BBQ and Brining

[vulcan2012]

I understand that a basic brine is a mixture of water, salt, and sugar. Can a sugar substitute be used in the brine if diabetes is a dietary concern? My thanks!

[Qfan]

Interesting question. I did some looking around online and found this in a fishing forum. On a side note, some said Splenda subbed for sugar wasn't very pleasant and others reported that they thoroughly enjoyed the result. So, perhaps if you're willing to experiment on something like a simple chicken breast or the like, you can decide if there's an unpleasant taste associated with the Splenda in the brine or not. Anyway, here's the post from that forum from a diabetic talking about brining and diabetes:

Here's the deal:

Carbohydrates raise blood sugar in diabetics. Raw sugar is the purest form of carbohydrate, and as such diabetics have been traditionally told to avoid sweets and sugar (and things like fruit juices) since it causes a surge in blood sugar.

But, as time has gone on, researchers have found that the sugar consumed can be significantly slowed with the combination of protien and fat in the meal. This is an important distinction.

In the case of smoked salmon, yes, washing the brine off the surface prior to smoking washes away most of the sugar in the first place. But the sugar/salt/brine that penetrates the fish and gives it its awesome flavor is present with a much larger quantity of natural protiens and fats from the fish itself.

It causes a much slower digestive process to occur. There is something called a "Hypoglycemic Index" that scientists have used to measure the absorbsion of foods. It suprises many people to find that eating a baked potato, which is really a fairly simple carbohydrate, will raise blood sugar in type I diabetics much faster than a Snickers bar! Why? Same reason. The candy bar has lots of chocolate (fat) and nuts (protien and fat) in addition to the sugar. Interestingly, a Snickers bar is not recommended for raising blood sugar from those suffering from hypoglcemia due to an insulin overdose, but is recommended for those suffering from hypoglcemia if they aren't diabetic, because it will slowly raise the blood sugar.

I am a type I diabetic, meaning I have to take insulin all the time. I can assure you that there aren't blood sugar spikes associated with me eating smoked salmon, and that I merely count a piece of smoked salmon as somewhere between 5 and 10 carbs, depending on the size.

Bon apetite'!!!

[J-P]

That was an excellent share, thank you!