It's the International Meat!

When we first moved to Switzerland, I was constantly despairing over all the food items I could no longer find in the grocery story.  Pretty much everything I was used to cooking with didn’t exist here, and I had to either figure out how to make it myself, or do without.  Which has turned out to be a very good thing.  We eat almost nothing processed, and stick to the outside aisles of the grocery store, just like “they” say you should.  But there are still things that I miss, or just can’t live without.  These are the items I ask you to bring over should you ever come visit. 🙂

One of the things I had learned to just live without was normal bacon.  What?  I know, there are pigs all over the place, but they didn’t butcher them here like they do in the States.  Occasionally I can find spare ribs, but they are super tiny, not the huge meaty ones I remember eating at Mom’s Sundays after church. mmmhhhhmmm  No pork chops, either.  And the bacon is sold in these giant hunks you have to slice yourself, and it’s flavored all weird.  Then we started shopping in Germany.

Oh, how glorious the selection.  And they even had bacon there.  Well, it wasn’t American bacon, but it was a good substitute.  And we happily lived with, and ate that, for many years.  Then all the German Walmarts went bankrupt (that should please all the Walmart haters) and they were taken over by Real, a giant German grocery store chain.  We have loved all the changes they have made in the store.  It’s cleaner, better stocked, and they have an even bigger selection of certain things.  And, oh be still my beating heart, they have real American-style bacon!  Oh, the blt’s we have enjoyed since finding it in the store.  How delicious it is crumbled on top of our potato cheese soup!  Just the right amount of smoky saltiness, and the proper meat to fat ratio as well.  We are in bacon heaven.

A few months ago, while picking up some more of this delicious pork product, I happened to see a package next to it called “English style bacon”.  It looked like it had a lot more meat to fat, which Chris would appreciate, so I grabbed a package, just to try it.  Imagine my surprise to discover what it actually was; Canadian style bacon!  Perfect for Hawaiian style pizzas!  So, the other day, we had BLT’s for dinner, and I used the English bacon from Germany.  The conversation went something like this:

Nicholas:”What kind of bacon is this?  It’s kind of different.”

Me: “It’s so cool!  It’s called English bacon, but in America we call it Canadian bacon.  It’s really good, try it!”

Nicholas: “So, in America it’s called Canadian bacon, but in Germany they call it English bacon?  Where does it really come from?”

Chris: “China!”

Ha! Also, it is meant to be baked, not fried or microwaved.  So good!  This little lady prefers BL’s, as does her brother, Nick.  At least they are eating one of the vegetables, unlike some others who shall remain nameless. 🙂