Is a homemade pork chop recipe ultra-processed?

No. This recipe uses 12 whole and minimally processed ingredients — all NOVA 1 (unprocessed) or NOVA 2 (processed culinary ingredients like butter, oil, and sugar). There are zero UPF markers. The brown sugar is the only added sugar and it’s used deliberately in a known quantity.

What happens if I use a packet seasoning instead?

A typical pork seasoning mix like Colman’s contains 21 ingredients including flavourings (a UPF marker), yeast extract, and potassium chloride. The ingredient count nearly doubles and you introduce an ultra-processing marker that doesn’t exist in the homemade version.

What is the NOVA score of pork chops?

Plain pork chops are NOVA 1 — unprocessed meat. The overall recipe stays at NOVA 1–2 because the accompanying ingredients (butter, oil, sugar, salt) are all NOVA 2 processed culinary ingredients used in controlled amounts.

Glucose: Low12 ingredients

Pork Chop Recipe — Ingredient Analysis: NOVA Scores, Hidden Sugars & Glucose Impact

We analysed every ingredient in this brown sugar pork chop recipe. 12 simple ingredients, all NOVA 1–2. The shop-bought alternative? A seasoning mix with 21 ingredients and flavourings.

Original recipe by

Brown Sugar Pork Chops with Garlic and Shallots by Brian Jones at Krumpli · @krumplibrian

SpikeSaver Ingredient Analysis

Ingredient	Qty	NOVA	Hidden Sugars	Glucose	Protein
Bone-in pork chops	2 x 300g	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	120g
Echalion shallot	1 (35g)	NOVA 1	None	Low	0.4g
Garlic cloves	4	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Fresh thyme	2–3 sprigs	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Butter	50g	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	0.5g
Dark brown sugar	3 tbsp	NOVA 2	brown sugar	High	—
Chicken stock	175ml	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	—
Rapeseed oil	1–2 tsp	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	—
Salt	1 tsp	NOVA 2	None	Negligible	—
Black pepper	1/2 tsp	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—
Cornflour	1 tsp	NOVA 2	None	Low	—
Water	1 tsp	NOVA 1	None	Negligible	—

Per serving (2 servings)

753

Calories

60.5g

Protein

24g

Carbs

53g

Fat

0.5g

Fibre

Overall verdict

All NOVA 1–2: whole ingredients with processed culinary basics1 hidden sugarGlucose: Low

A clean recipe with 12 recognisable ingredients. The only sugar source is dark brown sugar — used deliberately and in a known quantity. No UPF markers, no hidden sugars disguised under alternative names.

The swap comparison

What happens when you swap from-scratch ingredients for shop-bought shortcuts?

Homemade brown sugar pan glaze (6 ingredients)

→

Colman’s Sausage Casserole Recipe Mix 39G

Likely NOVA 41 UPF marker1 sugar alias21 ingredients

Lens	From Scratch	Shop-Bought	Delta
NOVA/UPF	NOVA 1–2, 0 UPF markers	Likely NOVA 4, 1 UPF marker (flavourings)	+1 UPF marker; NOVA jumps to ultra-processed
Hidden Sugar	1 known sugar (brown sugar)	1 alias (sugar) + sugar hidden inside lemon juice powder	Sugar still present but disguised in compound ingredients
Glucose Impact	Controlled brown sugar quantity	22g sugar/100g (unprepared dry mix)	High sugar concentration in dry mix
Protein/Macros	12 recognisable ingredients	21 ingredients incl. potassium chloride, yeast extract	Nearly double the ingredient count

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