[continues to pity the poor foreigners]
[sips tea]
Quite.
Butter, bacon, rib eye, dairy cream...they sound so delicious.
Unhealthy? Maybe. But not more than soda, pixie sticks, etc. Seeing those doesn't turn my stomach; it just makes me sorry for the poor pancreases.
If I eat gobs of fat, I get nauseous, (gross stuff coming up) the same way you so when you have a horrible cold and a tonne of mucus dripping down the back of your throat and into your stomach.
I think that shoulder bacon makes superior bacon butties, whilst streaky bacon is better in dishes with other things (such as macaroni cheese), where the fat adds a lot of flavour to the surrounding dish.
http://www.ellesmerebutchery.co.nz/shoulder-bacon-sugar-cure...
It reminds me a bit of the gammon we have in the UK, which is meat from the hind leg, cured like bacon, but sold in joints or steaks, rather than thin slices, and which is quite lean:
https://www.ocado.com/productImages/281/281291011_0_640x640....
Meanwhile, in South Africa, shoulder bacon appears to be something else again:
I guess it's an upbringing thing, but I really dislike crispy bacon, it just seems dry and overcooked to me.
Here's a good depiction of the 3 varieties: http://www.endlesssimmer.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Baco...
https://www.ocado.com/productImages/637/63740011_0_640x640.j...
There's no artful hiding, but the label covers the fatty tail.
Sometimes, fancy bacon is shingle-packed, but the top isn't covered:
https://www.ocado.com/productImages/145/14531011_0_640x640.j...
Even if it's streaky:
https://www.ocado.com/productImages/265/26532011_0_640x640.j...
I'd be interested to know if this is because of UK (or EU!) food packaging regulations, or if it's just local custom.