Not all hot dogs are created equal. Many supermarket brands are full of fat instead of meat and make up for the lower-quality meat by over-spicing.

Bite into a Fearless Frank and you taste superior quality meat plus a delightful smokiness. The texture is firm and toothsome. The franks are fearless because the meat is free of antibiotics, added hormones, and nitrites, and is fully traceable.

The all-beef franks are naturally cured with a proprietary blend of celery juice and spices. They give peace of mind to those who prefer nitrate-free preparations.

Fearless Franks are more expensive but well worth it. The mantra: Eat better meat; if cost is an issue, eat less meat.

You can buy Fearless Franks at Whole Foods Markets and other fine retailers, as well as online from Niman Ranch.

> The history of hot dogs.

> A brief history of meat preservation is below.

Cured meats (bacon, ham, contain the chemical preservatives sodium nitrite and (or) sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is added to preserve and enhance a meat’s flavors and shelf life.

When nitrates break down through cooking, digestion, or other means, they form nitrites, which are potential carcinogens.

Manufacturers and the USDA claim that the level of nitrates/nitrites is too low to cause problems. But there is enough of a controversy that it makes some people wary of ingesting nitrates and nitrates. They’ve given up hot dogs and other cured meats.

Instead, look for uncured hot dogs, like Fearless Franks.

Why Are Nitrates Used?

Nitrates and nitrites are chemicals that occur naturally in all plant foods and some animal products.

Both substances are extraordinarily useful to processed meat manufacturers. They provide cured meats with their characteristic flavor and pink color. These chemicals are also very important in food preservation; they’re especially good at inhibiting the growth of microorganisms, including those that cause botulism. They’ve been used for these purposes since the late 1800s.

The chemical reactions leading to the creation of carcinogens are not subject to speculation, nor are the formations of the carcinogens themselves. Both are well-documented. Although carcinogens have been demonstrated to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and some research has suggested that individuals with heavy consumption of cured meats have higher risks of colon and pancreatic cancers, no research has shown definitively that they also cause cancer in humans.

Ancient man preserved meat by cooking it until most of the moisture (which allows bacteria to grow) was removed. The result: jerky.

Later, man searched for a less chewy solution, and found it in salt and saltpeter (the natural form of potassium nitrate).

During modern times, a product called pink salt contains a standardized amount of sodium nitrite (it’s not the same product as the gourmet pink Himalayan sea salt) has become the preferred medium for curing and preserving meats.

The use of nitrites and nitrates in the production of cured meats is now carefully regulated, with a concentration not to exceed 200 parts per million in finished products. Thus, The amount of nitrates and nitrites you ingest when eating cured products is considered to be negligible and, according to the USDA, does not pose any health risk.
 
 

Since this week’s Top Pick is the Veggie Patch vegetarian line, our weekly video recipe follows suit.

These delicious vegetarian sausages are billed as vegetarian in the video, but they’re actually vegan—no animal-based ingredients are used. Even the special flavoring, Bill’s Best Chik’Nish Seasoning, is vegan.

The meatless sausages are made with a base of gluten flour and garbanzo bean flour, plus all of the traditional Italian sausage seasonings: garlic, onion, chili flakes, fennel seeds, oregano, pepper and paprika.

You don’t have to stuff sausage casings, either. Because the flours act as bonding agents, the ingredients form a dough that is hand-rolled into sausage shapes, then steamed.

Make them for yourself, or as a gift for a vegetarian or vegan friend.

Whenever we’re asked to a July 4th party, we always bring our Red, White & Blue Potato Salad. It’s special on Independence Day and potato salad occasion.

While we generally enjoy sharing, we keep our exact recipe a secret. We worked for years to get the dressing right!

But the United States Potato Board sent us a substitute red, white and blue potato salad recipe. It mixes three different potato types with onions, bell peppers, and ham in a balsamic vinaigrette. This fancy potato salad is a world away from a potato-mayonnaise mix, a delight for potato salad fans.

The recipe was created by Jill Melton, MS, RD, former senior food editor of Cooking Light and director of communications for Food Insight. We had bacon on hand and substituted it for the ham: delicious!

