Don’t cheat on the meat: cheap bacon is a waterlogged waste of money

It seems absurd to pay for water, yet that is exactly what we do when buying low-grade bacon, as revealed by a Which? magazine investigation.

It found supermarkets are quietly bumping up the weight of their own-label rashers. The water may be there because the pig was fast-reared on a lot of grain, and put on water weight, or because the meat has been injected with water and polyphosphates – a substance that acts like a sponge, holding water in. Spot it before you buy and not after, when your sizzling streaky leaches white gunk into the pan.

Polyphosphates create a rainbow sheen on the raw sliced meat, visible through the clear packaging and must be mentioned on labels. While we wait for the supermarkets to smarten up their act, we can be our own food detectives.

In reality, there is little economising to be had in buying the cheapest bacon and fresh pork. Meat from naturally reared pigs shrinks less after cooking because it has less naturally occurring water. It is also healthier to eat dry-cured bacon, because the curing salts are not injected into the meat but are concentrated on the outer edge.

Spending more on the good, honest stuff for a decent bacon sandwich is well worth it, believe me.

Thanks to Rose Prince for pointing this out in The Telegraph