The Ultimate Battle: Ham vs Canadian Bacon

Recently, the heart attack juggernaut that is Hardees (or Carl's Jr. for you Westerners) has been advertising its new Bacon Bacon Biscuit.  Canadian bacon, egg, cheese, and two strips of bacon are the components for this new breakfast creation that admittedly, doesn't sound all that bad.  But it got me to thinking: haven't we seen sandwiches in the past that feature both ham and bacon?  Aren't Canadian bacon and ham essentially the same thing?  What's the big deal?

Mmm, bacon.  Twice.

Well, let's clear up the differences first.  Canadian bacon is actually often referred to as "back bacon" outside of the U.S., which helps to reinforce the idea that Canadian bacon actually comes from the back of the pig, whereas ham comes from the hind quarter of the pig (the area referred to as the "ham", actually).  In the U.S., Canadian bacon and ham are generally cut and cured in a similar fashion, which is why we associate the two so closely.  As an aside, "country ham" is usually cured with just salt and has a different flavor.  Oh, the things you learn while researching online.

Is one superior to the other?  I guess it would all depend on your preference and the situation.  Let's suppose that, like me, you're a big fan of Hawaiian pizza.  Which would go better with the pineapple, ham or Canadian bacon?  I actually prefer ham on my Hawaiian pizza, as Canadian bacon will more often come with tougher edges, and I don't like it when I need to chew a lot.  However, on a breakfast sandwich, such as the Bacon Bacon Biscuit, I feel like I'd actually prefer the toughness of Canadian bacon.

You can put your hand down; this is just a picture.

So is this really a battle?  Will one win out over the other?  Yes; otherwise, I should probably just stop writing this.  I believe that Canadian bacon is, as a whole, superior to ham in American culture.  We've seen that it's not necessarily better in taste or texture, so where does it win?  Marketing.  Think about if the Bacon Bacon Biscuit was, instead, the Ham Bacon Biscuit.  If it had appeal before, it probably just lost it when converting it to ham, right?  Bacon (that is, regular U.S. bacon) has an almost heralded status in the U.S. as a luxury food.  I've said it before: bacon is to men as chocolate is to women and because of that, the use of the word "bacon" with any food often amplifies the appeal of it.

Thus, I think Canadian bacon retains a large marketing advantage over ham.  Ham is just another deli meat to most of us: we buy those little packs of it in the back of grocery stores and we put it in our very simple sandwiches that we pack for lunch the next day.  Ham is ordinary to us.  Canadian bacon, on the other hand, is more rare.  Most people only really associate it with Hawaiian pizza, or the occasional breakfast sandwich.  This rareness alone gives it greater marketing power, but add to it that the word "bacon" is in the title of the food, and it certainly carries a greater appeal than ham.

Those are my thoughts.  I'd love to hear yours.  And let me know if you ever go try that Bacon Bacon Biscuit.  It's probably a delight.