Canadian bacon: food was always political
Aug. 23rd, 2021 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skittishfoxhttps://www.google.ca/books/edition/Hearings_Before_Subcommittee_of_House_Co/PIcdAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22back+bacon%22&pg=PA188&printsec=frontcover
Mr. Thurnston. We hear a lot about Canadian bacon. I wanted to ask you a question about that.
Dr. Mohler. What was it you wanted to ask me?
T: As to the extent of that product and about its importation, and as to whether our packers prepare pork in the same way to make the same grade of bacon.
M: Canadian bacon is supposed to be a very mildly cured back bacon. It is comparatively a new product and should not be compared with the old-fashioned belly bacon. It contains a relatively small amount of salt and saltpeter, and many people prefer the Canadian bacon flavor for that reason.
T: Is there more lean in it in proportion to fat than there is in other bacon?
M: It is more lean than either our own or Canadian belly bacon, but it is practically the same as our back bacon, which was formerly sold almost entirely under the name of "smoked loin".
T: There is quite a difference in quality between that and our bacon also, isn't there?
M: Not very much. Of course, there is one factor that should be considered. They do not try to sell their cheaper grades of pork in this country. They make selections, just as we are doing when we are selling things to foreign countries. We try to sell them the best that we have.
For instance, recently we sold 36 shorthorn cattle to Australia. We shipped 36 of the best shorthorns that were available, naturally, because of the possibility of follow-up orders.
Likewise Canada is exporting to us the best bacon that they have.
It is the same way with Danish bacon. The Danes require certain standards for their bacon before they allow it to be exported. That is done by the Government decree and, of course, is good business.
There are several things which have to do with bacon flavor. They are the breeding and feeding of the hogs and the method of curing the meat after the hog has been slaughtered. For some years the Canadians have interested themselves in the raising of the long, bacon-type hog.
T: Doctor, in connection with this Canadian bacon, the thought has gone about that Canadian bacon contains a greater proportion of lean meat than our own bacon. In some quarters where the Canadian bacon is sold the name "Canadian bacon" is used to infer that it is a higher-class meat, a higher-grade bacon. Is that because of the intrinsic superiority of the meat or because of publicity or advertising?
M: I think it is largely good advertising.
Of course, we make a "Canadian-style" bacon in this country. It is not like the old-fashioned belly bacon at all. It is the tenderloin, right under the backbone, which is almost all meat and very little fat. It is sometimes marketed and properly known as smoked loin. Since Canadian bacon has become so popular, the packers are selling this same product quite extensively as "Canadian-style" bacon.
T: How do our packers place that on our local market?
M: If they wish to use the word "Canadian" in connection with this product, they are required by the meat-inspection law to call it "Canadian-style bacon". As I have said, it should not be confused with the old-fashioned belly bacon, as it retails for 15 cents or more a pound above the latter. It corresponds to the fillet of beef, which has been salted, cured, and smoked.
Of course, this type of Canadian bacon or back bacon is a far superior piece of meat to the old-fashioned belly bacon, which is made from the sides of the carcass. This type of Canadian bacon is made from meat which comes from the loin of the carcass, and it contains more lean than ordinary bacon. It is a mildly cured bacon, and the type of hog that produces it makes it very satisfactory.
Mr. Thurnston. We hear a lot about Canadian bacon. I wanted to ask you a question about that.
Dr. Mohler. What was it you wanted to ask me?
T: As to the extent of that product and about its importation, and as to whether our packers prepare pork in the same way to make the same grade of bacon.
M: Canadian bacon is supposed to be a very mildly cured back bacon. It is comparatively a new product and should not be compared with the old-fashioned belly bacon. It contains a relatively small amount of salt and saltpeter, and many people prefer the Canadian bacon flavor for that reason.
T: Is there more lean in it in proportion to fat than there is in other bacon?
M: It is more lean than either our own or Canadian belly bacon, but it is practically the same as our back bacon, which was formerly sold almost entirely under the name of "smoked loin".
T: There is quite a difference in quality between that and our bacon also, isn't there?
M: Not very much. Of course, there is one factor that should be considered. They do not try to sell their cheaper grades of pork in this country. They make selections, just as we are doing when we are selling things to foreign countries. We try to sell them the best that we have.
For instance, recently we sold 36 shorthorn cattle to Australia. We shipped 36 of the best shorthorns that were available, naturally, because of the possibility of follow-up orders.
Likewise Canada is exporting to us the best bacon that they have.
It is the same way with Danish bacon. The Danes require certain standards for their bacon before they allow it to be exported. That is done by the Government decree and, of course, is good business.
There are several things which have to do with bacon flavor. They are the breeding and feeding of the hogs and the method of curing the meat after the hog has been slaughtered. For some years the Canadians have interested themselves in the raising of the long, bacon-type hog.
T: Doctor, in connection with this Canadian bacon, the thought has gone about that Canadian bacon contains a greater proportion of lean meat than our own bacon. In some quarters where the Canadian bacon is sold the name "Canadian bacon" is used to infer that it is a higher-class meat, a higher-grade bacon. Is that because of the intrinsic superiority of the meat or because of publicity or advertising?
M: I think it is largely good advertising.
Of course, we make a "Canadian-style" bacon in this country. It is not like the old-fashioned belly bacon at all. It is the tenderloin, right under the backbone, which is almost all meat and very little fat. It is sometimes marketed and properly known as smoked loin. Since Canadian bacon has become so popular, the packers are selling this same product quite extensively as "Canadian-style" bacon.
T: How do our packers place that on our local market?
M: If they wish to use the word "Canadian" in connection with this product, they are required by the meat-inspection law to call it "Canadian-style bacon". As I have said, it should not be confused with the old-fashioned belly bacon, as it retails for 15 cents or more a pound above the latter. It corresponds to the fillet of beef, which has been salted, cured, and smoked.
Of course, this type of Canadian bacon or back bacon is a far superior piece of meat to the old-fashioned belly bacon, which is made from the sides of the carcass. This type of Canadian bacon is made from meat which comes from the loin of the carcass, and it contains more lean than ordinary bacon. It is a mildly cured bacon, and the type of hog that produces it makes it very satisfactory.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-23 09:40 pm (UTC)