And a bonus: Here’s another red, white and blue potato salad recipe, with white stars cut from non-browning Envy apples.

> Fun potato trivia (below).

> The history of potatoes.

> The different types of potatoes.

> 60 more red, white and blue recipes.
 
 
RED, WHITE & BLUE POTATO SALAD RECIPE

Ingredients
 

 
Preparation

1. Cut the potatoes into 1-1/2 inch pieces (do not peel). Steam for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet. Add ham, walnuts, and garlic. Sauté 10 minutes. Add sherry vinegar, and stir well.

3. In a large bowl, toss ham mixture with potatoes, additional 2 tablespoons of oil, red pepper, green onions, salt, and pepper. Serve warm or cold with grilled steak, burgers, chicken, or fish.
 
 
Find more delicious potato recipes from the U.S. Potato Board.

[2] Petite potatoes in red, white, and blue (photo © Potato Goodness).

[3] Some varieties of purple potatoes have a more blue hue, but for July 4th, we’ll pretend these are blue (photo © Mona Makela | iStock Photo).

*Creamer potatoes are potatoes that are harvested while young, tender, and small—often as little as one inch in diameter. The flesh contains a lower level of starch, which makes them suitable for boiling. Creamer potatoes are typically Yukon Gold or red potatoes, which are called gold creamers or red creamers, respectively.
 
 

[4] Most of the potatoes sold in the U.S. are frozen. A large amount is sold to restaurants and other foodservice (photo © King Soopers).

[5] Fresh potatoes are the second largest category. These Yukon Gold potatoes are a favorite of chefs and foodies (photo © Bonnie Plants).

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, potatoes are the largest vegetable crop in the U.S., with an annual production of 41.3 billion pounds. More than one million acres of potatoes are planted annually—the equivalent of filling the entire state of Rhode Island with potato plants.

The U.S. Per Capita Potato Consumption is 117 pounds a year. Here’s the breakdown of what we eat, based on the 2010 forecast:

 
 
TOP 10 POTATO PRODUCING STATES
(in Billion Pounds)†

Potatoes are grown in all 50 states, but most of those 41.3 billion pounds are grown in:
1. Idaho 11.5
2. Washington 9.3
3. Wisconsin 2.9
4. Colorado 2.3
5. North Dakota 2.3
6. Minnesota 2.0
7. Oregon 1.9
8. Michigan 1.5
9. California 1.5
10. Maine 1.5

________________

†2008 Figures from USDA/NASS.

Consuming dietary carcinogens has been associated with different cancers in humans; a new study has shown that they can cause prostate cancer in rats.

Research has shown that grilled beef is a major source of dietary HCAs when cooked at temperatures of 375°F and above.

Now, ScienceNewsDaily.com, which reports on the latest research, offers a cure…or rather, a marinade. All it takes is marinating the protein with certain antioxidant herbs and spices to prevent HCAs from forming in cooked meats.

J. Scott Smith, Ph.D, a professor of food chemistry at Kansas State University, conducted research for the Food Safety Consortium to discover what effect marinating steaks could have on reducing carcinogenic compounds (HCAs and PAHs*) produced by grilling.

The findings: Cooking meats with specific herbs and spices decreases or eliminates HCAs on meat, up to 87%. Dr. Smith and his team successfully used spices in the mint family: basil, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme. Most of these herbs are rich in three potent antioxidants: carnosic acid, carnosol and rosmarinic acid.

The herbs and spices were contained in a supermarket brand of powdered marinade containing rosemary and thyme. The cooked meat’s level of reduced HCAs correlated to the amount of antioxidant herbs and spices present in the marinades.

 
You can make your own marinades using these herbs. And certainly, add the herbs and spices directly to ground beef. Rosemary and thyme are delicious additions to any protein.
 
Here’s the original article.
  

Meatless corn dogs are one of the vegetarian
treats from Veggie Patch. Photo courtesy
Veggie Patch.

This vegetarian line includes family favorites:

 
Chick’n and Veggie Dogs taste like the real, meaty deal; and the Broccoli Bites and Spinach Bites will convince everyone to eat more veggies.

Try them all!

See all of the Top Picks Of The Week.