What Bacon Nation is Not

I just watched Jon Stewart interview Michael Moss, the author of Salt, Sugar, Fat. Moss’ book reports on food manufacturers meticulous and methodical search for the “bliss point” in commercially produced products like Dr. Pepper, Cheetos, or potato chips. I believe it’s an important book that every parent and home cook should read.

Don’t mistakingly judge Bacon Nation as a pandering to America’s love for fast-food dishes and commercial products that rely on copious amounts of sugar, fat and salt for flavor. From the very beginning, Peter Kaminsky and I chose to create a bacon cookbook that mostly avoided high-calorie, obvious combinations such as bacon and cheddar cheese. We instead looked for innovative ways to use bacon as a potent and often subtle seasoning ingredient to create our 125 through-the-menu dishes that don’t overly depend on ingredients such as sugar, fat and salt.

Some of my personal favorites in Bacon Nation are found in the vegetable side-dish and soup chapters. Bacon Nation celebrates the idea that learning how to cook well is the best way to control your weight and eat healthy, satisfying meals every day. With its powerful elements of taste— saltiness, fat, sweetness, and meaty umami — bacon can be the “bliss point” ingredient in a dish that in the end is both healthful and delicious. 

Bacon Nation will be available for sale May 7th, 2013.