A Bacon Jam New Years

My house threw a rockin’ New Years party in the Graduate Hospital section of Philadelphia, and The Bacon Jams was gracious enough to serve as a sponsor. Guests began arriving around 8 at night on December 31 and, in addition to liquor and beer, were greeted by a beautiful spread of cheese, crackers, pita, hummus and other assorted finger foods that sat on a table against the wall in the dining room. Naturally, there were three jars of The Bacon Jams -- one of each variety -- strategically situated alongside the platters.

As the house started to fill up with partygoers, so too did an appetite for food and drink. I got the snacking started and led the charge with pita and a hummus-Black Pepper bacon jam combo. Anyone who saw the table and asked, “What’s bacon jam?!”, was funneled my way for the pitch. I counted 12 separate inquiring minds who wanted to know, and that was before things really got bumping and everyone became more concerned with imbibing than eating. Everyone who tried loved the jams, but there were two people whose enthusiasm really stood out to me: Regan and Jarrett. Regan didn’t need much convincing and was in from the start; enthralled and excited by the concept of bacon jam, she wanted to know everything about the product and I was happy to oblige. After giving her my spiel about each variety, she chose to give Red Chile & Garlic a shot first and asked which food on the table would be the best vessel for trying.

“Cheese and cracker,” I said without hesitation.

So she picked up a circular Ritz cracker and a cheddar cheese square and spread some Red Chile & Garlic bacon jam on top.

“Oh my God,” she exclaimed as her eyes lit up. “I was expecting this to be amazing and it’s even better than that!” Within seconds, her plate had a bunch of crackers, cheese pieces and a glob of Red Chile & Garlic bacon jam.

Jarrett, more skeptical, was next. He too chose Red Chile & Garlic on top of a cracker with cheese and popped it into his mouth.

“Alright, this is pretty good stuff,” he said, cracking a smile.

“I know, man, I told you!” I replied.

Both Regan and Jarrett went on to also sample the All Original and Black Pepper with cheese, crackers, pita and hummus, and each time their reaction was the same: Unanimous approval.

As we were cleaning up the following afternoon, my roommate yelled to me from downstairs: “Hey, Dan, the All Original jar is just about empty!”

Let’s hope that’s an auspicious sign for The Bacon Jams in 2015!

~DK