By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

It isn’t listed yet, but fresh pork rinds will soon be a new item on the menu at Wagon Wheel Express, 202 W. Main St. in Marion.

Owner Keith Hess said a salesman told him about the product, and he decided to try it. He offers samples to customers, and people can order them.

The product comes as small brown squares of pork skin, is deep-fried one minute, and comes out puffy and cream-colored.

“Everybody likes them,” Hess said.

Seasonings can be sprinkled on them to add flavor.

“Fresh pork rinds have no comparison to those bought at the store in a bag,” Hess said.

Surprisingly, pork rinds seem to have some nutritional value.

“Junk Food That’s Good for You,” an article on the website of Men’s Health magazine, states that pork rinds have no carbohydrates, nine grams of fat, and 17 grams of protein. That’s nine times the protein and less fat than is found in a serving of carb-packed potato chips.

Even better, 43 percent of a pork rind’s fat is unsaturated, and most of that is oleic acid—the same healthy fat found in olive oil.