On Tue, 4 Apr 2017 12:29:59 -0500, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Tue, 04 Apr 2017 13:16:09 -0400, wrote:
>
>> Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>>http://www.meatmythcrushers.com/myth...isleading.html
>>>Currently USDA regulations require that meats cured with celery powder
>>>to be called “uncured” to distinguish them from conventionally cured
>>>products. Packages of meats cured with celery powder often say “No
>>>nitrates or nitrites added,” but also contain a statement “other than
>>>those which naturally occur in celery powder.” Many in the food
>>>industry believe a more accurate way to describe the products would be
>>>to call them “cured,” but still must comply with the regulations as
>>>written, which require them to be called “uncured.”
>>
>> What is celery powder... my understanding is that it refers to
>> powdered *celery seed* (not the celery stalk), which is added to fine
>> table salt to make celery salt.
>
>Celery powder, in this case, is fermented, dried, and refined celery
>juice. Nearly all the flavor has been removed so as not to flavor the
>finished product. It is then mixed with salt in a proportions enough
>so that the resulting powder is half the strength of Prague Powder #2.
>PP#2 is a mixture of salt, sodium nitrite, and sodium nitrate used in
>traditional meat curing.
>
>Calling it "celery powder" is a far cry from what normal cooks would
>consider celery powder. This is a highly industrial product that
>sounds more "natural" so they can sell it to unscrupulous
>manufacturers who then market it to gullible people. It's naturally
>derived sodium nitrate rather than synthetically manufactured, but the
>molecular structure is of course exactly the same and has the same
>effect in the body.
>
>But the effects of this mis-named "celery powder" are even worse
>because manufacturers are not required to also add ascorbic acid
>and/or erythorbates to prevent the formation of the cancer-causing
>nitrosamines. There is also no limit to the amount of nitrates you
>may add to products VIA the non-standardized celery powder, while
>there is a USDA-mandated limit with carefully measured synthetic
>nitrates.
>
>For these reasons, using celery powder is actually more dangerous than
>using synthetic nitrates. Don't let the manufacturers fool you with
>this well-documented marketing gimmick (and courtesy of the USDA).
>
>-sw

Celery powder sounds strange. I bought a butt half cured ham this
afternoon after my dental visit for a cleaning and exam (Look ma, no
Cavities!), 88¢/lb. good deal.
Took a pic for disbelievers but not down loaded yet, later after the
roast beef pic... the side is the main event, Oriental orange
greenbeans, has become a favorite here. This spring we'll be planting
Oriental Long Beans, then I will prepare the real deal.