Bacon

Also known asRasher · Streaky Bacon

Name: Bacon, as fresh pork cut from the belly or back — strips of cured, often smoked, pork, sliced thin and fried or grilled until crisp. Types include streaky (belly), back (loin, with a lean eye), and middle bacon, and in North America, usually streaky. A page under Processed Meat covers its curing and salt.

Description

Bacon is among the most popular breakfast foods, and a beloved flavour enhancer, which goes in sandwiches, burgers, salads, pasta carbonara, and as wraps around other meats. Curing pork with salt to preserve it is ancient, and the word comes from an old Germanic term for the back or side of the pig.

Back bacon, common in Britain and Ireland, includes a round of lean loin with a rim of fat, while American-style bacon is from the fatty belly. Dry-cured bacon is rubbed with salt and spices, and wet-cured bacon is soaked in brine, and often has more water, which spits in the pan.

Main nutrition value

Pork is a good source of high-quality protein, thiamin (vitamin B1), selenium, zinc, vitamin B6 and B12, and its fat content varies widely by cut, from very lean fillet to fatty belly. Bacon is high in fat, saturated fat and salt, and is a cured meat, so it is a food to eat in small amounts.

How best to be consumed

Bacon is cooked until crisp, and eaten in small amounts.

1. Bake on a rack at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes, for crisp, evenly cooked bacon with less mess.
2. Pan-fry gently, starting in a cold pan, so the fat renders without burning.
3. Drain on kitchen paper to remove surface fat, and avoid blackening.
4. Use as a flavour accent, crumbled over salads, soups and vegetables, rather than a main dish.
5. Choose back bacon, trim visible fat, or turkey bacon for less fat, noting that turkey bacon is also processed.

Overconsumption could cause…

Bacon is a processed meat, and best occasional.

1. Higher risk of bowel cancer and other conditions with regular intake of processed meat, which the World Health Organization's cancer agency classifies as carcinogenic to humans, because of nitrites, salt and smoking, so keep it occasional.
2. High salt (sodium), which can raise blood pressure over time, particularly in cured, canned and processed products.
3. Nitrites and nitrates used in curing, which can form cancer-linked nitrosamines when cooked at high heat, so avoid charring cured meats. This is a particular concern with fried or grilled bacon cooked until it is black.
4. Raised LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk from the saturated fat in fattier cuts, skin and processed products, so choose lean cuts and trim visible fat.
5. Parasites such as Trichinella and tapeworm, and hepatitis E virus, from undercooked pork, so cook pork thoroughly, to at least 63°C with a rest.

GroupsPorkProcessed MeatMammals (red meat)High saturated fatHigh sodiumRich in seleniumCured or salted

Made fromPork Belly

Related foodsHamChorizoPork RibsPork LegPork ShoulderPork Mince / Ground Pork

Wikipedia — Bacon, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon