The Value of Pork; as an Animal and as Meat.
Makin’ Bacon, Too Much Added Water; in Supermarket, Bacon, Ham.
Bacon and Cured Ham are made from fresh pork which has been cured (preserved with salt and or smoke and other chemicals) so that it will keep for longer. Dried or smoked foods- such as Bacon or Cured Ham-are Not usually cooked. The original purpose was not so much for flavour; but, to prevent spoilage and/or insect infestation, and to render the product easier to store or transport. Most bacterial caused spoilage and insect infestation requires the presence of water. Smoking and drying reduces the amount of water and thus makes the food less susceptible to either--because it weighs less, it is also easier to store or transport.
Dry Curing
This is the oldest method and each Canadian farmer and farmhouse once had its own recipe and a slab of bacon or a cured ham would be kept always at hand. From early pioneer times pigs were fattened and then slaughtered; the meat packed in barrels and immersed in lard; or cured, to provide meat for the family during the winter months. Bacon formed part of the rations for long distance sea journeys, (properly dried, salted and smoked, meats will keep indefinitely). The heavy salting preserved the meat from spoiling, but by the time it reached the Americas it was tough and more like boot leather than bacon or cured ham as we know it today.
Wet Curing
Wet curing was revolutionary at the time it was developed (1840’s) when there was no refrigeration. The term “WET-CURE” means to immerse in a liquid brine (a salt and saltpetre solution containing salt tolerant bacteria) for 3 to 4 days. This is a much milder form of curing, and the meat is cured in the brine under refrigeration. As with most foods, meat keeps fresh longer at lower temperatures so the wet curing method does not require so much salt.
The old, highly treasured by many, Canadian custom of saving bacon fat (pure, flavoured lard) is no longer practicable. Unfortunately the “mass produced” bacon today is not only immersed in liquid but pumped with added water, other chemicals, and with phosphates to speed up the process and to add yield and weight. The more our mostly United States owned supermarkets squeeze the vendors (include free market); the more water, and/or pink slime, has been added; true flavour and healthy nutrition; if cured meats could ever be considered healthy; has been sacrificed for profit.
That nitrates, nitrites and salt are linked to heart disease and a variety of health problems has long been evident; now, a 2007 study by Columbia University suggests a link between eating and cured meat and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a 2010 study at Harvard University suggests an increased risk of diabetes. The same association is NOT found for unprocessed meat.
Brine (Wet cure)
Wet cure brine has 2 main ingredients: Salt and Sugar. Salt is the primary drying and curing ingredient, with sugar added to offset some of the salts harshness—as would be found with dry curing—and to retain some moisture; enough to keep the meat soft during aging.
One of the reasons any bacon, dry or wet cured keeps so long is that it has been, both, brined and smoked. But remember, wet cured bacon is perishable; and needs to be vacuum sealed and frozen or refrigerated until eaten.
The salt in the brine is used to pull moisture out of the meat. The less moisture that’s in the meat, the more inhospitable it is to bacteria, and, or, insects, that cause spoilage. Brining also prepares the meat for smoking, which has preservative powers of its own. Smoke also brings out the flavour, aroma, and colour to your bacon. Nitrates and nitrites are often included, as anti-bacterial agents; they are particularly effective against the deadly botulism organism and also ensure a nice red colour on the meat.
Preparation for Smoking
Hams, pork bellies, other meats that are to be smoked must be dry so that a pellicle forms on the outside. A pellicle forms, as a result of the cure pulling water soluble proteins up to the surface of the meat. When these proteins dry, they form that shiny sticky coating we see over the meat which absorbs the smoke better. The meat will not take smoke until the surface is dry.
If the meat is smoked when still damp, it will be smudgy, not rich in colour, and not taste as good. Think about it; then ask yourself: with all this being true; why is it necessary to add any water? The answer, of course, is that; it is not.
The terms Canadian bacon and Canadian-style bacon; a much healthier, and nutritious choice, for the health conscious, refer to made from the much less fatty; pork loin (usually the longissimus muscle) loin eye. Ham is often served in the United States “of” America as a less expensive substitute; but; ham is not bacon.
Too Much Added Water in Supermarket Bacon, Ham.
Unlike ham, which is a specific cut; and CAN BE FRESH OR CURED, bacon is always CURED meat, prepared from pork (pig).
Bacon is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon (also known as side pork or green bacon).
Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Both fresh and dried bacon is typically cooked before eating. Boiled bacon is ready to eat.
Just as pink slime and water is now added to hamburger and ground beef products, it is also added to cured ham and bacon and poultry products.
All meats contain water naturally; adding more isn't illegal; but there is no way that producers can justify calling the added water beef; consequently just like the added slimes; it just isn't mentioned on meat labels
Some bacon and cured ham may have 13%, or higher; added water content.
Sodium polyphosphates are then also added, to improve slice ability and to reduce spattering when bacon is broiled, fried or roasted.
It’s such a shame; introduce slices of any of this limp, insipid, Elastoplast-pink, mostly fat, rubbish bacon, and after a very few minutes your frying pan resembles nothing so much as a stagnant, stinking, swamp, of spitting liquid and that sinister- is this case, white- goo.
Not very appetizing is it—kind of reminds me of that mass produced ground beef I photographed for my blog post on that subject. I expect more of my bacon and my meat and I suspect you do too; Now.
© Al (Alex Alexander) D Girvan
