You can even find tofu- or soy-based vegetarian versions. Each product will have its own nutritional information, and some might have lower levels of fat and sodium.
Maybe you've seen the videos. Maybe you've heard about them. Maybe you've been putting your head in the sand to ignore the rumors about how hot dogs are made so you can enjoy your frankfurter in blissful ignorance. Well, if you're ready to take off your blinders, here's the deal: Hot dog making is pretty gross. Word to the wise: Don't watch it while eating Depending on whether your hot dog contains "meat" or "mechanically separated meat," as defined by the USDA , in the list of ingredients, you may or may not be getting "extra calcium" i.
If your favorite hot dog uses the word "meat" in its ingredients, it was likely separated from the animal using "meat recovery systems" or "advanced meat bone separation. So what exactly does the "mechanically separated meat" MSM used in many but not all hot dogs look like? The USDA might call it "batter-like or paste-like meat product" — neither of which sounds all that appetizing — but it still sounds better than "white slime," right?
Well, when you buy hot dogs that include the phrases "mechanically separated meat" or "mechanically separated poultry" MSP in the ingredient list, you're consuming white slime. White slime is what results when the bones of what's left of an animal and the remainder of the bones' attached tissue get forced under high pressure through a sieve, pumping out the edible portions while leaving the bones behind. The edible portions come out in a paste-like substance that amounts to meat sludge.
It's this sludge, slime, paste, or batter you choose your preferred descriptor that then gets pumped into casings before being cooked and packaged into your favorite cookout treat. If you can't handle this reality, read your ingredient labels. Higher-end hot dogs that include "meat" on the label doesn't matter what kind of meat — beef, pork, chicken, or turkey , rather than MSM or MSP don't utilize white slime.
Think for a second about what happens when you cook beef, pork, turkey, or chicken without any seasonings — you end up with a gray or white-ish meat, right? And considering hot dogs are pre-cooked using one or two of these various meats before being packaged, it just makes sense that hot dogs should look gray or white-ish. And yet, most hot dogs on the shelves of your local grocery store have a nice pink hue.
So what gives? A article published in Inverse points to sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate. These compounds are used in processed meats to help preserve meat and add flavor, but they also help give these meats their appetizing pink or red color.
A fresh cut piece of steak is nice and red, right? But as it gets older it loses its red color. This has to do with the myoglobin in meat turning red when bound to oxygen. Over time, oxygen "falls away" and the meat loses its red tint.
Sodium nitrite, on the other hand, can bind to myoglobin in place of oxygen and create this same "heme" that has a red hue. But unlike oxygen, it doesn't "fall away" as quickly, providing meat with a red tint for much longer. The problem? As the article in Inverse points out, nitrites and nitrates have been linked to incidences of cancer.
If you're concerned, look for hot dogs made without preservatives. Most people would do well to eat fewer hot dogs overall. And by "fewer," let's say most people should limit consumption to a few hot dogs a month. As in, two or three. But that's most people, not people involved in the weird, weird world of competitive eating.
In the world of competitive eating , particularly for the world-famous Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest which is held annually on the Fourth of July, competitive eaters have 10 minutes to stuff their faces with as many hot dogs and buns as they can.
Sporting News reported that in , a new world record was set by Joey Chestnut when he demolished 74 hot dogs. Think about that for a second — 74 hot dogs. If contestants are consuming Nathan's Skinless Beef Franks , Chestnut consumed 9, calories, grams of fat saturated , and 35, milligrams sodium in 10 minutes. Additives like MSG and nitrates are also common, though all-natural dogs usually skip any objectionable ingredients. But those trimmings? By definition, they can contain a lot of things that come off an animal, including blood, skin, and even feet.
At least none of it is actual human meat, as some people feared when a Clear Lab food advocacy test in showed 2 percent of hot dog samples contained human DNA. That was more likely due to human error and trace amounts of hair or fingernails making their way into the batch, not a worker falling into the vat. Have you got a Big Question you'd like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions mentalfloss.
BY Jake Rossen. Less appetizing ingredients can also include sodium erythorbate, which the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council swears is not actually ground-up earthworms: "In contrast to a popular urban legend, erythorbate is NOT made from earthworms, though the U.
Big Questions Food Health july 4th News. Hot dogs are a cheap source of protein and are safe to eat with or without additional cooking. What's your favorite style of hot dog? View Results. Nitrates are food additives that are often to cure meats. Some food companies have recently introduced meats that do not Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs! Baseball season brings with it home runs, stolen bases, and…hot dogs! These wonderful Share in the comments below.
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