Bacon with Nitrate with no added sugars vs. Nitrate free Bacon with added sugars....

[tara5578]

I was shopping for my bacon yesterday and have a question. I have been buying nitrate free bacon but it says there is sugar in the ingredients. I then found a package of bacon that has no added sugars and does not list sugar in the ingredients, but is made with nitrate. Can I use this bacon instead? I guess I don't know what nitrate does in the cooking process.

Thanks!!

Tara

[not2late]

Nitrate is a preservative that has been linked to cancer. So I guess Dr. Atkins wanted us to avoid it for that reason.

[Tom]

One thing ... I buy all of my meats from a trusted butcher. You may think that this is more expensive ... but it sometimes ends up being cheaper ... it will just cost you the extra trip ...

A good butcher will have VERY good bacon ... once you have bacon from a butcher there is no going back to prepackaged bacon.

Same for meats ... even chopped meat is of much better quality. For sausages you can usually ask what is in them and some butchers will make sausages per request if you want to avoid some of the stuff that is usually put in them ... find a good butcher in your area ... it is definitely worth it ...
I dont buy meat from the supermarket any more at all.