Here are a few interesting junk food-related stories from the past week or so. Enjoy.
Via Bloomberg: Why Supermarket Bacon Hides Its Glorious Fat
Fat is flavor. But we’ve also been taught that fat is unhealthy and unappealing. And this tension may explain why bacon has one of the most unusual and underappreciated packaging formats of any supermarket product.
Via NBC News: Chips So Good You’ll Have to Go to Jail to Get Them
That’s because the chips — which taste like a combination of salt and vinegar, barbeque seasoning, and a little bit of every other flavor ever known — are not sold in stores. They’re “jail chips,” meaning they’re produced and sold exclusively for America’s prisoners.
Via Atlas Obscura: The Rise and Fall of Fruitopia, the Trippiest Beverage of the ’90s
If you were exposed to Fruitopia as a youth, chances are that you remember it vividly. The drink, with its day-glo colors and funny flavor names, was somehow both adult-approved and delicious.
Via The Atlantic: Can Fake Junk Food Truly Satisfy?
Healthy eaters, rather than just eating bland plates full of plants or completely cutting out foods they’ve deemed unhealthy, instead are using fruits and vegetables to create fake versions of the things they crave.