Low-carb snack reviews: Pork rinds

When you go low-carb, one thing you quickly learn is that there are very few options for salty crunchy treats. Whereas before you had a world of options (including popcorn (premade, microwave, stovetop, or air popped), Cheetos, Doritos, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Cheese Nips, and so much more) on a low-carb diet you basically have… nuts.

Don't get me wrong, nuts are delicious. But one does grow tired of them. Also, nuts are very calorically dense, which is a problem for those of us who only went low-carb in the first place in order to lose weight.

This led me to my most recent culinary horror: Pork rinds.

(How weird is it that we call a pig's skin its "rind"? Like it's half-animal, half-orange.)

Plain pork rinds are zero carb and gluten free. The variety I have found (BAKEN-ETS) contains only two ingredients: Fried pig skin and salt. Note that the flavored pork rinds often contain sugar and other sources of carbs.

Upon first opening the bag, a fishy odor is released. This smell is as unlikable as it is unmistakable. It actually takes a moment for the smell to dissipate, as if it is formed of heavy molecules which only reluctantly float out of the bag and drift away. I do not know what this smell is, or where it comes from. I prefer not to think about it.

Once you start eating the fried skin - excuse me, "rinds" - they are pretty good. Especially if you are on a low carb diet and craving salty crunchy things. There is a faint hint of something vaguely bacon-ish to the taste. Mostly they just taste… salty. It's similar to eating plain tortilla chips, albeit ones which are thick and puffy.

Pork rinds really make you thirsty. But not in the way that most salty foods make you thirsty. Pork rinds make you thirsty the way that sucking on a piece of cardboard will make you thirsty. This, too, is not a particularly pleasant experience.

Overall, I can't say I recommend them. But then again, why not!

Image courtesy Flickr/atonal