May 26, 2014: Memorial Day Bacon, Prices up 3% since January

MY LIFE WITH BACON continues this week, and I'm a day late with my post. However, it's Memorial Day and it feels like I should blog today. 

Bacon prices are soaring! Up a whopping 3% since january! However, as I've said before, I think that demand for bacon is pretty inelastic - it's not going to change much until bacon hits a big number.

First, though, a shout-out to the fallen in all our wars.  May you rest in peace. This great photo was taken at the wreath-laying ceremony at West Point, in 2012 by a blogger .

BACON IN THE NEWS The top story is obviously the price of bacon, which continues to rise each week.  Politico has an interesting article about the rising cost of the bacon cheeseburger.  They just about come out and say it's a national emergency.  They do say it's an all-out assault on the great American burger. Of course, that's just journalistic hyperbole.  But the chart below certainly proves that the prices are going up. Inflation is inevitable, and is going to accelerate in the coming years, and it's unfortunate that a confluence of events (droughts, the infamous Porcine virus, and high demand) have caused us to spend a few more bucks.  But it's not the end of the world. 

THIS WEEK'S BACON is from Lou's Garrett Valley Naturals.  The label says "gluten free" of course, all bacon is.  The package is only eight ounces but looks like a pound.  The top of the packaging has no bacon behind it.  It weighed in at 7.9 ounces, adding insult to injury, and cooked down to 2.4 ounces, which normalized to a full pound gross, would yield 4.8 ounces net, which is pretty high.  I anticipated great things.

Lou's says it "brings you all natural* meat products in their simplest form with no antibiotics added."  First of all, you have to question why you need an asterisk on the word "natural".  Tells me it's got a few caveats.  The label also says "PORK USED FED A VEGETARIAN DIET" and "NO NITRATE OR NITRITE ADDED". Their website elaborates; see a screen shot of it below.  Apparently the Wellshire Farms products are now Lou's.  A bit of marketing trickery.

Well, I was not impressed.  The aroma out of the package was non-existent.  From a flavor perspective, the bacon wasn't salty enough.  I NEVER thought I'd say that about bacon.  It was also very bland and a slight oily taste.  I give it average crispness, at 2.5, but below average succulence (2) and flavor (2).  I made some scrambled eggs with it for breakfast:

See you next week!  Make sure you have your flag out today.