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Recently in my country, subway decided to turn halal. To some people, they are utterly disappointed as subway's pork product are being removed and replaced by chicken product.

Personally, i have tasted both eras of subway that have pork and chicken ham. I felt that ever since subway changes the ham to chicken, their sandwiches are not as tasty as before.

I am not the only one who thought this way. I knew several people who also have the same sentiments.

If that is the case, why is it so?

amoureux
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  • I do not believe there is such a thing as chicken "ham", since ham is literally a form of pork. That being said, certainly ham is generally tastier than chicken because it is smoked or cured or prepared in such a way to make is quite tasty, while chicken generally is not. Even if chicken is to be prepared in the same manner they do tend to taste differently. – Behacad Jul 18 '18 at 14:10
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    In the US, there are many processed products wildly available that are made from turkey and/or chicken that emulate other products that would typically be or contain pork. Turkey ham, for example, looks similar to real ham. But there is a definite taste difference. Other products include chicken bologna and hot dogs. – Cindy Jul 18 '18 at 14:20
  • Taste is extremely subjective! I do that think there is no good answer to the question - 'Is chicken ham not as tasty as pork ham.' They are entirely different products with one being sold/advertised to substitute for the other. Is turkey bacon tastier that pork bacon? The answers are going to be a matter of individual opinion with little to back it up. Tea and coffee are both normally caffinated beverages served hot. Does tea taste better than coffee? My answer would be 'Hell yes!' and probably different from the person who drinks 5 cups of coffee a day. I've had two cupsof it in 74 years. – Cynetta Jul 18 '18 at 16:16

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I don't know that one's particularly 'tastier' than the other, but it's more about what you're familiar with. It wasn't what you were expecting, and so it tastes bad to you.

For example, say you're at a restaurant, and you order a soft drink, but they bring you something that looks right, but isn't. (eg, you order root beer, and they bring you a cola or visa versa). Even if you would normally like what they brought you, your mind is expecting something other than what your taste buds get, and it just tastes wrong no matter how much you typically like the drink they brought.

It's similar to trying foods for the first time -- you often need to try it multiple times until you can really taste it, because your mind isn't sending you signals of 'that wasn't what I was expecting' and 'I don't know what that is, it might be poisonous or have gone off, I should puke this up right now'

There are lots of low quality pork-based hams, so it's impossible to say that all chicken hams are worse than pork hams. But it's worth noting that cured porks are high in glutamates, which we sense as meaty (aka umami, as it's not all from meat). If the chicken ham doesn't have MSG or some other form of added glutamates, or if they try to make it 'healthy' and reduce the sodium, it's going to taste 'flat' as compared to pork hams.

For the time being, I'd recommend that you ask for extra tomatoes (high in glutamates) and extra salt or other seasonings until your taste buds are more familiar with the chicken ham. If you can handle dairy, also switch to the parmesan bread when it's available. Your other option is to avoid ham entirely for a few months so that your memory of what that sandiwch normally tastes like isn't so strong.

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