Is iconic peameal a healthy ritual?
Carousel’s sandwiches are beloved in this city
Carousel Bakery, St. Lawrence Market (Upper Level) Peameal bacon sandwich, $6.45 Veal parmigiana sandwich, $6.85
The ask
For Reese Travers, a trip to the St. Lawrence Market isn’t complete without a stop at Carousel Bakery.
Like the thousands of hungry diners who flock to the iconic food stall, she and her boyfriend, Chris Clements, are enamoured with the bakery’s famous peameal bacon sandwich, which layers slices of juicy, salty meat inside a fluffy white bun.
“It’s become a tradition,” says Travers, who goes to the Market every Saturday with Clements to browse the stalls, buy some fresh groceries and find something yummy to eat.
“For a while, we were getting the sandwich every week. But after I emailed The Dish, we cut back until we could find out its nutrition numbers. Now we get it about once a month. We know it’s a treat.” Carousel Bakery, which adorns nearby walls with adoring magazine profiles and rave newspaper reviews, is more than just a purveyor of peameal perfection. Fans also love the bakery’s fresh-made breads and savoury sandwiches, including the veal parmigiana made with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and grilled peppers and onions, all wrapped in a country bun.
To satisfy the curiosity of as many devotees as possible, The Dish sent both the peameal bacon and the veal parmigiana sandwiches to the lab for nutritional analysis.
Given their popularity, we consider it an essential public service.
The guess
“I think the peameal will be 750 calories,” Travers says. “I’m comparing it to a Big Mac (520 calories), which is a hearty sandwich. And the sodium? I’m going to say it has 2,600 milligrams. I know it’s going to have way too much salt.” Peameal bacon sandwich Calories: 499 Fat: 8 grams Sodium: 2,530 milligrams Carbohydrates: 49 grams Protein: 57 grams
The breakdown
This sandwich weighs 241 grams or about half a pound.
Its 2,530 milligrams of sodium is more than what’s in a teaspoon of salt and is 200 milligrams more than the maximum recommended daily limit. It’s also about the same amount of sodium as what’s found in six individual-size bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips.
As a comparison, consider that a Starbucks’ bacon and cheddar breakfast sandwich weighs 144 grams and has 470 calories, 23 grams of fat and 1,030 milligrams of sodium. Veal parmigiana sandwich Calories: 745 Fat: 18 grams Sodium: 1,261 milligrams Carbohydrates: 91 grams Protein: 55 grams The breakdown
This sandwich weighs 380 grams or slightly more than 3/4 of a pound.
Its 1,261 milligrams of sodium is about half the recommended daily limit and is the same as what’s found in a half teaspoon of salt.
As a comparison, a McDonald’s tomato and mozzarella sandwich with crispy chicken weighs 258 grams and has 640 calories, 33 grams of fat and 1,080 milligrams of sodium. The expert response From a nutrition standpoint, there are pros and cons to each sandwich, says registered dietitian Shannon Crocker.
The peameal bacon sandwich has a reasonable number of calories and more than enough protein to keep a diner satisfied until their next meal.
But, she says, it’s made with processed meat, a food health experts recommend enjoying only on occasion, since research has linked eating it with a higher risk of heart disease and some cancers.
“And I don’t love the sodium in the bacon,” Crocker continues. “It’s more than the daily recommended upper limit. If you’re watching your sodium levels, it’s good to know just how much salt is in this sandwich.”
As for the veal sandwich, though it offers some vegetables; is made with fresh, not processed meat; and is less salty than its bacon cousin, Crocker notes that it contains 250 more calories and has double the number of carbohydrates.
“It’s a hefty sandwich,” she says. “The veal is definitely sharing size. Or, if you’re not into sharing, then ditch half the bun and eat it open-face style.”
But more than the nutrition numbers, health-conscious diners should focus on how often they enjoy these sandwiches.
Most of us, Crocker says, shouldn’t make either sandwich a weekly habit. The restaurant response Robert Biancolin, co-owner of Carousel Bakery, says the peameal bacon sandwich has long been a Toronto tradition.
“It is to this city what Philly cheesesteak is to Philadelphia and what Montreal smoked meat is to Montreal,” he says. “It’s that type of tie-in. It was formulated here in the 1800s ... it wasn’t brought here from somewhere else.”
The quality of his sandwich, he says, is what keeps people coming back for another taste. The bakery has been making them for more than 40 years and is now serving a second generation of diners.
“It reminds them of shared moments with family, the rituals they did together,” he says. “It’s like a good song, it takes you back in time.”
As for the nutrition numbers, Biancolin compared the peameal bacon sandwich to other popular Toronto foods profiled in The Dish, including ramen and bacon-topped poutine. While the sandwich is as salty as the ramen and poutine, it has far fewer calories and much less fat, he says.
“Moderation is key,” he says, noting with a laugh that a peameal sandwich is clearly not an every day food. “But of course we have to splurge every once in a while. Or, we wouldn’t be human, right?” The reader reaction “It’s not as bad as I expected for calories, but the salt is obviously concerning,” Travers says. “It’s still something we will eat, but now we will split it. And now that I don’t feel bad about the calories, I can treat myself in other ways.” The Dish is a regular series that helps health-conscious diners navigate Toronto’s food scene by revealing the nutrition information of Star readers’ favourite foods.
Megan Ogilvie is a Toronto-based reporter covering food and health. Follow her on Twitter: @megan_ogilvie