Bacon is cured through either a process of injecting with or soaking in brine, known as wet curing, or

using plain crystal salt, known as dry curing.[1][6] Bacon brine has added curing ingredients, most
notably sodium nitrite (or less often, potassium nitrate), which speed the curing and stabilize color.
Fresh bacon may then be dried for weeks or months in cold air, or it may be smoked or boiled.
[1]
 Fresh and dried bacon are typically cooked before eating, often by pan frying. Boiled bacon
is ready to eat, as is some smoked bacon, but they may be cooked further before eating. Differing
flavours can be achieved by using various types of wood, or less common fuels such as corn
cobs or peat. This process can take up to eighteen hours, depending on the intensity of the flavour
desired. The Virginia Housewife (1824), thought to be one of the earliest American cookbooks, gives
no indication that bacon is ever not smoked, though it gives no advice on flavouring, noting only that
care should be taken lest the fire get too hot.[7] In early American history, the curing and smoking of
bacon (like the making of sausage) seems to have been one of the few food-preparation processes
not divided by gender.[8]
Bacon is distinguished from other salt-cured pork by differences in the cuts of meat used and in the
brine or dry packing. Historically, the terms "ham" and "bacon" referred to different cuts of meat that
were brined or packed identically, often together in the same barrel. Today, ham is defined as
coming from the hind portion of the pig and brine specifically for curing ham includes a greater
amount of sugar, while bacon is less sweet, though ingredients such as brown sugar or maple
syrup are used for flavor. Bacon is similar to salt pork, which in modern times is often prepared from
similar cuts, but salt pork is never smoked, and has a much higher salt content. [9]
For safety, bacon may be treated to prevent trichinosis,[10] caused by Trichinella, a
parasitic roundworm which can be destroyed by heating, freezing, drying, or smoking. [11] Sodium
polyphosphates, such as sodium triphosphate, may also be added to make the product easier to
slice and to reduce spattering when the bacon is pan-fried.

Cuts
Varieties differ depending on the primal cut from which they are prepared. [9][1] Different cuts of pork
are used for making bacon depending on local preferences.

Uncooked strips of side bacon

 Side bacon, or streaky bacon, comes from the pork belly.[9][1] It has long alternating layers of
fat and muscle running parallel to the rind.[9][12] This is the most common form of bacon in the
United States.[9]
o Pancetta is an Italian form of side bacon, sold smoked or unsmoked (aqua). It is
generally rolled up into cylinders after curing, and is known for having a strong flavour. [9][1]
Uncooked back bacon

 Back bacon contains meat from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig. [9][13] It is a leaner
cut, with less fat compared to side bacon. [1] Most bacon consumed in the United Kingdom and
Ireland is back bacon.[9][14]
 Collar bacon is taken from the back of a pig near the head. [9][15]
 Cottage bacon is made from the lean meat from a boneless pork shoulder that is typically
tied into an oval shape.[9]

Sliced jowl bacon

 Jowl bacon is cured and smoked cheeks of pork.[16] Guanciale is an Italian jowl bacon that is
seasoned and dry cured but not smoked.
The inclusion of skin with a cut of bacon, known as the 'bacon rind', [17] varies, though is less common
in the English-speaking world.

Around the world

Bacon and egg on toast, garnished with a strawberry
Bacon is often served with eggs and sausages as part of a full breakfast.[18]

Australia and New Zealand

The most common form sold is middle bacon, which includes some of the streaky, fatty section of
side bacon along with a portion of the loin of back bacon. In response to increasing consumer diet-
consciousness, some supermarkets also offer the loin section only. This is sold as short cut
bacon and is usually priced slightly higher than middle bacon. Both varieties are usually available
with the rind removed.[19]

Canada

Roasted peameal bacon with a maple glaze at the St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
In Canada, the term bacon on its own typically refers to side bacon.[20] Canadian-style back bacon is
a lean cut from the eye of the pork loin with little surrounding fat. [20] Peameal bacon is an unsmoked
back bacon, wet-cured and coated in fine-ground cornmeal (historically, it was rolled in ground,
dried peas);[20] it is popular in southern Ontario. Bacon is often eaten in breakfasts, such as with
cooked eggs or pancakes. Maple syrup is often used as a flavouring while curing bacon in Canada.

Germany
Smoked fatback (Rückenspeck)
German smoked and baked pork belly used for cold cuts

Grilled pork belly, Wammerl in Bavarian dialect

Some of the meanings of bacon overlap with the German-language term Speck. Germans use the
term bacon explicitly for Frühstücksspeck ('breakfast Speck') which are cured or smoked pork slices.
Traditional German cold cuts favor ham over bacon, however "Wammerl" (grilled pork belly) remains
popular in Bavaria.
Small bacon cubes (called "Grieben" or "Grammerln" in Austria and southern Germany) have been a
rather important ingredient of various southern German dishes. They are used for adding flavor to
soups and salads and for speck dumplings and various noodle and potato dishes. Instead of
preparing them at home from larger slices, they have been sold ready made as convenience
foods recently as "Baconwürfel" ("bacon cubes") in German retail stores.

