4 ms·

Is it possible to find legitimately nitrate-free bacon in the US? If so, under what brand?

by jonahx 9y ago

hammock 9y ago
No. Bacon, salami and some other meats must be cured by FDA definition (either nirites added and sold as "cured" or sold as "uncured" but with "celery juice" which really means it's still cured) Confusing I know
- tptacek 9y ago
  Not only is meat cured with celery extract still cured, but it probably has more nitrates than "artificially" cured meat, since if you're using powdered nitrate salt, you can add precisely the amount you need. Generally: if it tastes like what you expect ham or bacon to taste like, or it looks like what you expect it to look like, it's cured with nitrates. Nitrates have a powerful effect on flavor and color.
  - jonahx 9y ago
    > Generally: if it tastes like what you expect ham or bacon to taste like, or it looks like what you expect it to look like, it's cured with nitrates. So you are saying that even if I got my own raw pork belly from the butcher and learned how to cure it properly with salt, its look and taste would still be inferior to the delicious blocks of bacon I get at any chain grocery store?
    - tptacek 9y ago
      It won't taste "hammy" without nitrates. It won't be bad. Everything tastes better cured.
- batbomb 9y ago
  That's not entirely true. It must be cured, but it doesn't necessarily need nitrites to cure it. You can buy salt cured bacon here: https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=hscb https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?Produc...
  - tptacek 9y ago
    Benton's is great bacon, but: (1) You can look at that price tag and see why it's unlikely to be your go-to bacon, (2) Last I checked, Benton's used a nitrate cure, and (3) Seriously, intensely smoked food (Benton's bacon qualifies) is probably going to be more carcinogenic from the smoking compounds than from the cure. Unlike nitrate->N-nitrosamine, we're pretty clear on how smoked food causes gastric cancer.
  - subpixel 9y ago
    If you live near a large enough community of former Yugoslavians, you can find nitrate-free Suho Meso, which (when it's good) is like a cross between bacon and prosciutto. However, it contains all the carcinogens of smoked meat. That said the largest brand in the US (US-produced, actually) is not nitrate-free.
mastax 9y ago
I was going to suggest uncured bacon, but it looks like even superorganic uncured bacon has celery powder[1]. I guess nationally-distributed refrigerated meat products need more preservative than just low levels of salt. I'd suggest buying "pork belly" from a butcher. A good butcher should have more fresh product and be able to answer questions about preparation. [1]: http://applegate.com/products/organic-sunday-bacon http://applegate.com/products/organic-sunday-bacon
- emodendroket 9y ago
  You don't need to go to a special butcher. Asian groceries usually have pork belly and you're seeing it at more and more "normal" supermarkets too. The problem, though, is that it tastes nothing like bacon.
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Lazare 9y ago
It is possible! However keep in mind: 1) It'll look completely different than normal bacon 2) It'll taste very different than normal bacon. 3) It'll be more likely to give you botulism. 4) It'll be no less likely to give you cancer. All of which helps explain why it's so hard to find. :)
- sgtcodfish 9y ago
  The article linked in this post directly addresses (3) as being an absolute non-issue spread by FUD, and the whole article is about (4) being very probably untrue. It also goes into solid detail on the extent of (1) and (2), neither of which seem particularly groundbreaking.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    I didn't find the dismissal of botulism risk entirely persuasive. Botulism may be rare but it is really lethal.
- mrfusion 9y ago
  Where do you get 4) from?
  - Lazare 9y ago
    I should have said "may" I guess. However... There is an ongoing debate over what actually causes the observed cancer increase from eating (some) meats, and which meats it applies to. Some studies suggest the issue is red meat in general, not cured meats; others focus on a more vague "processed meat" category. (This is made even more confusing by the US habit of selling cured meats labelled as "uncured", which was touched on in the article.) We do know that nitrites can turn into cancer causing chemicals, but we also know that they do so in low quantities, and that a lot of things in our diet contain nitrites. The "cured-labelled-as-uncured" American bacon gets its nitrites from celery, which contains a lot, yet celery doesn't seem to be causing a lot of cancer. There are some vague theories about how "nitrites in plants are special!", but so far, every attempt to study that has shown the reverse as far as I'm aware. So in my view, the situation is confusing, but there is certainly evidence that bacon causes cancer. What I don't really buy is the idea that it's obviously the nitrites. It's great that parma hams are made without them, but there's no study (nor is there likely to ever be a study) that says "good news, eating parma hams has 0% impact on your risk of cancer". Especially since they probably do give you cancer, if all the studies showing links to red meat are borne out. But eh. Maybe it does lower your risk. :) But I think if I was worried about it, I'd skip all bacon, given how nonexistent the evidence is to suggest nitrite-free bacon is actually healthy.

