[1] A formidable triple-decker pork belly grilled cheese sandwich from Slaters 50/50 (photo © Slaters 50/50).

[2] A slab of pork belly (photo © The Country Victualler).

[3] Strips of pork belly (photo © Wild Fork Foods).

[4] What cheese do you want on your sandwich? Slater’s uses pimento cheese, made with cheddar. We added a slice of emmenthaler, a Swiss cheese (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[5] Bacon ketchup: Who knew? This is a spicy version. There are also mild versions (photo © Ass Kickin’).

This is quite some grilled cheese sandwich (photo #1), created by Scott Slater, founder of the burger chain Slater’s 50/50.

It’s a restaurant whose signature burger is 50% ground bacon/50% ground beef.

“We do bacon better than anybody, and this sandwich is no exception,” says company founder Scott Slater.

Pork Belly Grilled Cheese is his take on a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon, and is a big hit with patrons (the difference between bacon and pork belly is below).

The Pork Belly Grilled Cheese sandwich uses pimento cheese spread instead of sliced cheese. We put together a copycat recipe based on Slater’s description of the sandwich. Then we added our own twist: a slice of emmental, a swiss cheese (photo #4).

Of course, for the real thing, head to a Slater’s 50/50 California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada or Texas.The restaurant makes its own pimento cheese, jalapeño-bacon jam and pickled red onions. We’ve provided some hacks in the instructions.

Slater’s serves the sandwich with french fries and a proprietary bacon ketchup.

You can buy bacon ketchup; or here’s a recipe.

We think the sandwich has enough flavor that it doesn’t need another condiment, like ketchup.

> Check out the different types of bacon.
 
 
RECIPE: PORK BELLY GRILLED CHEESE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

Photo #1 shows a triple decker sandwich. We made a single-decker sandwich, which was plenty rich and satisfying.

1. PICKLE the onions. You can purchase pickled onions, but here’s how to pickle them from scratch. You can pickle the onions up to a week in advance. The longer they’re in the brine, the more the pickled flavor.

2. PREPARE the pimento cheese. If you don’t buy it ready made, here’s a recipe.

3. PREPARE the jalapeño bacon jam. You can purchase bacon jam and stir in minced jalapeños. Or, here’s a recipe.

4. SLICE and cook the pork belly. You can pan-fry it, roast it, or slow-cook it. Here’s how. When ready to assemble the sandwich…

5. TOAST the bread. Butter it lightly if you desire (we thought it was overkill), and slather it with pimento cheese. Add the pork belly. In our version, we added a slice of emmental (Swiss) cheese, and used a butane kitchen torch that we use for crème brûlée).

6. ADD the top piece of toast and serve.

 
PORK BELLY VS. BACON: THE DIFFERENCE

Bacon is made by salting and seasoning different cuts of pork through a process called curing—using salt to draw moisture out.

In addition the U.S., the belly meat* is typically used. The bacon is then cured—salted, to draw out moisture—and smoked, to add smoky flavor.

While it comes from the same belly of the pig, pork belly is neither cured nor smoked. It is also served in thicker slices and instead of smoky flavor, has a softness ad slick mouthfeel from the added layers of fat.

All bacon is pork belly but not all pork belly is bacon.

Though a fattier meat, it can be diced for stir-fry, rolled for roasting or cut into square or rectangular “steaks.”

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*The belly is the area on the lower side and underside of the pig, from which American bacon (“streaky bacon”) is made. In other countries, bacon is also made from the back, butt, jowls, loin, shoulder and sides. Sometimes it is smoked, sometimes not.

It’s often difficult to pick a gift for someone. So many of us have more “stuff” than we need, and/or no place to put anything else. That’s why we always give food gifts.

If the giftee* is a tea drinker, there are many fine gifts of loose tea, and even tea bags.

Here are two of our favorite gift ideas from Harney & Sons, one of America’s finest tea purveyors.
 
 
DELUXE LOOSE TEA STARTER KIT

If you’re not sure if the recipient uses loose tea, how about Harney’s Deluxe Loose Tea Starter Kit?

It’s currently on sale, too, for $—29.95—a 40% reduction from the regular price of $49.95 (plus free shipping).

Loose tea might seem cumbersome, but it’s not.

It takes just seconds more to fill the tea strainer and pop the strainer into the hot water, instead of a tea bag.

Connoisseurs agree that loose tea is the best way to brew‡.

The starter kit helps anyone become a “master infusiast,” right at the kitchen counter.

The kit includes everything needed to enjoy the perfect cup, with top quality† tea):

 
Even the sturdy black and gold gift box is a “keeper,” to store or organize other items in your home.

Order it from Harney & Sons.

[1] The Deluxe Loose Tea Starter Kit (photos © The Nibble).

[2] Open the box, and find everything needed to brew a great cup of tea.

