# This little piggy went to market

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 26, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569 "2000-01-26T04:33:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569/1 "2000-01-26T04:33:00Z")

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OK, why is it that Bacon tastes completely different from Pork Chops and Baby Back Ribs, which all taste totally different from Ham?

Filet generally tastes like Ribeye, which tastes similar to Ground Chuck, which tastes similar to Pot Roast, the main differences being in the texture, tenderness and fat content.

Why are the Bacon parts so dissimilar tasting?

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569/2 "2000-01-26T04:36:00Z")

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Bacon is cured by smoking. The other pork products, as well as beef products are not.

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**Author:** ![Flypsyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Flypsyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flypsyde)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2000, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569/3 "2000-01-26T16:58:00Z")

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## Yep. Preparation is the key-same phenomenon as corned beef and pastrami. The spices and salts used to prepare the meats alter the taste significantly. Although, to be honest, I like my other answer better, Omni.

He weathered a firestorm of agony and did not break.  
And while Yori raged against his unbending  
courage, we took Kyuden Hiruma back.  
His loss is great, but so is the gift his suffering brought.  
-_Yakamo’s Funeral_

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**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569/4 "2000-01-27T14:10:00Z")

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Note, too, that ham is ‘cured’, giving it a distinctive flavor that will actually vary depending on the method and ingrediants involved.

Smoked turkey is another meat with a distinctive flavor for similar reasons.

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**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\
**Post date:** [January 27, 2000, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-little-piggy-went-to-market/6569/5 "2000-01-27T14:58:00Z")

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Okay, I’ll have the turkey club on wheat toast, please. And you can keep them damn chips.