Dear Customers,
Ever wonder why our meat ads are chock full of pork products this time of year? Sausages, chops, roasts, even franks and sauerkraut abound! Eating pork during the first week of the new year isn’t only delicious, it’s long been thought to bring good luck. The tradition began in Germany and traveled the Atlantic with German immigrants in the 17th and 18th centuries. Other immigrant cultures that were known for their enjoyment of pork & sauerkraut were the Czechs, Poles and Hungarians!
Something about the rich, often fatty and salty pork, couples well with the tartness of sauerkraut. The idea of good luck actually comes from the fatty content of the pork. Fat signifies prosperity so eating pork will undoubtedly bring you a lucky and prosperous new year! Or so the theory goes.
Round foods were thought to bring good luck because they resemble coins and by extension, good fortune! Is it any coincidence then that sauerkraut, made from shredded cabbage, starts out as a big, round, green ball? Then too, the first of the year was when fresh vegetables were often in short supply and sauerkraut remains rich in Vitamin C and other nutrients when fresh foods were scarce.
With beef prices being out of sight currently, pork and chicken both remain much more economical alternatives. When I asked why beef is so pricey for the past several months, I got the usual litany of excuses; low cattle supply, increased production costs, strong demand, tariffs on Mexican beef and drought in the cattle producing regions. Whatever it’s attributed to, it makes way more sense to include an increase of pork and chicken dishes into your weekly menu. Sounds like a recipe for “good luck” to me!