An Oklahoma woman’s claim that she found nipples in her beans has garnered widespread attention.
On November 16, Autumn Galik (@autumngailk) posted a video showing viewers what she thought were the unusual animal parts of her beans. As of this writing, the video has received 21.3 million views.
What did Garlick find in her La Costeña beans?
“I swear to God, I found nipples in the beans,” Galik said.
In the video, Garlick digs into a can of La Costeña beans. She then showed the camera what she thought was a nipple. “What animal is this?” she asked.
“I wish someone had warned me that I had nipples in my beans,” Galik said.
The specific canned beans Galik showed off were La Costeña’s charro beans, which contain bacon, chicharrón and sausage.
Many commenters were quick to point out that Garlick’s discovery was likely due to the specific type of beans she purchased containing chicalon. “I was disgusted until you showed the jar,” one viewer wrote. “Chicharrón is pig skin. It’s pig nipples.”
What is Chicharrón?
Charro beans are a traditional Mexican style pinto bean stew. This stew sold at La Costeña combines beans with smoky flavors like bacon, sausage and chicharrón. The company explicitly lists the latter on its ingredient label as fried bacon rinds with a naturally smoky flavor, along with other meats and seasonings.
Chicharrón generally refers to fried pork rinds or pork rinds. Sometimes the food is just skin, sometimes it has some fat or meat attached. This dish originated in Spain. It’s found throughout Latin America and can be cooked crispy and light or the meat can be cooked thicker. In processed foods like canned charlotte beans, chicharrón often appears as small pieces of seasoned fried pork rind or rind that companies add to add texture.
How likely is it that nipples are present in Gallick’s Chicharrón?
Given the way companies make and process chicharrón, the likelihood of finding actual nipples in a can of beans is extremely slim. Pig nipples are anatomical features attached to the pig’s belly, rather than the standard cuts companies use for pig skin or fat in commercial food processing. Commercial chicharrón ingredients are most often rendered, diced skins and fats, which companies use to impart flavor and texture. Any larger shapes could be accidental scraps from the preparation process or misidentified pieces of meat.
If what Garlick found resembled a nipple, then more likely, it was an oddly shaped piece of pork rind, fat, or maybe even a piece of sausage or bacon rind. All of these can vary in size and shape, depending on how the company cooks and cans beans and meats. The processing line isn’t perfect, and irregular bits of meat or skin are sometimes missed. Out of context, they may look strange, especially to those unfamiliar with what chicharrón looks like once softened and coated with bean soup.
AllHipHop reached out to Galik via private message for comment and La Costeña via email. We will update this story if either party responds.
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