It is possible to make a healthier hot dog simply by using low-fat ingredients. This is not readily popular with lovers of the sausage in the bun, mainly because the end product lacks the satisfying level of chewiness. With #nationalhotdogday being celebrated, we look at what science has to offer the popular fast food.
Chemists have been looking into more healthful alternatives to the savored but fatty hot dogs. To avoid the problem, Lab Manager reports, low fat can equal low satisfaction — low fat wieners have been developed whereby pork fat is replaced by olive oil, using a process that retains the consistency of the traditional hot dog.
The process and tasty outcome is shown in the following video:
The research was led by Dr. Ana M. Herrero. The researchers have developed and used olive oil “bulking agents,” which replace the less healthy animal fats. The substitute is composed of 55 percent olive oil. The advocate of this is the higher unsaturated fat content. This not only offers a lower risk of developing heart disease (when used as part of a controlled diet), it also lowers the calorie content.
In tests, the reformatted hot dog has ticked the right boxes in taste tests in terms of texture and taste, as well as the ability to be stored. The texture was developed and tested using a method called Raman spectroscopy, which was able to examine the protein structure. The technique is used to observe vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a substance (and in this case the hot dog.)
Although the process seems to work, one social media user Akhadiana Thaib, messaged: “Replacing pork fat with olive oil is healthy choice. But you cannot grill or cook the sausage at temperature higher than olive oil smoking point, as the oil will breakdown chemically losing most of its benefits, releasing toxic in the form of smoke, and….not good for your health. Coconut oil is much better option, although the taste will not go well with the sauce.” So it seems there is perhaps more to do with the perfecting the process.
The research is published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The paper is titled “Biogenic Amines in Low- and Reduced-Fat Dry Fermented Sausages Formulated with Konjac Gel.”
