The Aldi Hot Dog Brand That's Made With Fewer Ingredients Than You Think

Hot dogs have a notorious reputation for being so-called mystery meat, but the truth is that hot dog packages list every ingredient that's inside. However, they are still a highly processed food, and can often contain many artificial ingredients and additives which some people try to avoid. This isn't true of all hot dogs, though.

At Aldi, shoppers can find packs of Simply Nature organic uncured beef hot dogs. These 10 ounce packages of six franks each are made with surprisingly few ingredients. The primary components are just organic beef and water.

These Aldi hot dogs also contain 2% or less of the following: salt, organic sugar, organic dry vinegar, organic onion and garlic powder, organic spice, organic paprika, organic tapioca dextrose, celery powder, spice extractives, organic sunflower oil, organic cherry powder, and extractives of paprika. It's still a somewhat lengthy list, but you'll notice a total lack of artificial ingredients, including genetically modified organisms. These are about all-natural as hot dogs get.

While these Simply Nature organic hot dogs are free of artificial additives, there are still some ingredients that may raise questions. For instance, organic tapioca dextrose isn't there to give the texture of pudding, but likely to preserve moisture, add sweetness, and ensure an even blend of flavors and colors.

Yes, these hot dogs have added color, but this too is all natural. Both cherry powder and extractives of paprika add reddish color to the meat, without the use of artificial dyes like Red No. 3 and No. 40, which both sometimes appear in more processed hot dogs. One key ingredient, though, likely pulls triple duty and makes the whole hot dog work.

One of the basic things to know about uncured hot dogs is that they are preserved with natural sources of nitrates, rather than artificial ones. This is often celery powder, which not only boosts the shelf life of these Aldi hot dogs, but may also improve their flavor and help develop color. Unfortunately, artificial preservatives work for longer, which is why the Simply Nature dogs should be eaten within five days of opening them.