When I was younger, I desperately wanted to taste Spongebob Squarepants’ famous Krabby Patty. The characters raved about this delicious-looking cheeseburger, causing my siblings and I much curiosity and jealousy as all we wanted was to taste this forbidden food. One day, my clever mother decided to buy parve soy burgers so that we could make our own kosher version of a Krabby Patty. It was all I ate for the next two weeks.
As I’ve gotten older, though, I’ve begun to notice that many kosher food companies have tried to imitate non-kosher foods, and now, thanks to Empire Kosher, I can satisfy yet another treif curiosity—bacon. In all of the advertisements I’ve seen, whether it’s paired with eggs, a burger or eaten plain, bacon always looks delicious. Yes, it looks extremely unhealthy, and it is definitely the type of food that, when eaten too much, can cause hypertension and high cholesterol. Nevertheless, I’ve still been curious to taste this culinary treat.
Recently, all of my dreams have come true because Empire Kosher has created Natural Uncured Turkey Bacon. While obviously not real bacon, Empire Kosher figured out a way to create a product that tastes extremely similar to how bacon supposedly tastes. In addition, it’s main ingredient is dark turkey meat, making this product slightly healthier than the average piece of bacon, allowing one to feel less guilty about eating 10 pieces in one shot (obviously I’m talking about a hypothetical here, I would never eat this much in one sitting…).
In all seriousness, Empire Kosher’s Uncured Turkey Bacon is the first that I’ve ever heard about this trend, which is why I’m so enamoured with it. However, Empire is not the only brand to jump onto this bandwagon. Jack’s Gourmet, a Brooklyn-based company, sells a product that it cleverly calls Facon. It is made out of beef, well salted and dry cured, giving it an element of bacon’s taste and texture. In addition, Pelleh Poultry has a similar product called Duck Fry; essentially though, this is fake bacon made out of duck.
As someone who loves food, I’m excited to recommend this riveting trend. Give it a taste, not only because it’s delicious, but because it can help satisfy all of your curiosity regarding this beloved and forbidden food. In addition, it can help you spice up your life. For example, if you have fleishaphobia (fear of being fleishiks/meat), and you want to taste this delicacy in its most popular form (as part of breakfast) you can go a little crazy and have breakfast for dinner. Empire Kosher’s Uncured Turkey Bacon can be found in local grocery markets.
By Miri Wagner
Bergenfield’s Miri Wagner is a Queens College student and a summer intern at The Jewish Link.
