmospheric Plasma

This study was conducted to evaluate the possibility of using plasma-activated cow and soy milk powders as a substitute for sodium nitrite for wet curing of pork meat (m. longissimus thoracis et lumborum). Pork loin slices were cured for 4 d at refrigerate conditions in four brines: water + salt (NC group), water + salt + sodium nitrite (PC group), water + salt + plasma-activated cow milk powder (B1 group), and water + salt + plasma-activated soy milk powder (B2 group). Importantly, brines from groups PC, B1, and B2 were characterized by the same concentration of NO(2)(−) ions (200 ppm). Results show that samples from B1 and B2 groups had significantly (p < 0.05) higher values of redness, nitrosylhemochrome content, and lower values of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) compared to samples from the NC group. At the same time, the groups cured with alternative curing agents were characterized by lower residual nitrite content with regard to groups cured with NaNO(2). No significant differences (p ≥ 0.05) were found in pH and shear force values among the treatments. Finally, the aroma profile of the samples from groups B1 and B2 was similar to the aroma profile of the samples from the PC group (the aroma differed by a maximum of 1.73% in the case of brine containing plasma-activated cow milk powder) but differed significantly from the NC group (the aroma differed in 97.21%). Due to the higher nitrite depletion in the final product, while maintaining the quality parameters similar to traditionally cured pork loins, both alternative curing agents can be recommended, with a predominance of plasma-treated soy milk.