If, like us, you like to go on all kinds of trips to the countryside, there is certainly no need to introduce Jerky at length. Dried meat together with protein bars is the best possible snack. And when it comes to them, most of you will think of the popular Indiana Jerky. But is it also the best? Are all the ingredients good quality, or is there something in there that shouldn't be? Which do we recommend the most? Find out that and much more in our review today.
For the sake of completeness, it remains to add that we have tried this jerky in several variationsflavours, so we'll recommend the tastiest pack in our flavour review.
Content of the review
Sodium nitrite should not be used in dried meats
If you were expecting jerky to contain, as the name suggests, only jerky, you would be sorely mistaken. You'll find several other ingredients in Indiana Jerky, although meat (whichever option you choose) is of course the first priority. Specifically:
- Table salt and dead sea salt, which are logically inevitable ingredients designed to better preserve and properly season the meat.
- Sugar, dextrose and maltodextrin are the ingredients that give the meat its sweetness. Dextrose is the D-form of glucose, a common monosaccharide. Maltodextrin is formed by combining several glucose molecules. These are ingredients that, in my opinion, should not be in dried meat.
- Caramel, which serves as a colouring agent in the product to make the meat look attractive. It is a non-controversial and non-controversial ingredient, the use of which is certainly not objectionable.
- Pepper and garlic used to flavour the product.
- Sodium nitrite, which acts as a preservative. According to the available expert information availableit is a carcinogen, even in very small doses. This is reason enough for me to avoid Indiana Jerky, as other jerky does not use this substance. JimJerky, for example.
- Other ingredients used: flavoring, smoke flavoring, soy protein hydrolysate, yeast extract, wine vinegar,
If you've ever wondered more thoroughly about the effects of nitrites and nitrates, you'll know that there are many pitfalls to consuming them. It is therefore, from my point of view, a perfectly sufficient reason for avoiding this meat and choosing instead some different product.
Too sweet for my taste
For the purposes of this review, I've tried several different variations of this jerky, and the defining characteristic of all of them is that they're a little too sweet for my taste sweet taste, which is probably due to the use of not only sugar (which is found in most other products) but also dextrose and maltodextrin. I also have to confess that , although there is no difference between the uncured beef, chicken and porkmeat, there is obviously a noticeable difference, in the case of dried meat the difference was not so marked. The chicken meat was of course a little more tender, but otherwise the taste (thanks to the same flavouring) was very similar. It would therefore be better to distinguish the dried meat by flavour in a detailed assessment:
- Original Jerky was, as I have already indicated in the title of this paragraph, very over-sweetened. If you read our reviews regularly, you will know that I very much appreciate naturally tasting things, whether they are supplements or various dietary substitutes. So if the meat is sweet, it automatically evokes very mixed feelings in me. The other brands I've had the opportunity to taste so far have not been this sweet and I have to say that it suits me better. But it may find its fans. I give this flavour 8 points out of 10.
- Unfortunately, I didn't findHot&sweet much sweeter than the original version and it definitely won't please spicy meat lovers either. Although on Heureka some reviewers point out that the meat burns extremely, I personally, and I'm not used to spicy food in any case. I had high expectations for this variant, which unfortunately remained unfulfilled. So I rate it 6 out of 10.
- Peppered was perhaps the only acceptable option, because the taste of pepper was really noticeable, but at the same time not so extreme that it would interfere with the taste of the meat. I found it significantly less sweet than the previous version, which is exactly what I look for. If you eat the whole packet, your mouth will definitely burn, but it really isn't anything crazy and I can only recommend it. So I give it a 9 out of 10.
The price, which is within reason, is pleasant
The first aspect that we have to highlight is the relatively pleasant price. If you decide to buy the 25g pack, which I personally find to be the best, because for example 100g is already unnecessarily large, you will pay for it. This is a relatively high price, but compared to other dried meats available, it is stillbecause, for example, Fine Gusto Jerky is about more expensive. Not to forget the other packs, 60g of dried meat will cost you and 100g pack will cost . The price is therefore slightly lower compared to the competition, but the sodium nitrite in the composition really spoils the overall impression.
A good snack for walking or to fight off cravings
I generally use Jerky in two situations. Firstly, on various strenuous hikes when I don't have the space to take theto carry large quantities of food, but I need something to keep me and secondly, for example, when watching a movie, when I want a healthier alternative to chips or other unhealthy snacks.
Final review
The friendly price and relatively good availability (Indiana Jerky is also available in many stores and drugstores) make this meat an obvious choice for many customers. However, the sodium nitrite is, in my opinion, absolutely enough reason to avoid this meat outright.
It is also not difficult to find meat from other brands, for example, Fine Gusto meats are available in Teta drugstores, Rossmann offers JimJerky and we could go on. So there are certainly many options and I personally would definitely prefer dried meat without any preservatives. The less added ingredients the meat contains, the better for you.