Comments on: Bacon, Lobster, and Feeling Left Out

By: Leah Koenig

Leah Koenig — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:18:17 +0000

Yet another example: CHOCOLATE BACON!

http://www.seriouseats.com/req.....co-ca.html

By: RB

RB — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:42:46 +0000

I agree that yes, treif is becoming more and more popular. As a foodie, I like going to restaurants and trying combinations of food that I’ve never had before. Lately though, it seems that I’m picking my menu items not by what ingredients I like best, but by which items don’t contain pork or shellfish. Sometimes I’m left with only one or two options to choose from a ten item menu. It’s frustrating to say the least, and I’m fairly certain that things haven’t always been this way.

Ah, but who knows? Maybe soon the bacon trend will pass, and a trend for matzoh balls or borscht will come in to replace it.

By: sarah

sarah — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:42:52 +0000

hi all. after seeing ‘bacon wrapped pork’ on the menu at a bar a few nights ago, i tend to agree with Leah. is that redundant or what?

my most useful advise, gleaned from the podcast “vegetarian food for thought” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks is this: know your cravings. as omnivores, our cravings for meat do not come from deep animal instincts like a lion smacking his lips as prey walks by. really, if you saw a pig on the road, would your mouth start to water?

when we smell bacon wafts coming from a bodega or chicken soup simmering, a lot of what we are smelling is actually salt, fat, and, surprise surprise, VEGETABLE SEASONINGS. you can even buy liquid smoke and use it to cook up split pea soup, veggie meat, or anything else you want to taste like bacon, since - hey - it’s what they use to make the bacon in the first place. not only will you save a life, you’ll save a ton of cholesterol as well.

personally, when i stopped eating meat and fish, the ‘know your cravings’ mantra helped me a great deal. each time i craved meat, i tried to thinking about what i was really craving - and most of the time, it was just something filling and hearty, which i was psyched to get from beans, lentils, and other plants.

By: Rivster

Rivster — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:26:42 +0000

So here is the question — is there actually more focus on treyf right now or are you just feeling sensitive? Like when I was trying to get pregnant and seriously felt as though Southern California had been invaded by pregnant women.

Some days it just feels annoying that the whole world eats this stuff AND assumes that everyone else does too. We were at a restaurant last week and after FOUR of us ordered our burgers without cheese, the (rocket scientist of a) server asked if we were vegan or something.

I have never heard of bacon ice cream. But I am reminded of a cruise I took with my husband’s “Conservative” family some years ago. Not ONE SINGLE meal passed by without EVERYONE ordering treyf! I was amazed. And remarked (privately to him, of course) that I felt certain that had treyf ice cream been available, they would have ordered that too.

By: Hillary

Hillary — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:29:22 +0000

I hear ya…bacon doesn’t seem to be pretty popular, and I’m not sure why! You can always use “bacon bits” if necessary.

By: Ketzirah Carly

Ketzirah Carly — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:45:16 +0000

My husband actually made the Bacon Vodka. You’re not missing much. I was up at Kohenet training at Elat Chayyim and joking about the impossibility of keeping kosher at my house because my husband cures his own bacon (tinyurl.com/56qno8) and makes crazy things like bacon vodka, when someone suggested he cure his own Lox like they do at Isabella Freedman now.

I don’t see him giving up the bacon, but I think we Jews have the market on the creative salmon. You could start a new movement! I’ve had “salmon candy,” which is like sweet dried salmon.

By: Hannah Lee

Hannah Lee — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:29:05 +0000

Asher, It was a tactic used by Barbara Kingsolver’s family, as mentioned in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.

By: Asher ben Avraham

Asher ben Avraham — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 12:08:16 +0000

It’s a fair challenge Leah. Chocolate probably comes closest, but I can live without it and often go days without it. Tea, also something I enjoy a lot, but it’s not a necessity. I know some coffee drinkers and it’s not really about fashion for them, it’s about existence. ; ) The day doesn’t start for them until *after* coffee.

One thing I have been thinking about lately is an idea I read somewhere about choosing 1 or 5 or 10 special things that can’t be bought locally, sustainably, or organically but deliver a lot of pleasure to one’s life. Giving yourself those items despite their non-local, conventional, etc. origins and committing otherwise to as much “ethical” food as possible is an idea that might help others move from mass market shopping to an approach that takes more factors into account that ease of purchase and low price.

By: Leah Koenig

Leah Koenig — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:28:03 +0000

Thanks Hannah - of course we must weigh each food craze against our values and make choices accordingly. But sometimes, I still get swept up in it all. I mean, as Asher rightly states, food crazes can escalate to a point where it’s not really about the food anymore - but there must be *something* special about the food in the first place to jump start the craze. And that’s what I want to try!

I have to admit Johanna, despite not loving bacon (and being a veg), the thought of bacon ice cream is intriguing. ..especially Michael’s description of it!

Really Asher? There’s nothing in your household that has reached that near-idolatry level? Not olive oil? Not a certain type of coffee you *always* buy? Just curious…and also wondering what happens when food crazes get so incorporated into our culture that they become the norm? (David Kamp’s book, The United States of Arugula, delves into that question.)

I had the same thought Rabbi Shmuel - if there’s time, I will write a part 2 that digs into some of the points brought up in these comments. And of course you’re always welcome to a contribute a post in addition to leaving comments.

By: Rabbi Shmuel

Rabbi Shmuel — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 13:49:25 +0000

” but there is not one thing I eat that reaches the level of “put it in EVERYTHING” like some do with pork.”

Then you have obviously never tried Sweet Whisper Farms Maple Syrup:)

But seriously, you raise a valid point - how much of this locavore madness is related to a desire to minimize the carbon footprint of our food supply and how much is driven by “foodie” obsession with better, fresher, more exotic? And was you point out what happens when these worlds collide? (I love my greens garden fresh, but there’s this little boutique olive oil from Cote D’Azur to DIE for . . .)

Leah - how about a post digging a bit deeper into the conflict?

Asher - you hit it right on the head with your comment - “It’s no longer about the food” - it’s about the people - its like saying “I love fish” no you don’t - you love yourself and manifest that self-love through enjoying a tasty fish. Food for thought