If you’ve been following for a while, you’ll know that I’ve given up sugar for health reasons.∗ Finding sugar in table salt was the biggest shock, but easy to work around. Then I found out that there’s sugar in bacon.
*sound of angels weeping*
Making candied bacon for a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Wonder if that would work with coconut sugar instead of brown…
Apparently, bacon is dipped in a brine solution before it’s smoked, and every manufacturer of grocery store bacon includes sugar in their brine. Even the maple flavoured bacon contains cane sugar. Which, considering the price of maple syrup, I understand, but it sure didn’t make me happy. With all the other foods I’ve had to sacrifice for my health, bacon was one of the few joys I had left.
Luckily, I am married to Tech Support, who is both very supportive of my dietary quirks and also a fan of the bacon. He found a local butcher that brines in salt only, and last night, we had pumpkin pancakes and sugar-free bacon for dinner.
It was glorious.
Tech Support is also talking seriously about buying a smoker so we can make our own bacon. I suspect this is the stage where it’s less about supporting me and more about new man toys, but hey. I love pulled pork, too. 😀
Are you a bacon fan, too? Did you know about the sugar? If you’ve tried making your own, please share your experience in the comments. Tech Support will thank you!
∗ Not diabetes, fortunately, but it runs in my family, so avoiding sugar is good for that reason, too.
Wow, I am glad you found a solution! I can’t imagine a life without BACON!!!! Tech support is awesome!
He really is awesome. I was having serious bacon withdrawal issues but he saved the day.
Yeah, I knew about the sugar, because of Love Nugget’s problem with cane sugar (that he has outgrown, thank goodness!). It’s a MAJOR bummer. But I’m glad you found bacon you can eat! Local butchers are awesome. 🙂
It’s significantly more expensive, of course, but bacon has always been a treat in this house anyway. As much as we love it, we have to watch our cholesterol, too.