Nitrite-Free Salami, as Mentioned in NY Times

[Fat Guy]

Marian Burros -- and I like her even though she's referred to me as a fringe journalist -- wrote something nice about the Applegate Farms nitrite-free cured meat products in the Times recently:

http://nytimes.com/2001/12/19/dining/19WELL.html

I finally got some of the salami at Fairway. It is, indeed, really good. It totally lacks the artificial taste found in nearly all packaged commercial cold-cuts, even from fancy brands. It could have stronger seasoning, but I can forgive that because the meat taste is so elegant. Definitely worth purchasing.

[mamster]

I get this at Whole Foods in Seattle.  I was a bit skeptical at first, imagining that it might taste like some kind of health food version of salami, but I'm hooked.

[Fat Guy]

Here are the relevant Web sites:

http://www.applegatefarms.com/

http://www.yorkshirefarms.com/

[Fat Guy]

This thread got very little attention when I started it all these months ago, but I want to reiterate my support for the Applegate Farms product line.

Since I initially followed Ms. Burros's recommendation the company has greatly extended its offerings to include bacon, pancetta, fresh sausages, deli meats, and additional salume.

I'm currently purchasing, on a regular basis, the 1/2 pound salametti salami -- essentially a sweet sopressata. It's sold at Fairway for $5.29 and it is terrific. As with many of the company's products, it is very mild. But the flavors of the meat come through much more clearly than on most other salamis, so the lack of robust spicing is a virtue.

I don't have any particular objection to nitrites (were nitrites dangerous, I'd be dead -- along with the entire population of Italy), but I do notice that in most commercial salume there are quite a lot of additives. It's refreshing, then, to read the ingredients labels on Applegate Farms' products: No nitrites or nitrates, no MSG, no gluten and casein -- just pork (antibiotic free and "free farmed"), salt, dextrose, starter culture, wine, and garlic. The products are manufactured under rigorous HACCP protocols so as to minimize the contamination that nitrites and other chemicals are normally brought in to combat.

Though the company's address is listed as being in New Jersey, the salami I've been buying says "product of Canada" and says the pork comes from a company called Du Breton. This appears to be Canada's largest producer of natural pork, with something like 45 small Quebec and Maritimes family farms involved.

http://www.dubreton.com/index.html

If Fairway would increase its inventory of Applegate products, I'd buy more of them. In the meantime I'm going to try to ascertain who else in the area has the full product line. The Web site gives some hints (D'Agostino, for one), but doesn't say who has what.

[Jinmyo]

Tanks, Fat Fella.

I should be able to sample some of the du Breton products easily here in Ottawa. I've seen their packaged stuff but I'll look into hams, chops, and such.

No sign of Applegate here.

[Stephanie]

Applegate Farms also makes a line of nitrate-free turkey cold cuts. The Park Slope Food Co-op carries the salami, bologna, and regular sliced turkey. Like the pork products, these only have meat, seasonings, and dextrose or something similar. I've tried each and I find them very tasty. I don't know what they're usually priced at, but I just paid $2.30 for a 7-oz package at the Co-op (that's 2 sandwiches' worth for me).

[researchgal]

Just used Applegate Farms thick cut nitrate-free bacon last night, it was delicious and worked quite well in the dish I was preparing.

Also have had their various flavored chicken sausages--very good, especially grilled.

[Double 0]

The Applegate brand of nitrate free salami canalso be purchased at Trader Joes in Westwood NJ.

[ahr]

The "Sunday Bacon" is nicely smoked and really tasty. Thanks for the tip, FG.

Zabar's also had Niman bacon, sliced to order, for roughly the same price. Sadly, I didn't have time to wait on line to perform a comparison. Has anyone else tried Niman's? Is it also nitrite-free? The slab on display did have an uncured look about it.

[Miss J]

This whole topic brings back a lot of memories for me. When I was but a wee kiddie, my mum was the most anti-nitrate person on the planet. So in addition to keeping white bread, sugary cereals and salty snacks well away form me, she also refused to give me anything kept artificially pink by nitrates. By time I was five, I could spout "I can't eat that hot dog, it's full of nitrates" with absolute authority.

There was a guy on Vancouver Island who made his own nitrate-free bacon and hams, and my parents used to make special trips out to see him. I'm trying to remember his name...Hertel? It was something starting with an "H."

Nitrate-free is delicious. And not neon-pink.

[Fat Guy]

Has anyone else tried Niman's?  Is it also nitrite-free?  The slab on display did have an uncured look about it.

Niman Ranch makes bacon with and without sodium nitrite, so the only way to find out is to ask about the specific product. I've had a couple of the permutations and they've been good, if a bit mild.

[chefb]

I worked with applegate on the product devolpement for there cured meats line(mostly tasting). They spent a long time comming up with the right formula before releasing there product. These use beet juice in some of the hams to get that pink color. There turkey is the closest thing to the real deal as one can get. It just dosen't have a very good shelf life. Buy the pre-pack.

note* I think the army added nitrates(salt peter) to there troops food to decrease sex drive, back in the day??

[stefanyb]

I have been an advocate of nitrate-free products for many years. I didn't particularly like the nitrate-free sausages and coldcuts that were on the market but felt that there were ample health reasons for avoiding nitrates and so I put up with the inferior taste of these products.

Now I've tried the ones mentioned and its a revelation.

At any rate, I provide you with the latest evidence of why to avoid nitrates (they have been linked to diabetes) HERE

[Fat Guy]

I simply like the taste of these products. I think the jury is out on the effects of sodium nitrite. It has been used as a curing agent forever and has probably saved many lives that would have been lost to botulism and the like. But now that we have safe, nitrite free products that taste so good, I've become partial to them.

[mamster]

I like some of the Applegate products (especially the pepperoni), but nitrite-free bacon doesn't do it for me. As far as I'm concerned, nitrites are a key component of that inimitable bacon flavor.

Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't many wonderful things to do with uncured pork belly, and I am salivating just thinking about twice-cooked pork.

[Fat Guy]

Mamster, what is the proper usage of the term "cured"? I mean, does sodium nitrite equal cured and anything without that ingredient is uncured? That doesn't make sense to me. I thought curing referred to a whole range of processes, many of which have nothing to do with sodium nitrite. Yet every nitrite free product I see seems to call itself "uncured." So what's up with that?

[mamster]

Beats me, I was using the term loosely. Maybe we're dealing with a technical government definition that includes nitrites and a colloquial term that can refer to a variety of processes. I pulled up a meat smoking and curing FAQ, but that didn't help.

[stefanyb]

Mamster, what is the proper usage of the term "cured"? I mean, does sodium nitrite equal cured and anything without that ingredient is uncured? That doesn't make sense to me. I thought curing referred to a whole range of processes, many of which have nothing to do with sodium nitrite. Yet every nitrite free product I see seems to call itself "uncured." So what's up with that?

I'm fairly certain that curing refers to the use of salt or sodium introduced to the protein to inhibit the growth of bacteria as well as provide flavor.

I've seen things that were labeled "cured with only salt and sugar" but it seems to me that sodium something must be used for it to be considered cured- sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sodium chloride, whateva.

[Fat Guy]

Here's a pretty good introduction to sodium nitrite:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/...ion/DJ0974.html

[ahr]

Niman Ranch makes bacon with and without sodium nitrite, so the only way to find out is to ask about the specific product. I've had a couple of the permutations and they've been good, if a bit mild.

A reasonable description as well of Blue Smoke's pork ribs, though for completely unrelated reasons.