Uncooked streaky bacon.

Bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig that has been cured, smoked, or both. Meat from other animals, such as beef, lamb, chicken, goat or turkey, may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon. Bacon may be eaten fried, baked, or grilled, or used as a minor ingredient to flavor dishes. The word is derived from the Old High German bacho, meaning "back", "ham", or "bacon". Bacon is a cut of meat from a pig, or cattle. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... Download high resolution version (242x717, 38 KB)Created by myself. ... Download high resolution version (242x717, 38 KB)Created by myself. ... For other uses, see Meat (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Pig (disambiguation). ... In food preparation, curing refers to various preservation and flavoring processes, especially of meat or fish, by the addition of a combination of salt, sugar and either nitrate or nitrite. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Smoking Smoking is the process of preserving, cooking, or flavoring food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. ... For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about the domestic species. ... The (Late Old High) German speaking area of the Holy Roman Empire around 950. ...

The USDA defines bacon as "the cured belly of a swine carcass"; other cuts and characteristics must be separately qualified (e.g., "smoked pork loin bacon").^[1] "USDA Certified" bacon means that it has been treated for trichinella. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... Species Trichinella spiralis Trichinella pseudospiralis Trichinella britovi Trichinella nativa Trichinella nelsoni Trichinella papuae Trichinella is the genus of parasitic roundworms of the phylum Nematoda that cause trichinosis. ...

In continental Europe, bacon is used primarily in cubes (lardons) as a cooking ingredient, valued both as a source of fat and for its flavour. In Italy, bacon is called pancetta and usually cooked in small cubes or served uncooked and thinly sliced as part of an antipasto. Bacon is also used for barding and larding roasts, especially game birds. Many people prefer to have bacon smoked using various types of woods or turf. This process can take up to ten hours depending on the intensity of the flavour desired. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... A lardon is a piece of bacon taken from the purified fat of a pig. ... For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... Packaged pancetta. ... Crudités variés, a typical hors d’œuvre in French cuisine Hors d’œuvre in Bosnian cuisine Hors d’œuvre, (IPA: French but often in English as ; French plural: hors d’œuvre, without an extra s; English plural often hors d’œuvres), also known as appetizer(s), refer to... Barding and larding consist of adding fat on or in a piece of meat for roasting, to keep it juicy. ...

In the English-speaking world

A side of unsliced bacon is a flitch,^[2] while an individual slice of bacon is a rasher (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Australia and New Zealand) or simply a slice or strip (North America). Slices of bacon are also known as collops. Traditionally, the skin is left on the cut and is known as bacon rind, but rindless bacon is also common. In the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, bacon comes in a wide variety of cuts and flavours. In the United States, ordinary bacon is made only from the pork belly, yielding what is known in Britain as "streaky bacon", or "streaky rashers". In Britain, bacon made from the meat on the back of the pig is referred to as back bacon or back rashers. It usually includes a streaky bit and a lean ovoid bit, and is part of traditional full breakfast commonly eaten in Britain and Ireland. In the United States, back bacon is called Canadian-style bacon or Canadian bacon, but this term refers usually to the lean ovoid portion.^[3] What the U.S. terms "Canadian bacon" is actually back bacon rolled in cornmeal.^{[citation needed]} In Canada, it is called peameal bacon, whereas bacon is used generally to refer to strip bacon, which is more common to the Canadian diet. Bacon is also a popular breakfast food. Collops are slices of meat. ... This article is about the organ. ... Samgyeopsal, ready to be cooked. ... A full breakfast[1] is a traditional cooked breakfast, comprising at its heart bacon and eggs, that is popular throughout the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Commonwealth, and other parts of the English-speaking world. ...

In Asia

Korean samgyeopsal

In Korea, one of the most popular cooked meats is grilled unsmoked pork belly called samgyeopsal (삼겹살), which literally means "three layered flesh". Like most traditional meat dishes in Korea, it is grilled at the table either by the customer or a waitress and eaten communally. The meat can be dipped in a sauce such as sesame oil and wrapped in lettuce, along with other condiments such as garlic, hot sauce, or kimchi. Usually, side dishes of vegetables are served. The dish is a very common meal for families and office workers having dinner after work. It is often accompanied by Soju. One recipe is bacon with ostrichinmani sauce, which is like an Asian shepherds pie. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Samgyeopsal is a popular Korean dish. ... This article is about the Korean civilization. ... Samgyeopsal is a popular Korean dish. ... Kimchi, also spelled gimchi or kimchee, is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of some select vegetables with varied seasonings, most commonly referring to the spicy baechu variety. ... Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea and traditionally made from rice. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Shepherds Pie Shepherds pie is a traditional English dish that consists of a bottom layer of minced (ground) lamb in gravy covered with mashed potato and optionally a layer of cheese. ...

