PrintCooking with Kids: "Nitrate-Free" Hot Dogs, Now With More Nitrates
At a recent playdate, the subject of hot dogs came up, and I heard one mom say that, okay, she does let her child eat hot dogs, but only the "nitrate-free" kind from Whole Foods. I didn't say anything, but the portion of my brain devoted to ruthless debunkings lit up.
Last year, you'll recall, Ed Levine took Consumer Reports to task for naming Hebrew National skinless franks the top dog. I'm with Ed: franks with natural casings are better. (You can read the CR report at Consumer Reports.)
But there was this tasty tidbit in the report:
While the three uncured franks might boast of "no added nitrates," our testing found that Applegate Farms, Coleman Natural, and Whole Ranch contained nitrates and nitrites at levels comparable to many of the cured models.
That's because "no added nitrates" is—how to put this gently?—a lie. The manufacturers add celery juice, which is naturally high in nitrites. In answer to your next question, yes, the nitrites naturally occurring in celery juice are exactly the same as the pure sodium nitrite added by sausage makers. (Note that I am fudging the difference between nitrates and nitrites, but as Consumer Reports said, they tested the levels of both compounds.)
In any case, here is my public service announcement to parents: "nitrate-free" hot dogs do contain nitrates and are not nutritionally superior to any other hot dogs. Some of them are tasty, but they are not generally available with natural casings, which are to my mind essential to a great hot dog.
Don't want to serve your kids hot dogs? Fine with me. But if you are serving franks, choose based on taste. We buy Boar's Head all-beef with natural casings, and my four-year-old loves them. Though it's not like she'd turn down any hot dog.
About the author: Matthew Amster-Burton lives in Seattle. His work appears frequently in the Seattle Times and Seattle magazine. He also maintains the blog Roots and Grubs. His favorite food is pad Thai.
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8 Comments:
Great post - it's always a challenge to find foods that appeal to kids (or look like what all the other kids are eating), and are still healthy, sustainable etc. Perhaps that's why you see things like "organic sprinkles" - which I personally find very bizarre!
The blog I edit, The Jew & The Carrot, just posted a similar post about finding nitrate-free, kosher hot dogs and it got some interesting (and hopefully useful to the Serious Eats audience) comments:
http://jcarrot.org/what-does-a-guy-have-to-do-to-get-a-kosher-organic-nitrate-free-hot-dog/
Leah
Editor, The Jew & The Carrot
TheJewAndTheCarrot at 2:08PM on 01/07/08
This is good to know- I usually buy the nitrate/nitrite free hot dogs but do notice now they all contain celery juice. I do have the say, the all beef and the uncured "Fearless Franks" from Niman Farms are still my favorites. Although they may not truly be nitrate or nitrite free (in light of this post), they are supposed to be made with hormone and antibiotic free meat which makes me feel a tiny bit better about hotdogs. But really the reason I buy them is the whole family loves the taste, I think are as good or better than other hot dog I have found at the grocery store (inclduing the Boar's Head.) But my 3-year old does not always like natural casing, so thats not something we look for.
megan1 at 2:44PM on 01/07/08
"Uncured" is one of those code words for that certain type of person who is willing to pay substantially more for organic and "healthy" foods, but knows nothing of cooking and food production. They are willing to spend vast amounts to make themselves feel good, but have no real interest in how a certain food is produced.
The number of people willing to profit on the gullible masses is only exceed by the gullible masses. That people simply look at a package, see "uncured," and are comforted, rather than saying, "How?" is astonishing...
Willly at 3:05PM on 01/07/08
I must be missing something here. I thought that "no added nitrates" means that they didn't grab some chemical and add it to the hot dog. The celery juice was part of the make up of what they threw into the hot dog (along with the beef eyelids, armpits, and whatever else they put into hot dogs). Celery products in a hot dog for flavoring isn't unusual; celery salt is used in Chicago-style hot dog fixin's for the flavor.
I can see if there was a "no nitrate product" where this would be an issue, but not "no added nitrates".
Am I correct in assuming, you're saying "no sugar added" products aren't really "no sugar added" products because one of the other ingredients naturally contained sugar?
Now, don't get me wrong: I hate product packaging as much as the next guy. Unless I see an egg shoot out of a chicken, I question even something as fundamental as that. (And I know all about how long some eggs stay on the shelves at stores, just to be "recycled" as newer than they are).
I just want to know what would be considered a truly "no nitrates added" hot dog, because it seems to me that under the definition above, what you're talking about is a plain old "no nitrates at all" hot dog.
(great blog, btw....just signed up, but i've been reading for a long time now)
deanj at 3:52PM on 01/07/08
deanj, the celery juice isn't added for flavor, it's added specifically for those nitrites. People who are buying "no sugar added" products usually understand that, say, fruit juice has sugars in it to start, although different kinds of sugars from what's usually added. People do NOT generally understand that "no nitrates added" does NOT mean "no nitrates or nitrites of any kind." Presumably, Robyn's point is to try to educate these people.
thepictsie at 4:04PM on 01/07/08
I should add that, nitrates aside, the "uncured" dogs may have other advantages--i.e., they may be organic or otherwise made with more humanely produced meat. If there were an organic dog with great taste and a natural casing, I would buy it. Is there?
thepictsie, I can't think of anything to add to your explanation. Thanks.
mamster at 5:22PM on 01/07/08
All this talk reminds me so much of "natural flavors", put the word natural in front of something, and people assume it's better.
People hear "celery juice" and think... oh that sounds wholesome. They do not realize the level of nitrates in concentrated celery juice extract.
The worst part is these "uncured" meats generally taste inferior since the celery juice extract adds off flavors and doesn't give the same quality cure as the normal cures.
peekpoke at 4:12AM on 01/08/08
I just wanted to say that at least the facts should be stated completely. There is no "nitrite" in celery. There is , however, "nitrate". The nitrate must be converted to nitrite by means of bacteria. What this really means is all the "natural" nuts out there should know that when you eat a carrot or celery stalk or other vegetable from the ground, you are eating as much nitrate as you would be with any of these meats. I would worry more about the fat/salt content of the food. Natural also does not mean fat free which some people like to believe. In conclusion you are going to get nitrates/ nitrites from somewhere. Check out sea salt, for example.
meathead at 3:33PM on 05/01/08