Japan
In Japan, bacon (ベーコン)[21] is pronounced "bēkon". It is cured and smoked belly meat as in the US,
and is sold in either regular or half-length sizes. Bacon in Japan is different from that in the US in
that the meat is not sold raw, but is processed, precooked and has a ham-like consistency when
cooked.[22] Uncured, sliced pork belly, known as bara (バラ), is very popular in Japan and is used in a
variety of dishes (e.g. yakitori and yakiniku).

United Kingdom and Ireland

Back bacon is the most common form in the UK and Ireland, and is the usual meaning of the plain
term "bacon". A thin slice of bacon is known as a rasher; about 70% of bacon is sold as rashers.
[23]
 Heavily trimmed back cuts which consist of just the eye of meat, known as a medallion, are also
available. All types may be unsmoked or smoked. The side cut normal in America is known as
"streaky bacon",[24] and there is also a long cut, curving round on itself, known as "middle bacon",
which is back bacon at one end, and streaky at the other, as well as less common cuts. [25] Bacon is
also sold and served as joints, usually boiled, broiled or roast, [26] or in thicker slices called chops or
steaks. These are usually eaten as part of other meals. [6]
Bacon may be cured in several ways, and may be smoked or unsmoked; unsmoked bacon is known
as "green bacon".[6] Fried or grilled bacon rashers are included in the "traditional" full breakfast.
Hot bacon sandwiches are a popular cafe dish in the UK and Ireland,[27] and is anecdotally
recommended as a hangover cure.[28]

United States
The term bacon on its own generally refers to side bacon, which is the most popular type of bacon
sold in the US. Back bacon is known as "Canadian bacon" or "Canadian-style bacon", and is usually
sold pre-cooked and thick-sliced.[29] American bacons include varieties smoked
with hickory, mesquite or applewood and flavourings such as chili pepper, maple, brown
sugar, honey, or molasses.[30] A side of unsliced bacon is known as "slab bacon". [31]
USDA regulations only recognized bacon as "cured" if it has been treated with sodium nitrate. This
means that bacon cured with nitrites derived from celery or beets (which has the same chemical
outcome) must be labelled "uncured" and include a notice such as "no nitrates or nitrites added
except for that naturally occurring in celery". There is also bacon for sale uncured with any nitrites
from any sources.[32]

Bacon mania
Main article: Bacon mania

Chocolate-covered bacon on a stick

The United States and Canada have seen an increase in the popularity of bacon and bacon-related
recipes, dubbed "bacon mania". The sale of bacon in the US has increased significantly since 2011.
Sales climbed 9.5% in 2013, making it an all-time high of nearly $4 billion in US. In a survey
conducted by Smithfield, 65% of Americans would support bacon as their "national food". [33] Dishes
such as bacon explosion, chicken fried bacon, and chocolate-covered bacon have been popularised
over the internet,[34] as has using candied bacon. Recipes spread quickly through both countries'
national media, culinary blogs, and YouTube.[35][36] Restaurants have organised and are organising
bacon and beer tasting nights,[37] The New York Times reported on bacon infused with Irish
whiskey used for Saint Patrick's Day cocktails,[38] and celebrity chef Bobby Flay has endorsed a
"Bacon of the Month" club online, in print, [39] and on national television.[40]
Commentators explain this surging interest in bacon by reference to what they deem American
cultural characteristics. Sarah Hepola, in a 2008 article in [Link], suggests a number of reasons,
one of them being that eating bacon in the modern, health-conscious world is an act of rebellion:
"Loving bacon is like shoving a middle finger in the face of all that is healthy and holy while an
unfiltered cigarette smoulders between your lips."[41] She also suggests bacon is sexy (with a
reference to Sarah Katherine Lewis' book Sex and Bacon), kitsch, and funny. Hepola concludes by
saying that "Bacon is American".
Alison Cook, writing in the Houston Chronicle, argues the case of bacon's American citizenship by
referring to historical and geographical uses of bacon. [35] Early American literature echoes the
sentiment—in Ebenezer Cooke's 1708 poem The Sot-Weed Factor, a satire of life in early colonial
America, the narrator already complains that practically all the food in America was bacon-infused. [42]
On 1 February 2017, The Ohio Pork Council released a report that demand for pork belly (bacon)
product is outpacing supply. As of December 2016 national frozen pork belly inventory totaled
17.8 million lb (8.1 million kg), the lowest level in 50 years.[43][44][45]

Bacon dishes
Main article: List of bacon dishes

A bacon, lettuce, and tomato (BLT) sandwich

Bacon dishes include bacon and eggs, bacon, lettuce, and tomato (BLT) sandwiches, Cobb salad,
and various bacon-wrapped foods, such as scallops, shrimp,[46][47][48] and asparagus. Recently invented
bacon dishes include chicken fried bacon, chocolate covered bacon, and the bacon explosion. Tatws
Pum Munud is a traditional Welsh stew, made with sliced potatoes, vegetables and smoked
bacon. Bacon jam and bacon marmalade are also commercially available.
In the US and Europe, bacon is commonly used as a condiment or topping on other foods, often in
the form of bacon bits. Streaky bacon is more commonly used as a topping in the US on such items
as pizza, salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, baked potatoes, hot dogs, and soups. In the US, sliced
smoked back bacon is used less frequently than the streaky variety, but can sometimes be found on
pizza, salads, and omelettes.
Bacon is also used in adaptations of dishes; for example, bacon wrapped meatloaf,[49] and can be
mixed in with green beans[50] or served sautéed over spinach.