Bringing back the bacon
October 9, 2014 12:18 PM Subscribe
"Suddenly popular"? A stretch of time from the early 1990s until now isn't really "suddenly".
posted by I-baLL at 12:28 PM on October 9, 2014 [22 favorites]
posted by I-baLL at 12:28 PM on October 9, 2014 [22 favorites]
Bacon is indeed delicious, but I'm glad that we've passed the stage where everything had bacon in it and everyone was just "hurf durf let's eat bacon." Bacon ice cream, bacon vodka, bacon chocolate chip cookies, bacon donuts. It was like the end of Prohibition and everyone went bacon crazy.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:31 PM on October 9, 2014 [14 favorites]
posted by Admiral Haddock at 12:31 PM on October 9, 2014 [14 favorites]
That article totally lacks an explanation on where bacon jumped from becoming a common burger topping to an entire cultural trend. That's surely got to be at least as worthwhile to discuss as the slow process of getting bacon onto burgers.
posted by evilangela at 12:33 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by evilangela at 12:33 PM on October 9, 2014
conspicuously ignores effect of low-carb diet popularity, which is odd.
posted by skewed at 12:34 PM on October 9, 2014 [14 favorites]
posted by skewed at 12:34 PM on October 9, 2014 [14 favorites]
I'm not sure what the "suddenly popular" bit is about. Bacon has always been popular. It's simply been adopted by certain...um...hip...types as some sort of symbol of ultimate extreme foodiness or something. Raising the prices of the stuff in the process, as they do with every. damned. thing. they cast their skinny-jeaned gaze upon.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:36 PM on October 9, 2014 [7 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 12:36 PM on October 9, 2014 [7 favorites]
That year, according to the website Babycenter, 11 out of every million babies born in America were named Bacon.
The hell?
posted by notyou at 12:37 PM on October 9, 2014 [11 favorites]
The hell?
posted by notyou at 12:37 PM on October 9, 2014 [11 favorites]
Ah, another weak excuse to browse the Wikipedia Bacon Portal.
posted by Wordshore at 12:38 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Wordshore at 12:38 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
The early 1990s was a time of great advancements in precooked bacon technology.
Oh, those halcyon days of nascent bacon technology!
posted by slogger at 12:43 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
Oh, those halcyon days of nascent bacon technology!
posted by slogger at 12:43 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
A stretch of time from the early 1990s until now isn't really "suddenly".
But it is "internetally," which is the real reason behind this. Bacon just got lucky and went viral.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:44 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
But it is "internetally," which is the real reason behind this. Bacon just got lucky and went viral.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:44 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well, it's not like the pork producers were going to sit around and not advance their craft. And every kind of food has industry associations that sit around and think of new ways to store, sell and use the food.
posted by michaelh at 12:48 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by michaelh at 12:48 PM on October 9, 2014
The early 1990s was a time of great advancements in precooked bacon technology.
I think we all know who's responsible for this: Barenaked Ladies.
posted by Anyamatopoeia at 12:49 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I think we all know who's responsible for this: Barenaked Ladies.
posted by Anyamatopoeia at 12:49 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I always assumed it was because some chemical company had figured out how to synthesize Bacon Flavor in a way that was easy to add to any damn food you please. That's how most flavor trends start, after all. I mean, it's not like blue raspberries are even a real thing.
posted by Sara C. at 12:57 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Sara C. at 12:57 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
Maybe it's because of the food trucks, which were barely in existence prior to 2008.
posted by MtDewd at 12:58 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by MtDewd at 12:58 PM on October 9, 2014
Actually, you might have a point. Bacon is easy to fry up on a griddle, which is an easy cooking surface to put on a truck.
posted by Sara C. at 12:59 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by Sara C. at 12:59 PM on October 9, 2014
Bacon just got lucky and went viral.
I think the article does do a fair job of making the case for the gradual increase in bacon sales throughout the 90s, but I think the semi-recent explosion that's finally, thankfully subsiding, really is, mostly, this. We came out of the dismal Snackwell's 90s, where fat was replaced with grotesque piles of sugar, directly into the Atkins 2000s, where it wasn't too far outside the mainstream to subsist on a diet of pork rinds and heavy cream.
Then the Internet blew up in the mid-2000s--don't forget that before this, an awful, awful lot of young-ish people weren't particularly heavy internet users (ask me about doing tech support at college in 2000-2001)--and suddenly it's bacon and pirates everywhere. Pork rinds just aren't as sexy as bacon.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:59 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
I think the article does do a fair job of making the case for the gradual increase in bacon sales throughout the 90s, but I think the semi-recent explosion that's finally, thankfully subsiding, really is, mostly, this. We came out of the dismal Snackwell's 90s, where fat was replaced with grotesque piles of sugar, directly into the Atkins 2000s, where it wasn't too far outside the mainstream to subsist on a diet of pork rinds and heavy cream.
