Can We Stop With the Bacon Thing?

 We’ve all heard it (and in your case, likely said it): “Mmmm bacon, I LOVE bacon.” Ba-con; no two syllables have become so synonymous with the American condition, than this extremely misguided phenomena. This time honored breakfast staple has reached such a level of popularity, that it’s actually spawned its own counter culture. You can find bacon t-shirts, bacon bumper stickers, chocolate covered bacon, and even bacon scented perfume. The American obsession with bacon is real, and you, like so many others, probably drink the purple bacon-flavored kool-aid yourself. I ask you though…what is it that you love about bacon so much? You may just respond with, “It’s just so…bacon-y”, or maybe you'd express your enjoyment of the salty, smoky, cured, sometimes sweet combination of flavors that only bacon can provide. Fair enough. I can’t say that I don’t enjoy a couple crispy, carcinogenic, nitrate saturated strips of fat myself from time to time.

Unfortunately, though, when most people tell me how much they love bacon, I get a little sad inside. I get the sad feeling that salt, fat and sugar are the only flavors that appeal to their culinary palate. The same culinary palate that drives many Americans to the drive-thrus of corporate fast food chains, rather than to the exciting flavors and experiences of their local counterparts. I get the sad feeling that they’ll never appreciate that crisp burst of cilantro when biting into a Vietnamese banh-mi, or that smell of fresh basil, picked from the stem, just before dropping it into an inviting bowl of Pho.

 What’s my point? Don’t get hung up on one thing when it comes to your culinary diversity. Challenge yourself and others to try new things, new flavors, and new experiences. Broaden your understanding of other people and cultures through their food and flavors. Go to that new restaurant, pick something on the menu you’ve never had, find new favorites that you never knew existed. You’d be surprised how food opens your eyes to the world around you. I’m not saying don’t eat bacon, I’m just saying that crispy braised pork belly is wayyyyy better.