When is smoked bacon not smoked bacon?

[matchmaker]

I like a nice bit of smoked bacon. I always get dry cure, either from a local butcher or from a German owned budget supermarket - "Ultimate Beechwood smoked" which is actually bloody good.

I was in a bit of a hurry last night so had to get my bacon in (spit) Tescos. I bought a pack of "Scottish Dry Cure Smoked Back Bacon" which is produced by a company which describes itself as "Scotlands Butcher".

Lunch today was bacon rolls, using said bacon. It was fairly strong smelling and didn't taste that nice - my son didn't finish his which is almost unheard of.

When I decided to read the ingredients, I discovered that the third after pork and salt was "smoke flavouring". WTF! So this "smoked bacon" isn't actually smoked. Just to add insult to injury the next ingredient was "Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein". Then two preservatives and an antioxidant.

The discounted supermarket bacon (about a pound cheaper)has pork, salt, sugar and two preservatives. It is also described as being smoked over beechwood.

I feel a bit cheated, but is this normal practice? To describe food as smoked when it isn't and has had a flavouring added instead?

[jmorgan]

Anyone surprised? Tis why I never rely on the supermarket for such stuff in the meat department, well, any cuts really. Always go to the butcher. For supermarkets this includes all the stuff they will put water in, declared and undeclared. I am also a bit of label reader for stuff I have to get and avoid a lot of E stuff but they got clever and use the names it is also known as.

[pad58]

I understand they also add this to cod and haddock.
You can't beat the butchers smoked bacon.

[calibrax]

Yep. It is smoked, but not for long, that way they can still call it smoked. But most of the flavour comes from it being soaked in (or injected with) brine with a smoke flavour added. Much quicker and cheaper to produce than normal smoking methods.

[jmorgan]

When you say much cheaper and quicker, it also bulks it up a tad. Looks like you are getting more.....

Not a con is it.

[calibrax]

jmorgan said:

When you say much cheaper and quicker, it also bulks it up a tad. Looks like you are getting more.....

Not a con is it.

Yeah... and it explains why cheap bacon shrivels up so much when you cook it as all the water comes out. Usually dry cure is the way to go, but from the OP it seems Tesco have managed to screw that up as well... I guess a proper butcher is the only answer nowadays.

[Rooster]

We get ours from our local butcher, its also organic nd produced only 5 miles from the point of sale, absolutely gutted as it closed this weekend despite having long queues every weekend
We need to find another source now.

[jogon]

You will find the same with smoked salmon. The cheaper brands use poor quality, fatty, farmed salmon then rather than smoke it simply add flavourings. It's disgusting stuff and I would rather go without than eat that junk. Even the higher end supermarket stuff use similar methods.

[evilmunkey]

I get my bacon from an excellent old school butchers. He does on particular bacon that he calls smoke cured. told me that good smoked bacon doesnt need anything but good quality wood smoke to cure it....makes sense as smoking was done primarily to preserve it in the old days.

[juliann]

matchmaker said:

I like a nice bit of smoked bacon. I always get dry cure, either from a local butcher or from a German owned budget supermarket - "Ultimate Beechwood smoked" which is actually bloody good.

I was in a bit of a hurry last night so had to get my bacon in (spit) Tescos. I bought a pack of "Scottish Dry Cure Smoked Back Bacon" which is produced by a company which describes itself as "Scotlands Butcher".

Lunch today was bacon rolls, using said bacon. It was fairly strong smelling and didn't taste that nice - my son didn't finish his which is almost unheard of.

When I decided to read the ingredients, I discovered that the third after pork and salt was "smoke flavouring". WTF! So this "smoked bacon" isn't actually smoked. Just to add insult to injury the next ingredient was "Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein". Then two preservatives and an antioxidant.

The discounted supermarket bacon (about a pound cheaper)has pork, salt, sugar and two preservatives. It is also described as being smoked over beechwood.

