Bacon, Schmacon
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Look out, bacon! You're about to get some healthy competition. Meatingplace.com reports that an all-beef product called Schmacon, currently available commercially, will enter the retail market by the end of the year.
Schmacon's creator, Howard Bender, is a Culinary Institute of America chef and the owner of Schmaltz Delicatessen in Naperville, Ill. Bender uses Schmacon in several dishes at the deli and ships it to other delicatessens across the United States.
The whole-muscle beef slices glistening on the pages of Schmacon.com certainly look like bacon, and the website claims that "a proprietary, deli-inspired spice blend and cure" delivers "all the magic of smoky and sweet that drives bacon's popularity."
Where it differs from pork bacon is in calories, fat and sodium content. According to the website, a 15-gram serving of Schmacon is 30 calories and contains 1.5 grams of fat and 170 milligrams of sodium, whereas 15 grams of pork bacon is 60 to 90 calories, with 4.5 to seven grams of fat and 190 to 360 milligrams of sodium.
Other bacon alternatives like chicken and turkey have never threatened pork bacon's dominance.
Schmacon received a 2014 Food and Beverage Innovations Award from the National Restaurant Association. BP