Then the Internet blew up in the mid-2000s--don't forget that before this, an awful, awful lot of young-ish people weren't particularly heavy internet users (ask me about doing tech support at college in 2000-2001)--and suddenly it's bacon and pirates everywhere. Pork rinds just aren't as sexy as bacon.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:59 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
I live in the UK. The USA is truly a foreign country.
posted by popcassady at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by popcassady at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
remember that time someone made an AT-AT out of bacon because we are all just children on the playground of earth
posted by logicpunk at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by logicpunk at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I also remember there being a bunch of silly novelty items (shower curtains, mugs, t-shirts, etc) with images of bacon printed on them, somewhat prior to the culinary fad for bacon. Bacon is just sort of funny and retro and irreverant in a way that I think was perfect for the mid 2000s zeitgeist. See also cupcakes, mustaches, and pirates.
posted by Sara C. at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by Sara C. at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014
while Chicago’s OSI and the now-defunct Wilson Foods poured their efforts into bacon spirals that would fit perfectly atop a hamburger, a neat solution that clients like McDonald’s required before they adopted the meat widely.
You mean... pancetta?
posted by indubitable at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
You mean... pancetta?
posted by indubitable at 1:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]
Bacon tastes good, pork chops taste good.
posted by entropicamericana at 1:07 PM on October 9, 2014 [12 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 1:07 PM on October 9, 2014 [12 favorites]
Anything that keeps fast food meals from tasting like shit, basically.
I'm not sure if something changed in how they do the instant bacon stuff recently, but lately I find myself actually picking that stuff off sandwiches. I've even bought the microwave bacon stuff once or twice in the last year and found it simply does not get crispy and it basically tastes like soggy microwaved cardboard doused in liquid smoke. It's awful. I'm baking real bacon now. SO easy, and it comes out perfect every time. Restaurants take note: You can do a big-ass tray in about 10 minutes. Have your prep cooks do a few in the morning and you've got actual good bacon for the lunch rush. People will notice.
posted by Hoopo at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm not sure if something changed in how they do the instant bacon stuff recently, but lately I find myself actually picking that stuff off sandwiches. I've even bought the microwave bacon stuff once or twice in the last year and found it simply does not get crispy and it basically tastes like soggy microwaved cardboard doused in liquid smoke. It's awful. I'm baking real bacon now. SO easy, and it comes out perfect every time. Restaurants take note: You can do a big-ass tray in about 10 minutes. Have your prep cooks do a few in the morning and you've got actual good bacon for the lunch rush. People will notice.
posted by Hoopo at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: bacon and pirates everywhere
Sorry. Had to.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Sorry. Had to.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Article completely overlooks Homer Simpson's contribution to the bacon craze, too.
posted by notyou at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by notyou at 1:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'm pretty sure the return of bacon can be squarely attributed to the diner scene in Pulp Fiction.
posted by furtive at 1:16 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by furtive at 1:16 PM on October 9, 2014
I blame Burning Man.
posted by mykescipark at 1:17 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by mykescipark at 1:17 PM on October 9, 2014
Yes, and chickens were ¼ the size in 1950 that they are now. It was an overnight conspiracy lasting decades.
posted by blue_beetle at 1:22 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by blue_beetle at 1:22 PM on October 9, 2014
It's actually Burning Pork.
posted by nzero at 1:22 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by nzero at 1:22 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I live in the UK. The USA is truly a foreign country.
My feelings too. Although it was an American who nearly summed up my position: “Pigs come and go, but my bacon stays eternal”.
posted by biffa at 1:23 PM on October 9, 2014
My feelings too. Although it was an American who nearly summed up my position: “Pigs come and go, but my bacon stays eternal”.
posted by biffa at 1:23 PM on October 9, 2014
For some folk, eating bacon and posting about it on social media is their contribution to the propaganda war on terror.
posted by Renoroc at 1:27 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by Renoroc at 1:27 PM on October 9, 2014
The place I notice "peak pork" most now is in higher-end dining. My partner doesn't eat pork and in recent years sometimes has a difficult time in restaurants (particularly "New American," Italian, high-end Asian, and of course French) finding an entree that hasn't been enhanced in some way with a pork product.
This was especially noticeable going out to eat during a recent vacation in Seattle, which we now think of as "Porkville."
posted by aught at 1:29 PM on October 9, 2014
This was especially noticeable going out to eat during a recent vacation in Seattle, which we now think of as "Porkville."
posted by aught at 1:29 PM on October 9, 2014
I think the fact that increased, sustained demand for pork products that's happened over the last few decades have stabilized a market that was formerly so volatile there was an entire trading floor devoted to it is a little more notable than "lol, bacon!" The scope of this is kind of mind-blowing.
Even more mind-blowing is the attempt to breed more lean, muscular hogs during the heyday of the "the other white meat" campaign.
posted by mikeh at 1:31 PM on October 9, 2014
Even more mind-blowing is the attempt to breed more lean, muscular hogs during the heyday of the "the other white meat" campaign.
posted by mikeh at 1:31 PM on October 9, 2014
MtDewd: Maybe it's because of the food trucks, which were barely in existence prior to 2008.
Yeah, that annoyed me too.
posted by zbsachs at 1:40 PM on October 9, 2014
Yeah, that annoyed me too.
posted by zbsachs at 1:40 PM on October 9, 2014
I'm glad that we've passed the stage where everything had bacon in it and everyone was just "hurf durf let's eat bacon."
Just this past year at the New York State Fair, I saw for sale deep-fried Twinkies stuffed with a Twix bar and wrapped in bacon. I did not try it.
posted by Melismata at 1:41 PM on October 9, 2014
Just this past year at the New York State Fair, I saw for sale deep-fried Twinkies stuffed with a Twix bar and wrapped in bacon. I did not try it.
posted by Melismata at 1:41 PM on October 9, 2014
Really what I'd say on it is this: Pork got a bad rap in the 60s and 70s from a pretty big Trichinosis scare. So much that the greatest generation over cooked it and the boomers feared it. Food standards improved at all points of the supply chain. Those that were born after the scare occasionally got pork and bacon and never understood why their parents burned the snot out of their food - and as the culinary democratization occurred through the 90s, pork was allowed to be a star.
Yes, the pork industry threw money at it, but the money was thrown at it after people figured out that their parents just didn't understand (pork).
posted by Nanukthedog at 1:59 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yes, the pork industry threw money at it, but the money was thrown at it after people figured out that their parents just didn't understand (pork).
posted by Nanukthedog at 1:59 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Yeah, the article glosses over a quantum leap in popularity/virality with "the Internet, which was being conquered by Facebook and Twitter and the foodie blogosphere, devoured the bacon trend like a hungry dog." I was expecting that this would be the story: office parks full of kids in Iowa creating bacon memes and seeding the message boards and Twitter with pro-bacon raves - astrobacon; that the bacon marketing board had created baconmania out of nothing using pure social media savvy.
The actual story is a bit less dynamic, but at least I did learn that the pork belly futures everybody used to joke about are an actual, marketable thing, that thing being the raw ore of bacon.
posted by Flashman at 2:00 PM on October 9, 2014
The actual story is a bit less dynamic, but at least I did learn that the pork belly futures everybody used to joke about are an actual, marketable thing, that thing being the raw ore of bacon.
posted by Flashman at 2:00 PM on October 9, 2014
2015 will be the year of Scrapple. You heard it here first.
(and likely last)
posted by Drinky Die at 2:18 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
(and likely last)
posted by Drinky Die at 2:18 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Because it's low-carb and gluten free, and saturated fat is no longer the devil.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 2:23 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by gemutlichkeit at 2:23 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Next up please explain why Sriracha, a constant feature of Vietnamese pho joints and Thai restaurants for all time, has finally reached critical mass.
posted by Apocryphon at 2:37 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by Apocryphon at 2:37 PM on October 9, 2014
I think Bacon became popular again because the Footloose remake reminded us of how awesome he was/is.
posted by srboisvert at 2:41 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 2:41 PM on October 9, 2014 [3 favorites]
David Sax (the author of the article) goes into the bacon craze in a bit more detail in his book Tastemakers. It's quite a good read and covers quite a few different trends.
posted by poxandplague at 2:41 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by poxandplague at 2:41 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Maybe it was the war in Iraq that started this bacon craze.
posted by oceanjesse at 2:44 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by oceanjesse at 2:44 PM on October 9, 2014
I live in the UK. The USA is truly a foreign country.
France is bacon.
posted by iotic at 2:58 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
France is bacon.
posted by iotic at 2:58 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: bacon and pirates everywhere
I attended a pirate and ham themed party on an actual fishing boat floating in the Hudson River in the early 2000s. It was only in retrospect I realized how painfully 2000ish this was.
posted by The Whelk at 3:18 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I attended a pirate and ham themed party on an actual fishing boat floating in the Hudson River in the early 2000s. It was only in retrospect I realized how painfully 2000ish this was.
posted by The Whelk at 3:18 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I wondered aloud if Bacon will jump the Shark, but that just made me wonder what Bacon-wrapped-Shark would taste like.
posted by nickggully at 3:19 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by nickggully at 3:19 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wondered aloud if Bacon will jump the Shark, but that just made me wonder what Bacon-wrapped-Shark would taste like.
you could try soaking bacon in ammonia for a reasonable approximation
posted by p3on at 3:32 PM on October 9, 2014
you could try soaking bacon in ammonia for a reasonable approximation
posted by p3on at 3:32 PM on October 9, 2014
I bet the Beggin Strips commercial in 1994 played a part. Before that commercial, people just regular-liked bacon. After that commercial, it was fun to love the shit out of bacon.
If there were such a thing as the Bacon Lobby, that commercial would be a prime example of stroking the fantasies of the clients, not the audience. "What if your product was magically put in front of the eyes of toddlers? What if the news was full of the rise of your fortune? What if the viewing public was put in the position of a mindless slavering dog seeking out your product? What if your product would make your wives love you again?"
posted by fleacircus at 3:56 PM on October 9, 2014 [8 favorites]
If there were such a thing as the Bacon Lobby, that commercial would be a prime example of stroking the fantasies of the clients, not the audience. "What if your product was magically put in front of the eyes of toddlers? What if the news was full of the rise of your fortune? What if the viewing public was put in the position of a mindless slavering dog seeking out your product? What if your product would make your wives love you again?"
posted by fleacircus at 3:56 PM on October 9, 2014 [8 favorites]
I thought the craze seemed to start with bacon being embraced as a low-brow indulgence. Like, "Fuck you, I'm wearing sweatpants to a work meeting." You know, "Imma have me some dumb, fat, drippy, sodium-soaked, bad-for-me bacon, because I give zero fucks. Imma put it in my cupcakes, in my booze, in my fancy-pants haute cuisine, in my toothpaste, in my face any old way I can."
It's the trucker's cap of condiments.
(IANABE)
posted by univac at 4:22 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's the trucker's cap of condiments.
(IANABE)
posted by univac at 4:22 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
A couple weeks ago, I opened up the bottom catch-tray in my, uh, medicine grinding implement, and was surprised to find that a small mountain of pure kief residue had accumulated. Also, coincidentally, someone had given me a bottle of bacon-flavored seasoning liquid as a gag gift, which sat unopened in my pantry for months.
I slowly mouthed the words "uh, yo, what's shakin', ain't no mistakin' / bout to be up and wake-and-bacon-bakin'" as my mind screamed "NOOOOOO" at me, but I'm an adult and I do what I want
posted by jake at 4:23 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I slowly mouthed the words "uh, yo, what's shakin', ain't no mistakin' / bout to be up and wake-and-bacon-bakin'" as my mind screamed "NOOOOOO" at me, but I'm an adult and I do what I want
posted by jake at 4:23 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
Food trucks, barely in existence prior to 2008,
As a New Yorker, I can only say....
wat.
posted by yeolcoatl at 4:59 PM on October 9, 2014
As a New Yorker, I can only say....
wat.
posted by yeolcoatl at 4:59 PM on October 9, 2014
As an American, New York is a foreign country.
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9, 2014
And I live in Albany!
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9, 2014
2015 will be the year of Scrapple.
Dear God, LET THIS BE TRUE!!
Frankly, I'd kill for some scrapple.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:51 PM on October 9, 2014
Dear God, LET THIS BE TRUE!!
Frankly, I'd kill for some scrapple.
posted by BlueHorse at 5:51 PM on October 9, 2014
I was doing fine with this article (well, minus the food truck bit--it really sets my teeth on edge how foods trucks 'never existed' until white people drove them) until I reached this part: "Sales in the U.S. are still growing about 10 percent a year, according to Marketresearch.com, a grocery industry website." Erm, nope!
Marketresearch.com, as the name implies, repackages market research reports of all types and sells them. They do have an arm called Packaged Foods which might be what this guy is talking about here, but who the hell knows. The nice ladies from Marketresearch.com that I spoke with last week surely wouldn't call themselves a 'grocery industry website,' that much I can tell you.
posted by librarylis at 6:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Marketresearch.com, as the name implies, repackages market research reports of all types and sells them. They do have an arm called Packaged Foods which might be what this guy is talking about here, but who the hell knows. The nice ladies from Marketresearch.com that I spoke with last week surely wouldn't call themselves a 'grocery industry website,' that much I can tell you.
posted by librarylis at 6:04 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
And I live in Albany!
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9 [+] [!]
Albany? Never heard of it. There's nothing east of the Syracuse-Binghamton line but ocean.
posted by yeolcoatl at 6:08 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by dis_integration at 5:16 PM on October 9 [+] [!]
Albany? Never heard of it. There's nothing east of the Syracuse-Binghamton line but ocean.
posted by yeolcoatl at 6:08 PM on October 9, 2014
Yeah, but the food boats make an excellent steamed ham.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Drinky Die at 6:11 PM on October 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
There really isn't any reason to pan fry bacon unless you need to render the fat in that pan. Oven method is flawless.
posted by The Whelk at 6:21 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 6:21 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]
I'm so old, I remember when some loser taped bacon to a cat.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:13 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 7:13 PM on October 9, 2014
2015 is going to be the year of jamon iberico
and then being really really broke
posted by poffin boffin at 7:20 PM on October 9, 2014
and then being really really broke
posted by poffin boffin at 7:20 PM on October 9, 2014
There really isn't any reason to pan fry bacon unless you need to render the fat in that pan. Oven method is flawless.
Enjoy the liberal usage of Easy-Off and the couple hours of scrubbing to return your oven to its original state if you make bacon this way with any regularity. The stove top may splatter, and that makes sure the cleanup is done at time of preparation.
posted by Nanukthedog at 7:55 PM on October 9, 2014
Enjoy the liberal usage of Easy-Off and the couple hours of scrubbing to return your oven to its original state if you make bacon this way with any regularity. The stove top may splatter, and that makes sure the cleanup is done at time of preparation.
posted by Nanukthedog at 7:55 PM on October 9, 2014
(ah, fleacircus posted it first. But that's my theory, and I bet it's right.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 9:05 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 9:05 PM on October 9, 2014
2015 is going to be the year of jamon iberico
and then being really really broke
there are American producers of similar product for half the price - it's not EXACTLY the same but it gets you a lot closer for much less.
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 PM on October 9, 2014
and then being really really broke
there are American producers of similar product for half the price - it's not EXACTLY the same but it gets you a lot closer for much less.
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 PM on October 9, 2014
But you still can't get it with the hooves still on for your fancy cannibal table
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 PM on October 9, 2014
posted by The Whelk at 9:32 PM on October 9, 2014
if you make bacon this way with any regularity. The stove top may splatter, and that makes sure the cleanup is done at time of preparation.
very deep baking pan, covered lightly in tin foil. No splatter.
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 PM on October 9, 2014
very deep baking pan, covered lightly in tin foil. No splatter.
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 PM on October 9, 2014
i want the hoof leg AND the fancy hoof leg holder
when will this hamless agony end
posted by poffin boffin at 9:34 PM on October 9, 2014
when will this hamless agony end
posted by poffin boffin at 9:34 PM on October 9, 2014
You can also scatter the ham spread with edible flowers and it looks really great until you try to eat them and find the flowers are really fucking bitter
not that I've done that of course.
posted by The Whelk at 9:40 PM on October 9, 2014
not that I've done that of course.
posted by The Whelk at 9:40 PM on October 9, 2014
Those that were born after the scare occasionally got pork and bacon and never understood why their parents burned the snot out of their food - and as the culinary democratization occurred through the 90s, pork was allowed to be a star.
Oh my god this makes so much sense now! I grew up in the 80s and I hated whenever we had pork chops for dinner. Mostly because my parents always overcooked the hell out of them and they were these dense little slabs of meat that you had to chew forever. I never understood why people liked pork chops.
I thought I just didn't like pork and I avoided it for years. Until I was an adult and decided on a whim to get a pork dish at a Chinese restaurant and it was good. Really good. Not too long after that I decided to get pork chops at a fancy restaurant and they were amazing, juicy and succulent. I have so much catching up to do w/r/t pork now.
posted by mcmile at 8:48 AM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
Oh my god this makes so much sense now! I grew up in the 80s and I hated whenever we had pork chops for dinner. Mostly because my parents always overcooked the hell out of them and they were these dense little slabs of meat that you had to chew forever. I never understood why people liked pork chops.
I thought I just didn't like pork and I avoided it for years. Until I was an adult and decided on a whim to get a pork dish at a Chinese restaurant and it was good. Really good. Not too long after that I decided to get pork chops at a fancy restaurant and they were amazing, juicy and succulent. I have so much catching up to do w/r/t pork now.
posted by mcmile at 8:48 AM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by smidgen at 12:26 PM on October 9, 2014 [4 favorites]