evangelicalism
Water to wine
19/August/2009 07:27 Filed in: Weekly
Column
When the name of your organization is built upon
the concept of refreshing water, it is always of
interest how various enterprises use water in
marketing their products. As a general rule, new
and improved signifies that someone found a way to
use more water and hence make the product weigh
more, or be softer, or smoother, and still charge
the same, or more money for the “improved” product.
In reality the water is essentially a free filler
to give you less of what you think you paid for.
I like to have bacon and eggs at least once on weekends for breakfast. A man can only live just so healthy and then life becomes a drag. The best bacon I ever had came from a meat packing plant in Wilbur when my mother lived there. They had to close their doors when the state required expensive upgrades to their facilities that could not be justified based on the potential returns.
I have made my own dry cured bacon, but it takes facilities that I no longer have at my disposal. Costco has dry cured bacon, one of the few places it is available, but I really don’t like the taste. So I am continually on the lookout for different brands of commercial bacon to try out. Last week at the supermarket, there was a 20 oz packet of thick sliced bacon, which was nearing the pull date and marked down. I decided to give it a try. When I open the package Wonder Springs, as I tried to guess how they got so much water in something that is supposed to cook up somewhat crispy.
Since that time, I think I have figured it out. Now the true goal is to sell you as much water as possible and still make you think you are getting a good deal. To do that you create a brine that will give you the smoke taste you think will sell. Once cured it is pretty squishy so you deeply chill and maybe even freeze the bacon slab so that it will slice evenly. Then while it is still frozen you package it for distribution. Once the frozen water thaws you have the squishy wet bacon I popped in the pan and it shrank to about two-thirds the precooked size.
Now that energy prices have made the transport of water much more expensive we are beginning to see many more drinks delivered sans water. You must add your own water in your own container. The manufacturer gives you a powder in a little Mylar tube and you add it to your own tap, bottled, or designer water, which saves everyone money, especially the luscious drink maker. However it does make you think, I am paying a whole lot of money for a few grams of artificial sweetening and flavoring, when the chilled attractive bottle looked like a better deal.
Read More...
I like to have bacon and eggs at least once on weekends for breakfast. A man can only live just so healthy and then life becomes a drag. The best bacon I ever had came from a meat packing plant in Wilbur when my mother lived there. They had to close their doors when the state required expensive upgrades to their facilities that could not be justified based on the potential returns.
I have made my own dry cured bacon, but it takes facilities that I no longer have at my disposal. Costco has dry cured bacon, one of the few places it is available, but I really don’t like the taste. So I am continually on the lookout for different brands of commercial bacon to try out. Last week at the supermarket, there was a 20 oz packet of thick sliced bacon, which was nearing the pull date and marked down. I decided to give it a try. When I open the package Wonder Springs, as I tried to guess how they got so much water in something that is supposed to cook up somewhat crispy.
Since that time, I think I have figured it out. Now the true goal is to sell you as much water as possible and still make you think you are getting a good deal. To do that you create a brine that will give you the smoke taste you think will sell. Once cured it is pretty squishy so you deeply chill and maybe even freeze the bacon slab so that it will slice evenly. Then while it is still frozen you package it for distribution. Once the frozen water thaws you have the squishy wet bacon I popped in the pan and it shrank to about two-thirds the precooked size.
Now that energy prices have made the transport of water much more expensive we are beginning to see many more drinks delivered sans water. You must add your own water in your own container. The manufacturer gives you a powder in a little Mylar tube and you add it to your own tap, bottled, or designer water, which saves everyone money, especially the luscious drink maker. However it does make you think, I am paying a whole lot of money for a few grams of artificial sweetening and flavoring, when the chilled attractive bottle looked like a better deal.
Read More...