4 ms·

I don't remember the exact chemical reaction names, but pepperoni shouldn't really be heated like this anymore. I think the reason is that some of the resulting

by t_mann 4y ago

I don't remember the exact chemical reaction names, but pepperoni shouldn't really be heated like this anymore. I think the reason is that some of the resulting chemicals are cancerogene.

atdrummond 4y ago
It’s nitrates, which become nitrosamines. As I posted below, here’s a basic summary: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamines https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamin...
pc86 4y ago
Heated like what? Do you mean in an oven, or in a manner in which part of it chars? I haven't heard anything specific to pepperoni; but I have heard that about charred meat generally (primarily beef), but there are so many confounding factors in everything from genetics to temperature to cooking method to cut of meat it's all but a worthless statement.
- colechristensen 4y ago
  As with all things the size of the effect matters. There are many risks I’m willing to take and unless the expected value of eating a pizza sometimes is going to take years off my life, I just don’t care (and I’m thinking of buying a motorcycle so it’s not like very many risks actually matter any more)
- t_mann 4y ago
  The charring, yes. Some of the salts used in curing salami undergo some unfavourable reactions what I remember. So it is much more specific than red meat in general.
  - BenjiWiebe 4y ago
    Citation? I did some googling and some wikipeding and can't find anything like that.
    - atdrummond 4y ago
      He’s referring to nitrates becoming nitrosamines. The only way to avoid this is to cook meats low and slow - which results in frankly unfavorable texture characteristics for pork products like bacon and pepperoni. See: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamines https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamin...
causality0 4y ago
If I'm eating pepperoni pizza I'm not too concerned about a little creosote.
torgian 4y ago
Eh. Somehow I doubt that eating charred food or fast-cooked pepperoni is going to kill me faster
PufPufPuf 4y ago
Perhaps you mean the Maillard reaction? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

by t_mann 4y ago

I don't remember the exact chemical reaction names, but pepperoni shouldn't really be heated like this anymore. I think the reason is that some of the resulting chemicals are cancerogene.

atdrummond 4y ago

It’s nitrates, which become nitrosamines. As I posted below, here’s a basic summary: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamines https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamin...

pc86 4y ago

Heated like what? Do you mean in an oven, or in a manner in which part of it chars? I haven't heard anything specific to pepperoni; but I have heard that about charred meat generally (primarily beef), but there are so many confounding factors in everything from genetics to temperature to cooking method to cut of meat it's all but a worthless statement.

colechristensen 4y ago
As with all things the size of the effect matters. There are many risks I’m willing to take and unless the expected value of eating a pizza sometimes is going to take years off my life, I just don’t care (and I’m thinking of buying a motorcycle so it’s not like very many risks actually matter any more)
t_mann 4y ago
The charring, yes. Some of the salts used in curing salami undergo some unfavourable reactions what I remember. So it is much more specific than red meat in general.
- BenjiWiebe 4y ago
  Citation? I did some googling and some wikipeding and can't find anything like that.
  - atdrummond 4y ago
    He’s referring to nitrates becoming nitrosamines. The only way to avoid this is to cook meats low and slow - which results in frankly unfavorable texture characteristics for pork products like bacon and pepperoni. See: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamines https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/nitrosamin...

causality0 4y ago

If I'm eating pepperoni pizza I'm not too concerned about a little creosote.

torgian 4y ago

Eh. Somehow I doubt that eating charred food or fast-cooked pepperoni is going to kill me faster

PufPufPuf 4y ago

Perhaps you mean the Maillard reaction? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction