I warp minds as a hobby

[wolfie]

Being Jewish, I've never eaten the stuff, but I'd have thought it should keep fairly well. It's smoked, isn't it? Shouldn't that preserve it somewhat?

One thing that virtually all of the prohibited foods have in common is that they spoil faster than the permitted ones (there's a reason lobster is sold live). As for the salted-and-smoked cuts of pork (ham, bacon, etc.), the modern supermarket variety is VERY different from the original.

Originally, salting and smoking ham and bacon was done to preserve it, and the results were VERY dry (low water content = unlivable environment for the spoilage beasties). One problem with that is that (more for ham than for bacon) it needed to be cooked in a way that re-hydrated and softened it up. Also, for some reason the supply chain likes to sell water at meat prices. Check out the Bridgeford pepperoni sticks (sold non-refrigerated), and compare how they feel to the other brands (in the refrigerated case) - that's pretty much the difference between "old style" ham and bacon, and the modern variety.

Sliced bacon (and other meat) is even worse, due to the large amount of surface area. Back in the old days (bacon kept as a side, and sliced immediately prior to cooking), if it started to get moldy on the outside and you cut off a 1/8" layer to get rid of the mold, you'd still have a substantial piece of meat left. With pre-sliced meat, it's all "outside layer".