Why are these so popular in America to the extent that they are a separately traded commodity? Why not pork chops or shoulders?
What actually trades and has volume is a basic Lean Hogs contract, which is based on carcass weight.
Bacon, like you might find in a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.
Edit: Fucked up the quote. Hopefully this gif will suffice.
Bacon, only thicker!
I also don’t get it. I’ve had it a few times in nice restaurants and it was passable but I’ve seen some places serving it and it just looked like a fatty gelatinous nightmare.
American bacon is also rank. I don’t really get the whole cult of bacon thing, its like the whole internet talks it up as some sort of legendary amazing food. I like a bacon role as much as the next man but not enough to crack a semi over it
^Bacon tastes good! Pork chops taste good!
I agree, I just don’t feel the inclination to buy a tshirt with it on it or post it all over social media
canadian bacon rules supreme. long live the peameal bacon!
Peameal bacon isn’t from the pork belly, it’s all loin. Back bacon has loin and belly. Irish rashers is similar. Pancetta is from the belly. So versatile the belly is. Greenie - You should do some smoked pork belly. It’s fantastic.
Canadian bacon, eh?
Must be all that socialism.
I just smoked a pork shoulder the other day. Twas fabulous. Still eating pulled pork sandwiches four days later.
Got a brisket that I’m probably going to smoke and bring to work on Monday. Maybe I’ll take it to Sunday School for Easter.
^ as much as I don’t get the cult of bacon I could totally get on board with a brisket cult
and to think my wee grannie used to say it was cheap and nasty
Back to OP’s question… here is a good article I found, looks like pork bellies stop trading in 2011.
The reason they were traded before was:
Way back, pork belly futures made sense. The bellies were frozen and set aside, then used to make bacon during the summers when the demand for it (think bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches) rose. But the pork belly landscape has shifted, said Shane Ellis, a livestock economist at Iowa State University. With bacon accompanying salads, hamburgers, even chocolate, it is on call all year now, removing some of the demand for frozen bellies.
^I’d much rather talk about brisket, ribs, and sausage.
What an exciting prospect!
Is Iowa State top 2 for Livestock economics?
^I bet Texas A&M is #1. It is the Harvard of Agricultural Economics.
(I’m not kidding about that. If you want to major in Agricultural anything, Texas A&M is the place to go. And yes, there is such a major as Agricultural Economcs.)