Bacon

Lore & Background

Before the advent of cheap and widespread artificial refrigeration, curing meat was necessary for safe long-term preservation. Bacon is cured through either wet curing (injecting or soaking in brine) or dry curing (rubbing with salt). Brine often includes nitrites or nitrates to speed curing and stabilise colour. Cured bacon may then be dried, smoked, or boiled. Differing flavours can be achieved by using various types of wood, corn cobs, or peat.

Reader's Guide

Bacon is distinguished from other salt-cured pork by differences in cuts and curing methods. Historically, the terms ham and bacon referred to different cuts brined or packed identically. Today, ham comes from the hind portion of the pig and its brine includes more sugar, while bacon is less sweet. Bacon is similar to salt pork, but salt pork is never smoked and has a much higher salt content. For safety, bacon may be treated to prevent trichinosis. Sodium polyphosphates may be added to make slicing easier and reduce spattering when pan-fried. Bacon type differs by primal cut: side bacon (streaky) from the belly is most common in the United States; back bacon from the loin is typical in the United Kingdom and Ireland; pancetta is an Italian rolled side bacon; guanciale is an Italian jowl bacon. Meat from other animals, such as turkey or beef, may be cured to resemble bacon, especially in areas with Jewish and Muslim populations. Vegetarian bacons such as soy bacon also exist.

Did You Know?

• The word 'bacon' derives from the Proto-Germanic *bakkon, meaning 'back meat'.
• Bacon is used for barding and larding roasts, especially game like venison and pheasant.
• In the United States, bacon cured with nitrites from celery or beets must be labelled 'uncured'.
• Unsmoked bacon in the United Kingdom and Ireland is known as 'green bacon'.

The Art of Curing and Smoking

Bacon's transformation from raw pork into a savoury, shelf-stable product hinges on two fundamental curing methods: wet curing, in which the meat is soaked in or injected with brine, and dry curing, where salt is rubbed directly onto the surface. The brine itself carries additional agents—most notably nitrites or nitrates—that accelerate the curing process and lock in the meat's characteristic colour. Once cured, the bacon enters a second phase: it may be air-dried over weeks or months in cold conditions, boiled, or subjected to smoking. The smoking stage is where flavour truly diverges, as cooks select different woods or even unconventional fuels like corn cobs or peat to shape the final taste. Depending on how intense the smoky character should be, this process can stretch up to eighteen hours. The practice of curing once served a purely practical purpose—preserving meat before refrigeration existed—but the distinctive flavour and extended shelf life it delivers have kept the technique firmly in use long after it became a necessity.

A Mosaic of Cuts

The specific primal cut of pork determines not only the texture and fat content of the finished bacon but also which culinary traditions favour it. In the United States, side bacon—sometimes called streaky bacon—dominates, drawn from the pork belly with its long, parallel ribbons of fat and muscle. Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom and Ireland lean toward back bacon, a leaner preparation combining loin and belly from the pig's midsection. Italy contributes pancetta, a rolled, strongly flavoured side bacon that stars in dishes like carbonara, and guanciale, a dry-cured but unsmoked jowl bacon made from pork cheeks. Other regional forms include collar bacon from the area near the pig's head, cottage bacon shaped from boneless shoulder meat, and jowl bacon from cured, smoked cheeks. Whether the skin, or bacon rind, is left on varies by region, though it is less commonly retained in English-speaking countries.

Bacon Around the World

Bacon adapts to local palates and dietary laws in ways that reveal a great deal about each culture. In Canada, the standalone word bacon usually means side bacon, while back bacon from the eye of the pork loin is a leaner, distinct product. Peameal bacon, a wet-cured, unsmoked back bacon coated in fine-ground cornmeal—historically rolled in dried peas—holds particular popularity in southern Ontario, and maple syrup frequently enters the curing brine. Australia and New Zealand favour a middle bacon that blends streaky and loin sections, with a leaner short cut option catering to health-conscious shoppers. In Germany, the concept overlaps with Speck; small bacon cubes known as Grieben or Grammerln have long seasoned soups, salads, and noodle dishes in the south, and are now sold as ready-made Baconwürfel. In Japan, bēkon is cured and smoked belly meat sold in regular or half-length strips. Where pork is prohibited, as in many Jewish and Muslim communities, turkey, chicken, goat, or lamb are prepared to mimic bacon, and vegetarian alternatives like soy bacon fill the same culinary role.

Bacon, Ham, and the Science of Safety

Although bacon and ham both originate as salt-cured pork, they are distinguished by the cuts employed and the composition of their curing brines. Historically, the two terms simply denoted different sections of the animal that were packed together in the same barrel; today, ham is specifically the hind portion and its brine carries a noticeably higher sugar content, while bacon's brine is less sweet, though brown sugar or maple syrup may still be added for flavour. Bacon also differs from salt pork, which uses similar cuts but is never smoked and contains a far greater concentration of salt. On the safety front, producers take steps to neutralise Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm responsible for trichinosis, by heating, freezing, drying, or smoking the meat. Sodium polyphosphates such as sodium triphosphate may be incorporated to help the product slice cleanly and to reduce the spattering that occurs during pan-frying. These practical additives sit alongside the centuries-old curing traditions, bridging modern food science with a practice that predates artificial refrigeration by many generations.