Bacon and Cupcakes: Am I missing something?

Certain food trends I just cannot wrap my brain around. I mean, I get it…initially (I am fully guilty of checking out the buzz around popular fads) . But similar to Ugg boots and mini skirts and giant sunglasses, I just wonder why these trends continue to persist. The two of the moment: bacon and cupcakes.

Bacon recipes continue to pop up everywhere. The magazine I was working for published an entire bacon issue. Quotes about bacon litter foodie websites, and it seems that at least once a month I hear about a chef somewhere who gets a tattoo as an ode to bacon. Don’t get me wrong here, I love bacon. The Vosges Haut Chocolate Bacon Bar tickled my fancy the first time that I saw it. “Ohhhh! Bacon in chocolate?!?!” I thought. But yesterday I saw yet another recipe for bacon brownies and I thought, “Ugh, bacon and chocolate…that is so done.” Not to mention, the bacon dental floss I saw a few weeks ago made my stomach churn. I normally floss to get my food out of my teeth.

Similarly, I am over cupcakes. I must admit cupcakes started out with negative points in my book due to my general blasé attitude toward all things Sex and the City. However, the cupcake craze is something that I also just don’t quite understand. The LA Times published an article this week reporting on the undying and unwavering fanfare for the miniature desserts. The article states, “There are obvious reasons for why people love cupcakes. There's sugar and butter. They remind people of childhood bake sales and birthday parties. No forks, no plates, maybe just a napkin. You don't have to share. No leftovers. At a bakery, everyone can pick their own flavor.”

Similar statements are made about bacon. Chefs and foodies waffle on about the perfect combination of fat and salt, crispiness and chewiness. This is all true. I agree. Bacon is good. But the bacon porn has been going on for years now. Even acid wash jeans did not last this long.

So then, what is it behind these foodie trends? When skinny jeans appeared in every shop window you did not hear about their functionality or the way that they accented someone’s perfectly formed calf muscles. No, people wore skinny jeans because everyone else wore them. Movie stars, models, musicians and socialites donned the new fashion trend and everyone followed. To me, it is the same with food. Carrie Bradshaw devoured a cupcake in an episode of Sex and the City and a million adoring fans went gaga for the mini desserts . But now the explanation for their popularity is the nostalgia that they conjure up as you lick the frosting off your fingers.

And a few years ago some Food Network Stars showed off their bacon tattoos and talked about how they love bacon more than life itself, and all of a sudden we have bacon jellybeans, bacon band-aids, bacon martinis, and bacon brownies. But we continue to hear that the reason why bacon is in everything is due to the fat-to-meat ratio???

So, I ask: why are food trends analyzed and explained while fashion trends are taken for what they are…trends?? I want a slice from a whole cake please, and I want my bacon with my eggs…no chocolate involved.