Homemade Carbonara - terrible for you?

[UTH]

I do love making this myself, but I'm never sure if I'm eating something terrible for my health, or is it actually ok as it's homemade?
I use:

Pancetta, 3 egg yolks, parmesan, pasta and some black pepper. No cream!!

I could probably eat this 3 times a week if I let myself, but it's more like once a fortnight. What's the general opinion? A rare treat or actually better than a lot of things one could eat?

[lauda]

I suppose the processed nature of the pancetta means it isn't the healthiest thing in the world but it's not like you'd be using a huge amount of it. Three egg yolks is quite a lot though and I suppose combined with the meat and cheese, it's quite a fatty meal. I dunno, it's probably better for you than a KFC bucket but less good than a kale smoothie

[UTH]

lauda said:

I suppose the processed nature of the pancetta means it isn't the healthiest thing in the world but it's not like you'd be using a huge amount of it. Three egg yolks is quite a lot though and I suppose combined with the meat and cheese, it's quite a fatty meal. I dunno, it's probably better for you than a KFC bucket but less good than a kale smoothie

Haha yeah fair point I guess.

I have read a fair few recipes and they've suggest 1-2 eggs per person, but I've just always found that's a tiny amount. Maybe I'm making a bit too much, but any less than 3 seems pointless

[lauda]

Do you use some of the starchy pasta water to when you mix in the eggs and cheese to make the 'sauce' go a bit further? If not, you could try that and leave out one of the eggs. But it is supposed to be quite a rich dish so no point trying to make it too healthy.

[Johnnytheboy]

I take the view that however much carbonara I ate it's very unlikely to be the thing that kills me.

Though I did read a headline the other day that eating an average of 1/2 an egg a day raises your risk of death by 7%.

I always assumed my current risk of death was 100%.

[PrinceRupert]

In terms of the unhealthy things I consume on a weekly basis, carbonara is basically a health food.

[joshleb]

That all for yourself or shared?

I use 3 eggs when making a portion for two, with some starchy pasta water when it's all added.

Sometimes I even add an onion, that surely counts as one of 5 a day!

[UTH]

lauda said:

Do you use some of the starchy pasta water to when you mix in the eggs and cheese to make the 'sauce' go a bit further? If not, you could try that and leave out one of the eggs. But it is supposed to be quite a rich dish so no point trying to make it too healthy.

I do indeed do that.....I've always learnt that it's that water which makes the 'sauce' that a lot of people believe cream is needed for.

[UTH]

joshleb said:

That all for yourself or shared?

I use 3 eggs when making a portion for two, with some starchy pasta water when it's all added.

Sometimes I even add an onion, that surely counts as one of 5 a day!

Ashamed to say that's on my own! I don't eat much during the day, but that means I'm starving by evening so a huge bowl of pasta like this is easily taken down on my tod.

[lauda]

Johnnytheboy said:

I take the view that however much carbonara I ate it's very unlikely to be the thing that kills me.

Though I did read a headline the other day that eating an average of 1/2 an egg a day raises your risk of death by 7%.

I always assumed my current risk of death was 100%.

I read the same about egg consumption. The article did point out that the link was purely observational though and didn't take account of any other lifestyle or dietary factors. As with most headline-grabbing stories in relation to health and diet, I'll choose to ignore it until there's something that shows a more direct, causal link.

[joshleb]

So if you eat half an egg a day, you have 107% chance of death! Doesn't sound good!

[UTH]

PrinceRupert said:

In terms of the unhealthy things I consume on a weekly basis, carbonara is basically a health food.

To be fair, that sounds like me Fri-sun! As you know, we're renovating the house so the kitchen (what's left of it) is seriously unappealing to cook in, so the weekend is up to 3 takeaways!!

How's the TVR looking, did you decide on wheels?

[bigpriest]

"Pancetta, 3 egg yolks, parmesan, pasta and some black pepper. No cream!!"

Sounds absolutely fine. If described as "ham, eggs, milk and wheat" you'd be thinking "healthy".

[Northernboy]

I do like making carbonara, but although I understand that it’s a point of pride to use no cream I do still prefer it with a little.

I’m more a fan of making it exactly to my taste than making it as “authentic” as possible, as that route leads to pizzas with no tomato sauce on them (or pineapple...)

[Truckosaurus]

Nothing tasty is ever good for you

Speaking as a knacker, it is not so much the ingredients but the portion size that will be your downfall.

[UTH]

Truckosaurus said:

Nothing tasty is ever good for you

Speaking as a knacker, it is not so much the ingredients but the portion size that will be your downfall.

Both very good points.

I think I certainly ate a 2 person portion last night.

[craigjm]

Pancetta is processed and very fatty so high calories and high saturated fat. Eggs are high in cholesterol but its not bad cholesterol, pasta will be very high in carbs and some pre-made stuff is higher in salt than it needs to be

All very much depends on quantity. What weight of pasta and pancetta are you using?

[UTH]

craigjm said:

Pancetta is processed and very fatty so high calories and high saturated fat. Eggs are high in cholesterol but its not bad cholesterol, pasta will be very high in carbs and some pre-made stuff is higher in salt than it needs to be

All very much depends on quantity. What weight of pasta and pancetta are you using?

I was bad and used half this whole pack (as in one of the two packets it comes as): https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/cooks-ingre...

Pasta, I dunno, a fairly chunky handful of spaghetti.

[number2]

UTH said:

craigjm said:

Pancetta is processed and very fatty so high calories and high saturated fat. Eggs are high in cholesterol but its not bad cholesterol, pasta will be very high in carbs and some pre-made stuff is higher in salt than it needs to be

All very much depends on quantity. What weight of pasta and pancetta are you using?

I was bad and used half this whole pack (as in one of the two packets it comes as): https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/cooks-ingre...

Pasta, I dunno, a fairly chunky handful of spaghetti.

I use the same.

That whole pack of pancetta (both 'halves'), 250g of pasta, clove of garlic, about 80g parmesan, one whole egg, and about 150ml of cream. For two people.

Tasty, but calorific.

[grumbledoak]

There is a load of bollards talked about eggs, mostly because they compete with Corn Flakes for breakfast and Kellogg's annual advertising budget is eleventy billion dollars.

I would worry more about the carbs, and the processed meat has a small association with cancer, but you aren't eating it often enough even for those.