Sugar free bacon

[Masamune]

I have been looking around for some sugar free bacon and have not been able to find any in my area. All the bacon at the local health food stores contain sugar and the butcher sells the same type of bacon as is sold in the packages. Also at the local farmer's market where I buy all of my meats the bacon sold is very sugary. I cannot tolerate the added sugar and was wondering if the bacon you eat is sugar free and where do you obtain it?

 

[Chrissy]

I'm not sure if you live in the US, but US Wellness Meats has "White Sugar-Free Pork Bacon". Here's the description:
At last! We have been getting requests for a refined sugar free pork bacon for several years now, and have finally found a recipe that avoids refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and nitrates/nitrites.

One 1.5 lb package of sliced White Sugar-Free Hickory Smoked Pork Bacon

Ingredients: pork, salt, honey powder, cinnamon, clove. (hickory smoked)


Price: $15.68


Not sure if you can tolerate honey powder, but I thought it was worth a mention. Good luck with your search!

 

[Masamune]

Thanks for the info Chrissy, I do live in the US. Isn't honey sugar? That is strange to label something as "sugar-free" but it contains honey?

 

[Renaissance]

yeah the 'white sugar free' is a little bit of slick marketing, imo.

I just bought some organic pork back fat (pretty cheap too), which is a slab of fat with pork skin on it. I cut it thin like bacon this morning and had it for breakfast. It was super delish with salt. I was thinking about sprinkling on some xylitol on it next time to see how it goes.

 

[truth seeker]

yeah the 'white sugar free' is a little bit of slick marketing, imo.

I just bought some organic pork back fat (pretty cheap too), which is a slab of fat with pork skin on it. I cut it thin like bacon this morning and had it for breakfast. It was super delish with salt. I was thinking about sprinkling on some xylitol on it next time to see how it goes.

That would be my recommendation as well. I've never been able to find organic bacon without sugar of any kind in it - perhaps it's just part of the curing process?

 

[Chrissy]

Isn't honey sugar? That is strange to label something as "sugar-free" but it contains honey?

Yes, your right and I agree. I think that stems from the marketing of "nothing white" like sugar, flour. So then we all run out and buy "made from whole grain" or "naturally sweetened". Sugar is sugar. Not to bash US Wellness, I've been buying my meats from them lately and have had a really good experience so far.
Have you tried Applegate Farms Organic Sunday Bacon? That one says contains less than 2% of Organic Evaporated Cane Syrup. The nutritional info states sugar 0g. But again there's the cane syrup. Just can't escape it. I'd be interested to see what other members have to say.

Oops, Shane replied while I was typing.

I just bought some organic pork back fat (pretty cheap too), which is a slab of fat with pork skin on it. I cut it thin like bacon this morning and had it for breakfast. It was super delish with salt. I was thinking about sprinkling on some xylitol on it next time to see how it goes.

And it sounds really good!!

 

[Masamune]

yeah the 'white sugar free' is a little bit of slick marketing, imo.

Oops for some reason I didn't read the "white" and thought they were marketing bacon with honey as sugar free.

I just bought some organic pork back fat (pretty cheap too), which is a slab of fat with pork skin on it. I cut it thin like bacon this morning and had it for breakfast. It was super delish with salt. I was thinking about sprinkling on some xylitol on it next time to see how it goes.

I actually have been buying some salted fatback from my farmer's market and it is good but not quite like bacon. It is pretty much pure fat and takes some time to get used to, or at least it does for me.

I've never been able to find organic bacon without sugar of any kind in it - perhaps it's just part of the curing process?

What I have read is that sugar is used to offset the salt in the curing process. They say without the sugar it would just taste like cured salt pork. I have also read you could just cut the pork belly like bacon and then cook it. I wonder how much that would taste differently than the meat cured with sugar?

Not to bash US Wellness, I've been buying my meats from them lately and have had a really good experience so far.

They actually have a sugar free beef bacon product: http://www.grasslandbeef.com/Detail.bok?no=1094
but it contains seasonings such as red pepper. :/

Have you tried Applegate Farms Organic Sunday Bacon? That one says contains less than 2% of Organic Evaporated Cane Syrup. The nutritional info states sugar 0g. But again there's the cane syrup. Just can't escape it. I'd be interested to see what other members have to say.

Yes I have had their bacon and all the versions I have seen contain sugar of some sort.

 

[Masamune]

What I am wondering is, since bacon seems to be the favorite food among many forum members and from what we know about sugar, wouldn't eating bacon be a problem because it gets its distinct flavor from sugar? Personally I have had to avoid it due to the sugar content.

 

[anart]

What I am wondering is, since bacon seems to be the favorite food among many forum members and from what we know about sugar, wouldn't eating bacon be a problem because it gets its distinct flavor from sugar? Personally I have had to avoid it due to the sugar content.

Not all bacon has sugar. I get an uncured bacon from a farmer here that only has salt added, nothing else. It doesn't taste like store bacon, well, not exactly like store bacon, but it still tastes like bacon! :)

 

[SeekinTruth]

What I am wondering is, since bacon seems to be the favorite food among many forum members and from what we know about sugar, wouldn't eating bacon be a problem because it gets its distinct flavor from sugar? Personally I have had to avoid it due to the sugar content.

Not all bacon has sugar. I get an uncured bacon from a farmer here that only has salt added, nothing else. It doesn't taste like store bacon, well, not exactly like store bacon, but it still tastes like bacon! :)

The bacon I get is very pink and fresh. It doesn't have sugar added as far as I know. It tastes like a cross between smoked ham and bacon I used to eat in NY (which was much darker color and got crispy much faster).

 

[Ca.]

From what i have bought here, (poitrine fume), it appears that anything carried prepackaged, at the refrigerated section of the meat dept. ( for those on the run ) contained nitrates, for a longer shelve life, to prevent spoilage. But this bacon didn't seem to be sweet, but salty due to the nitrate's. With in a half hour one would be consuming copious amounts of water, like i'd just walked in from the desert.

The type of bacon at the butcher counter is custom cut to thickness that is desired. The thicker the slice the longer it takes to cook to ones liking.

This type spoils fast if left in the fridge without being in an air tight package. No nitrates and no sugar. i also think that the hog is handled different in the feeding process, and is locally raised. But no sweetness (like a sugary) that i could tastes. But i see that corn is king around these parts and is grown abundantly, also possibly being fed to the the live stock. So could this contribute to sweet tasting bacon?

But pork tends to taste sweet, due to the high fat content. Cooking the fat around the edges to a golden brown, especially pork chops, is almost like eating candy, i would swear.

 

[Sinapi]

I have never found truly sugar-free bacon where I live. Sometimes, when I'm out of organic meat, I just soak conventional bacon overnight in filtered water. It really helps to get rid of the sweetness (even uncured tastes way too sweet for me) and it will even dissolve some of the nitrites. The only drawbacks are that you have to towel-dry it afterwards and that you'll lose some of the fat in the soaking water. When it's dry, I just throw it onto a hot pan and re-salt it with sea salt, and it tastes great.

So, that's an option if you can't get sugar-free bacon. Thanks for starting the thread. :)