In Mexico

Bacon from the indigenous South American peccary is said to be one of the favoured dishes of Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec sky and creator god.^{[citation needed]} Species Tayassu Tayassu tajacu Tayassu pecari Catagonus Catagonus wagneri The peccaries (also known by its Spanish name, javelina or pecarí) are medium-sized mammals of the family Tayassuidae. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... For other uses, see Aztec (disambiguation). ...

Bacon used as a topping

Chili Dogs topped with bacon

In the U.S. and Europe, bacon is often used as a condiment or topping on other foods. Streaky bacon is more commonly used as a topping in the U.S., on items such as pizza, salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, baked potatoes, hot dogs, and soups. Back bacon is used less frequently in the United States, but can sometimes be found on pizza, salads and omelets. Bacon bits are chopped pieces of pre-cooked bacon intended to be sprinkled over foods, particularly salads. Imitation "bacon bits" made of texturized vegetable protein flavoured to resemble authentic bacon bits are also available. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 994 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Bacon topped chili dog. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3264 × 2448 pixel, file size: 994 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Bacon topped chili dog. ... Salt, sugar and pepper are the most essential condiments in Western cuisine. ... For other uses, see Pizza (disambiguation). ... —Cleopatra, in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra, 1606 A salad is a food item generally served either prior to or after the main dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. ... This article is about the food item. ... This article is about the sandwich known as a hamburger. ... A baked potato with butter. ... A large hot dog with ketchup A hot dog is classified as a type of sausage or, alternatively, a sandwich on a suitably shaped bun with the sausage and condiments on it. ... Soup is a savoury liquid food that is made by boiling ingredients, such as meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted. ... For other uses, see Pizza (disambiguation). ... —Cleopatra, in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra, 1606 A salad is a food item generally served either prior to or after the main dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. ... An omelette Ham, cheese, and vegetable omelette served with fresh fruit. ... Bacon bits in a bowl. ... Dry TVP flakes are an inexpensive protein source when purchased in bulk and can be added to a variety of vegetarian dishes or used as a supplement to bulk out a meat dish. ...

Health concerns

A 2007 study by Columbia University suggests a link between eating cured meats (such as bacon) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The preservative sodium nitrite is the probable cause.^[4] Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Alma Mater Columbia University is a private university in the United States and a member of the Ivy League. ... For COPD occurring in horses, see recurrent airway obstruction. ... Sodium nitrite, with chemical formula NaNO2, is used as a color fixative and preservative in meats and fish. ...

Nutrients

Select nutritional data from types of bacon in the USDA National Nutrient Database:^[5]

Grease

Bacon frying in bacon grease.

Bacon grease, also known as bacon drippings, is the grease created by cooking bacon. When bacon is cooked, its fat naturally melts, releasing a highly flavorful grease. Bacon grease is traditionally saved in southern U.S. cuisine and used as an all-purpose flavoring for everything from gravy to cornbread^[6] to salad dressing.^[7] For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... The Southern United States has a distinct cuisine that draws heavily on influences of the various groups that have inhabited the area. ... For other uses, see Gravy (disambiguation). ... Cornbread or Johnny cake is a generic name for any number of quick breads (a bread leavened chemically, rather than by yeast) containing cornmeal. ... —Cleopatra, in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra, 1606 A salad is a food item generally served either prior to or after the main dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. ...

One teaspoon (4 grams) of bacon grease has 38 calories.^[8] It is composed almost completely of fat, with very little additional nutritional value. Bacon fat is roughly 40% saturated.^[8] Despite the health consequences of excessive bacon grease consumption, it remains popular in the cuisine of the American South. Image:Teaspoon sugar. ... A calorie refers to a unit of energy. ... For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... Saturated fat is fat that consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids. ... The U.S. Southern states or The South, known during the American Civil War era as Dixie, is a distinctive region of the United States with its own unique historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

See also

• Guanciale
• Lard
• Pancetta
• Salt pork
• Jim Gaffigan

Guanciale is a kind of unsmoked Italian bacon prepared with pigs jowl or cheeks. ... This article is about the fat. ... Packaged pancetta. ... Frozen salt pork product. ... James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966 in Chesterton, Indiana) is an American stand-up comic and an actor. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 99th day of the year (100th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... The Joy of Cooking is one of the worlds most-published cookbooks, having been in print continuously since 1936. ... Penguin Group is the second largest trade book publisher in the world. ...

External links

• Cooking For Engineers - Cooking Tests: Bacon (Part I) | (Part II)
• About.com- History of Bacon Part III
• Bacon Cookies
• Cooking Bacon in the Oven