Is it possible to find legitimately nitrate-free bacon in the US? If so, under what brand?

by jonahx 9y ago

Is it possible to find legitimately nitrate-free bacon in the US? If so, under what brand?

No. Bacon, salami and some other meats must be cured by FDA definition (either nirites added and sold as "cured" or sold as "uncured" but with "celery juice" which really means it's still cured) Confusing I know

tptacek 9y ago
Not only is meat cured with celery extract still cured, but it probably has more nitrates than "artificially" cured meat, since if you're using powdered nitrate salt, you can add precisely the amount you need. Generally: if it tastes like what you expect ham or bacon to taste like, or it looks like what you expect it to look like, it's cured with nitrates. Nitrates have a powerful effect on flavor and color.
- jonahx 9y ago
  > Generally: if it tastes like what you expect ham or bacon to taste like, or it looks like what you expect it to look like, it's cured with nitrates. So you are saying that even if I got my own raw pork belly from the butcher and learned how to cure it properly with salt, its look and taste would still be inferior to the delicious blocks of bacon I get at any chain grocery store?
  - tptacek 9y ago
    It won't taste "hammy" without nitrates. It won't be bad. Everything tastes better cured.
batbomb 9y ago
That's not entirely true. It must be cured, but it doesn't necessarily need nitrites to cure it. You can buy salt cured bacon here: https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=hscb https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?Produc...
- tptacek 9y ago
  Benton's is great bacon, but: (1) You can look at that price tag and see why it's unlikely to be your go-to bacon, (2) Last I checked, Benton's used a nitrate cure, and (3) Seriously, intensely smoked food (Benton's bacon qualifies) is probably going to be more carcinogenic from the smoking compounds than from the cure. Unlike nitrate->N-nitrosamine, we're pretty clear on how smoked food causes gastric cancer.
- subpixel 9y ago
  If you live near a large enough community of former Yugoslavians, you can find nitrate-free Suho Meso, which (when it's good) is like a cross between bacon and prosciutto. However, it contains all the carcinogens of smoked meat. That said the largest brand in the US (US-produced, actually) is not nitrate-free.

mastax 9y ago

I was going to suggest uncured bacon, but it looks like even superorganic uncured bacon has celery powder[1]. I guess nationally-distributed refrigerated meat products need more preservative than just low levels of salt. I'd suggest buying "pork belly" from a butcher. A good butcher should have more fresh product and be able to answer questions about preparation. [1]: http://applegate.com/products/organic-sunday-bacon http://applegate.com/products/organic-sunday-bacon

emodendroket 9y ago
You don't need to go to a special butcher. Asian groceries usually have pork belly and you're seeing it at more and more "normal" supermarkets too. The problem, though, is that it tastes nothing like bacon.

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Lazare 9y ago

It is possible! However keep in mind: 1) It'll look completely different than normal bacon 2) It'll taste very different than normal bacon. 3) It'll be more likely to give you botulism. 4) It'll be no less likely to give you cancer. All of which helps explain why it's so hard to find. :)

sgtcodfish 9y ago
The article linked in this post directly addresses (3) as being an absolute non-issue spread by FUD, and the whole article is about (4) being very probably untrue. It also goes into solid detail on the extent of (1) and (2), neither of which seem particularly groundbreaking.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  I didn't find the dismissal of botulism risk entirely persuasive. Botulism may be rare but it is really lethal.
mrfusion 9y ago
Where do you get 4) from?
- Lazare 9y ago
  I should have said "may" I guess. However... There is an ongoing debate over what actually causes the observed cancer increase from eating (some) meats, and which meats it applies to. Some studies suggest the issue is red meat in general, not cured meats; others focus on a more vague "processed meat" category. (This is made even more confusing by the US habit of selling cured meats labelled as "uncured", which was touched on in the article.) We do know that nitrites can turn into cancer causing chemicals, but we also know that they do so in low quantities, and that a lot of things in our diet contain nitrites. The "cured-labelled-as-uncured" American bacon gets its nitrites from celery, which contains a lot, yet celery doesn't seem to be causing a lot of cancer. There are some vague theories about how "nitrites in plants are special!", but so far, every attempt to study that has shown the reverse as far as I'm aware. So in my view, the situation is confusing, but there is certainly evidence that bacon causes cancer. What I don't really buy is the idea that it's obviously the nitrites. It's great that parma hams are made without them, but there's no study (nor is there likely to ever be a study) that says "good news, eating parma hams has 0% impact on your risk of cancer". Especially since they probably do give you cancer, if all the studies showing links to red meat are borne out. But eh. Maybe it does lower your risk. :) But I think if I was worried about it, I'd skip all bacon, given how nonexistent the evidence is to suggest nitrite-free bacon is actually healthy.