Foodsday Tuesday: This Column Is Treyf

If people ask me, I definitely self-identify as Jewish. But if you know me, you know that I'm not terribly observant. I remember the Sabbath, but certainly don't keep it holy. I light candles on Chanukah. I even go so far as fasting on Yom Kippur and pretty much cutting carbs out of my diet for a week every spring. But that's the extent to which I keep kosher. I don't hesitate to combine meat and dairy on my matzoh sandwich. I love shellfish. I've broken the fast on at least one occasion with a barbecue bacon cheeseburger.

In fact, it's bacon—and other pork products—that I want to talk about today. Because I've managed to eat a lot of it lately, specifically a huge roast pork sandwich at DiNic's, a prosciutto sandwich at Salumeria (I've spent a lot of time at Reading Terminal Market lately), and a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon at Devil's Alley. I don't think twice when I order pork products, or, if I do, it's more out of sympathy for the surprisingly smart mammals I'm eating than it is out of any sense of religious obligation. I happen to think that pork is pretty damned delicious, actually. When I'm craving Mexican food, it's often because I'm longing for carnitas or chorizo, not because I miss refried beans (incidentally, though, they're often made with bacon fat). I think that wrapping meat in bacon or prosciutto only makes it more delicious. And yesterday, I stumbled upon a recipe for pork chops that I can't wait to try (and will, as soon as I get a job and can afford to go grocery shopping again).

When I was younger and attending religious school, one of my congregation's rabbis told us that the uncloven hooves of pigs, and the fact that they don't chew their cud, might not actually be the reason that pork products are verboten. In fact, the rabbi posed, the original rules may have been established, not for a religious reason, but for a health one: back in the days before meat thermometers, it was a lot harder to prevent trichinosis. But, the rabbi reminded us in true Fiddler on the Roof fashion, we Jews place a lot of stock in tradition: even if the rules aren't as relevant anymore, it's not likely that they're going to change anytime soon.

So for now, I'm just going to keep breaking them. Pass the bacon, please!

Image via Manxkippers.