In today’s world of fast food, the words fresh and gourmet have been used so much that the consumer no longer knows what those words really mean.

Consumers used to think fresh meant from the garden to the chopping board. Today, fresh veggies are perceived as opening a bag that contains vegetables that are pre-sliced, sprayed with chemicals, packed in a bag that is injected with CO2. Typically, these veggies are a week old before they are even delivered by the distributor to the restaurant.

When it comes to meats, once again like veggies, many restaurant operators use the word fresh.

Last time I checked, pigs, turkeys and cows didn’t grow in perfect circles that enable us to slice perfectly round slices of meat. Fact is, until the farmers learn to grow the same sized pig every time, every ham will be a different size. They then are cooked and sliced accordingly.