Sugar-Free Bacon Find

[Jinkse21]

After speaking with my mom yesterday about W30 and how it's so hard to find sugar-free bacon, she brought up a brand that they sell in the mid-west/south called called Field and said she though the big thing with them was that the bacon was sugar-free. I looked them up this morning and wouldn't you know it...their bacon is SUGAR-FREE!!! I grew up eating that bacon every weekend because my dad used to work for the company that makes it. Who knew???

Anywho...go to http://www.specialtyfoodsgroup.com/main/wheretobuy.php and click on your state to see if Field products are in your area. They have thick-sliced and orignal, both sugar-free. Here are the curing ingredients: CURED WITH WATER, SALT, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ERYTHORBATE, SODIUM NITRATE.

I guess a moderator can weigh in on the other ingredients but from what I can tell, it's compliant. I happen to be going to my parents the last 2 weekends in May so I will be stocking up!!

[msssjenna]

Field doesnt sell bacon in my state

[1Maryann]

The only product they sell in FL is lard

[LadyM]

Thanks for the tip! According to the website, they sell in my state at the chain of grocery stores where I shop. I'll have to check if they have it at my store.

[scrapstitching]

Whole Foods sells a clean pancetta. Almost as good as bacon! I made it for my husband and he loved it. He's a tough critic. It's La Quercia Pancetta Americana. No nitrates or nitrates. Pork, sea salt, and spices. Yum. I wish there was one closer so I could buy it more often.

[Jinkse21]

I never really thought of using pancetta. I usually only buy bacon to use in recipes where it gets chopped up. I'll have to pick up some pancetta!

[Jtandi]

I found some at TARGET the other day. seriously? TARGET has compliant bacon but WF doesn't? crazy. it's their brand and it's the low sodium. obviously it's not from happy pigs so I won't add it to everything like I do my US Wellness, but in a bind? heck yeah. I am starting another W30 in June so I will probably order some more from US Wellness but...in the mean time...

[Deborah Brommer]

I found most Italian cured pork products to be sugar free: pancetta, prosciutto, capicola. I found them in the specialty deli meats area at the store and intend to use them when I want some bacon flavor.

[EchoDelta]

The only sugar free uncured bacon I've found is by US Wellness Meats which has a Whole 30 stamp of approval.

[Jinkse21]

As far as Whole30 goes, that's the only one I am aware of too. Since I plan on following a Primal/Paleo lifestyle a majority of the time, I am happy I found this bacon that is sugar-free and a lot cheaper.

[Jtandi]

Jinkse - the bacon you originally posted is actually compliant for whole30 - none of those ingredients are technically "off list"...is US Wellness better? heck yeah. but you can eat the original one during a whole30.

here's a thread with a similar question with exact same ingredients answered by a moderator:

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/6320-this-bacon/page__hl__%2Bsodium+%2Bbacon__fromsearch__1

during my whole30 I try to stick with US Wellness just because it's from happier healthier pigs, but if you are using the bacons mentioned above you are still within the guidelines of a whole30! (including the one from target that I posted)

[Jinkse21]

That's good to know! I read some posts from moderators saying it has to come from pastured, happy cows and I am not sure about the cows that make this bacon.

I was happy to find it on sale by my parents...$2.99 a package!!

[scrapstitching]

Unfortunately, nitrites are not your friend, so eat it sparingly. I love me some bacon, but have it only occasionally. I may try the Gwaltney as well.

[Janely]

Sodium nitrate is not a great thing to have. Are there any sugar free brands that don't use it?

[Guest]

That's good to know! I read some posts from moderators saying it has to come from pastured, happy cows and I am not sure about the cows that make this bacon.

Adorable, Jinkse. I worked on a small farm and the pigs got a lot of the surplus milk, so I guess those happy cows made happy pigs.

[Jinkse21]

Adorable, Jinkse. I worked on a small farm and the pigs got a lot of the surplus milk, so I guess those happy cows made happy pigs.

LOL!!! I just saw I put cows instead of pigs! I think I need to do a Whole100000 so maybe I'll get smarter!!

[Amelia Wolthers]

if you live in florida and you are near a winn dixie grocery store. Their " Hickory Sweet" low sodium bacon has no sugar in it!!!!! I was stoked to find this today!!!!

[furbabyvet]

Interesting discussion. The mention of nitrates in bacon made me think about an article published in Cook's Illustrated in 2010.

Here is an excerpt:

"Nitrite has long been a controversial food additive, with studies showing it forms carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines when heated in the presence of proteins, like those in bacon. Regular bacon is cured with nitrite (NOâ‚‚) or a virtually identical chemical, nitrate (NO₃), both of which act as preservatives, though only nitrite has the potential to form potentially harmful nitrosamines. Bacon labeled “nitrate- or nitrite-free,†on the other hand, is brined with salt, a bacterial lactic acid starter culture, and celery juice (sometimes listed as “natural flavorâ€).

But here's the catch: Celery juice naturally contains a high level of organic nitrate, which is converted to the problematic nitrite by the bacteria in the starter culture and also by saliva during chewing. The question is: How do the levels of nitrite and nitrate in uncured bacon compare with those in its cured counterpart?

When we fried up strips of our favorite supermarket bacon, Farmland Hickory Smoked, along with Farmland All-Natural Uncured Bacon (“no nitrate or nitrite addedâ€), tasters found the samples virtually identical in taste and texture. To quantify the nitrite and nitrate levels in these bacons, we sent three packages of each type to a lab for testing. ... But to our surprise, the uncured bacons actually had higher levels of nitrite than the cured meat: Farmland Hickory Smoked Bacon registered an average of 9.7 ppm nitrite (and 48 ppm nitrate), while its All-Natural counterpart showed an average of 16.3 ppm nitrite (and 10.3 ppm nitrate). And the Applegate Farms Uncured Sunday Bacon averaged more than three times the level of the regular bacon: 35 ppm nitrite (and nearly as much nitrate, at 44.3 ppm).

The bottom line: All bacon is likely to contain nitrite and nitrate, whether added at the outset or formed naturally during processing. If you want to avoid these compounds, you'll have to avoid bacon—and any other processed meats containing celery juice—altogether."

[Kirsteen]

That's really interesting. I saw Wholefoods had outdoor reared nitrate free bacon which contained dry-cured pork, salt and beetroot. I wondered why beetroot? I guess it must be much the same idea?

[melbournegirl]

Somewhere in this forum was a discussion about nitrates and nitrites not being bad for the reason above... In lots of food and maybe also because our bodies also make these compounds as biproducts etc

[Susan W]

Chris Kresser has an awesome article on his blog about not being afraid of nitrates and nitrites. As much as I adore Cooks Illustrated for cooking techniques and recipes, but not so much for health advice. :0)

[Beets]

Hear hear. CI: treasure trove of cooking advice, dearth of nutritional wisdom.

[Beets]

Also feel like somebody needs to post the Bacon Manisfesto as a PSA whenever this topic comes up: http://whole9life.com/2012/03/bacon/

[Susan W]

Also feel like somebody needs to post the Bacon Manisfesto as a PSA whenever this topic comes up: http://whole9life.com/2012/03/bacon/

Good point Beets. Ever since I read the Bacon Manifesto, I only use bacon as a condiment.

[NewWhole30in2017]

Can you use pink curing salt on Whole30 to make your own bacon, also known as Prague Powder #1?