I feel a bit cheated, but is this normal practice? To describe food as smoked when it isn't and has had a flavouring added instead?

No it's not normal practice - it's normally smoked with real wood chips / blocks. HVP is not 'normal' either. If it hadn't been 'smoked' and only had smoke flavour added, it should (I believe) declare itself as Scottish Dry Cure SMOKE FLAVOUR Bacon

Edited by juliann on Monday 5th August 12:35

[FredericRobinson]

jogon said:

You will find the same with smoked salmon. The cheaper brands use poor quality, fatty, farmed salmon then rather than smoke it simply add flavourings. It's disgusting stuff and I would rather go without than eat that junk. Even the higher end supermarket stuff use similar methods.

No they don't, all the smoked salmon in the UK supermarkets is smoked using wood, and without added flavourings. It is all farmed though.

[JonRB]

I was watching one of those "how it's made" type programmes on the Discovery Channel a while back, and they were showing how smoked gammon (I think it was) is made, and some worker was painting the steaks with what looked like a large paintbrush being dipped into a tub of creosote. This was the 'smoked flavouring'.

[jogon]

FredericRobinson said:

jogon said:

You will find the same with smoked salmon. The cheaper brands use poor quality, fatty, farmed salmon then rather than smoke it simply add flavourings. It's disgusting stuff and I would rather go without than eat that junk. Even the higher end supermarket stuff use similar methods.

No they don't, all the smoked salmon in the UK supermarkets is smoked using wood, and without added flavourings. It is all farmed though.

Liquid smoke does exist and would certainly cut down on the smoking time.. Then you have the salt, brine and sugar injections.

Lovely stuff.

[FredericRobinson]

I'm well aware of liquid smoke, not of it's use in smoked salmon production though, unless you can show otherwise? Curing and smoking salmon is a different business to ham and bacon.

Edited by FredericRobinson on Monday 5th August 17:57

[pad58]

evilmunkey said:

I get my bacon from an excellent old school butchers. He does on particular bacon that he calls smoke cured. told me that good smoked bacon doesnt need anything but good quality wood smoke to cure it....makes sense as smoking was done primarily to preserve it in the old days.

[Mobile Chicane]

jogon said:

You will find the same with smoked salmon. The cheaper brands use poor quality, fatty, farmed salmon then rather than smoke it simply add flavourings. It's disgusting stuff and I would rather go without than eat that junk. Even the higher end supermarket stuff use similar methods.

This is what I suspect.

I only ever buy Forman's smoked salmon. Yes it's expensive, but there's a reason for that - it's properly cured and smoked.

I can't eat the cheap stuff. The 'smoked' salmon that goes into supermarket sandwiches literally makes me heave. It's slimy, oily and tastes of cod liver oil. Not much genuine 'smoking' going on there I think.

[UnderTheRadar]

I'd be careful of the "go to your local butcher" thinking. There's some more emotion than logic there at times. We've some experience of this having our lambs butchered and our neigbour does lambs, cows, goats, pigs etc. The quality of what comes back very much depends on the butcher and some comes below supermarket quality. I was talking some years ago to a guy from the Meat & Livestock Commission and at that time he rated Tesco as best for consistent quality.

[AJS-]

Against everything I previously stood for I have given up bacon. A nice piece of fresh pork with salt is just as good and has no nasties. Basically if food comes in a packet it's been messed with somehow!

[NorthDave]

There needs to be a revolution against this crap. Why can't supermarkets just sell good food at a reasonible price (I dont need an answer to that btw, I know it is because people demand huge amounts for pennies).

I started some time ago when Tesco's bullied their way on to my high street. I never spend any money in there any more. The vast majority of my food comes from a green grocers, fish mongers and butchers locally.

[AJS-]

People won't pay for it, sadly. I've doubled my food expenditure in the last couple of months buying good quality meat and fresh vegetables. I could live on tins, rice, pasta and ready meals far cheaper. I'd rather pay more and eat well.