Another option Tea Of The Month, a monthly subscription that delivers premium loose teas or sachets (tea bags) with brewing instructions and tasting notes.

The tea selection change each month, and include black, green, oolong and white teas.

Here are the details.
 
 
MORE ABOUT TEA

> The Different Types Of Tea

> The History Of Tea

> The History Of Tea Bags

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*We prefer “giftee” to “recipient,” because it is explicit that the person is recieving a gift. A recipient can receive anything.

†Whole tea leaves that are infused in hot water provide the best flavor. They are the top quality tea leaves. Broken tea leaves need to be infused in bags. A name familiar to Americans, orange pekoe, is not a type of tea but a grade of tea. It is the second highest grade in a seven-tier grading system for black tea. It describes the size and physical condition of the leaf.

When loose tea leaves are steeped in a pot or cup, there is plenty of room for them to move around, absorb water and expand. The water flow through the leaves and extracts (infuses) the flavors and aromas. In a bag, the leaves are constrained so there is less infusion.

‡Tea bags are a relatively new way to brew tea (the history of tea bags).

June is National Dairy Month. Dairy products are those made of mammal’s milk.

While cow’s milk is most popular in the U.S., we also consume goat’s, sheep’s and water buffalo’s milk, both as a drink and made into cheese, yogurt and other products.

In some countries, still other animals are milked for drinking, cooking, butter- and cheese-making:

 
Then there’s the unusual and one-off production of sow’s milk cheese, made by a pig farmer in The Netherlands.

He auctioned it for charity. The hammer price was 1,500 euros per kilo, making it by far the most expensive cheese ever sold worldwide.

Given the ordeal to make it, we are unlikely to see too much more of it.

Here’s more about it, and the other unusual [to us] milks.
 
 
WORLDWIDE, GOAT’S MILK IS #1

Goat’s milk is the number-one consumed milk in the world. More than 65% of the world’s population drinks it instead of cow’s milk. That’s because it’s easy to keep a goat.

 
By the way, if you’re a fan of goat cheese, try goat milk and goat butter. It’s the same flavor in a different format.
 
 
USES FOR DAIRY

Liquid milk, a popular beverage, is also used to make butter, cheese and cream (which in turn becomes custard, dulce de leche, ice cream, and so forth).

Liquid milk is preserved into evaporated milk, condensed milk, powdered milk and whey protein.

Liquid milk is fermented into cultured buttermilk, kefir, sour cream and yogurt.
 
 
THE MOST CONSUMED DAIRY PRODUCTS IN THE U.S.*

While we called these the most “popular” dairy products in the headline, it’s more precise to call them the most consumed dairy products.

Few will be surprised by this ranking, which is shown in pounds per capita.

Fluid milk and cream, the largest category, includes milk of all fat percentages, plus buttermilk, cream, eggnog, frozen yogurt, ice cream, milk sherbet, sour cream.

Here is consumption per capita:

 
[Source]
 
 
COW’S MILK PRODUCING COUNTRIES

In its natural (raw) state, cow’s milk is more than 87% water. The remainder consists of butterfat, whey and casein proteins, lactose (milk carbohydrates/sugars), and ash (vitamins and minerals).

The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of cow’s milk. The countries producing the largest amount of cow’s milk, in metric tonnes:

1. 1 United States 91.3 metric tonnes†
2. 2 India 60.6 metric tonnes
3. 3 China 35.7 metric tonnes
4. 4 Brazil 34.3 metric tonnes
5. 5 Germany 31.1 metric tonnes
6. 6 Russia 30.3 metric tonnes
7. 7 France 23.7 metric tonnes
8. 8 New Zealand 18.9 metric tonnes
9. 9 Turkey 16.7
10. 10 United Kingdom 13.9

[Source]

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*Data are for the year 2010 and are taken from the USDA ERS Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System and the Agricultural Research Service National Agricultural Library.
 
†Ton and tonne are not the same measurement. A ton is a measurement used in the U.S. (i.e., an imperial measurement, along inch, foot and mile) (still widely used in the USA); a tonne is a metric measurement (along with centimeter, kilo and kilometer).
> A ton is 2,000 pounds.
> A tonne, also called a megagram, is one million grams or 1,000 kilograms.
Here’s more about them.

[1] Thanks for the milk! The black-and-white Holstein is the iconic dairy cow (photo © Jean Carlo Emer | Unsplash).

[2] Thanks for the milk! East Friesian sheep, originally bred in the East Frisia region of northern Germany, are one of the best for sheep dairying (photo © Bellwether Farms).

[3] Thanks for the milk! The La Mancha goat is a “good milker” (photo © Mirciov Dan | Unsplash).

[4] Thanks for the milk! In the U.S., it’s most often found in bufala mozzarella cheese (photo © Alex Azabache | Unsplash).

[5] A refreshing glass of full-fat cow’s milk (photo © Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board).