Sunday, January 12, 2014

January 12, 2014: Bacon Prices Soaring! and North Country bacon

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week with some roller-coaster news about bacon prices, and a bacon-off between the North Country bacon out of New Hampshire.


BACON IN THE NEWS

"Pig Virus May Send Bacon Prices Soaring"

Oddly enough, just last week we commented on widely reported news that bacon prices were coming DOWN due to the "fad" about bacon going away.  My father-in-law, Rich, sent me a clipping from the newspaper that said this also.  Nothing could be further from the truth: first of all, the love of bacon as a food group is not a fad, nor is demand going away for any other reason.  Demand for bacon will always be high. 

Well, wouldn't you know it, just this week, it is being reported that the pork virus is back at work, and that bacon prices are going up again!  Which is it, media?  Up or down?  In any event, it's only going to add or subtract maybe fifty cents on a pound of bacon.  I wonder what the sensitivity to price fluctuations is for bacon specifically?  Probably, like tobacco, demand will be pretty flat irrespective of price.  

Funky Buddah Maple Coffee Bacon Porter Beer

Wow, that's a mouthful.  The Funky Buddah Brewery, in Oakland Park, FL just released a new Maple Coffee Bacon Porter beer.  Here's a quote from the product manager: "Bacon is a provocative term to use in a beverage."  I agree.  Provocative in a "I gotta have it" kind of way.  I have to figure out how to get some.
“It’s an important beer for us,” says brand manager John Linn. “The name resonates to people. … Maple Bacon Coffee Porter is the first one — the catalyst that got the lounge notoriety outside the South Florida area.”
ON TO THIS WEEK'S BACON

Today's Bacon-Off features two North Country Smokehouse bacons: Fruitwood Smoked vs. Pepper Rubbed.  North Country came highly recommended, but disappointed. 







The Fruitwood Smoked had a very nice aroma of smokiness along with a sense of sweetness coming out of the package.  The net weight of 12.5 ounces was a 1/2 ounce bonus over the package weight, and post cooking was 4.9 ounces with 40 ml of rendered fat.  It was, like all North Country bacons, very very chewy.  It had a great overall flavor: 4 out of 5; a crispness factor of 2 out of 5 and average succulence.  Should be good in recipes, but due to chewiness, not appropriate for sandwiches.






The Pepper Rubbed bacon was very syrupy out of the package - due to the fact that it's prepared with maple syrup.  Its flavor was NOT "overpoweringly peppery" like most peppered bacons, and so from that standpoint had a good flavor score of 3.7; it too was very chewy, no matter how long I cooked it; Crispness of 2; and average succulence of 2.5 out of 5.  It weighed in at a net of 12.2 ounces and fully cooked was 4.8 ounces with about 40 ml of rendered fat. 



 



Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/10/3861344/funky-buddha-releasing-bottled.html#storylink=cpy
 
ON TO

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