Talk:Bacon

Bacon Recipe!

I think there should be some info on how to cook bacon in new ways. Everyone always just puts it in a frying pan, but it's actually much easier to do it in the oven. You take a pyrex baking dish and lie the bacon out on it (so they are not touching or they will stick together--not a big deal if you don't care though). Then you bake it at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes and it's done. Some people recommend using foil. You don't have to turn the slices over at all; they cook evenly and with no danger of burning yourself with splattering grease! 24.4.36.3 (talk) 21:38, 10 April 2008 (UTC)Phyllis

Wikipedia is not a recipe book. You might want to go to recipesource.com, they inherited the old usenet recipe archive.[1] Bazzargh (talk) 21:53, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

Koreans love bacon!

"Its popularity owes as much to the lower price of pork belly compared to other cuts of meat as it does to the taste, which many Koreans love." 

Yes and many americans love guns, many black people love watermelon, and many germans just dig the hasslehoff.

The majority of the asian section is horribly unbecoming of an encyclopedia. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.192.236.174 (talk) 02:14, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

Why the vandalism?

To all the anonymous trolls: Why this article? Of all millions of articles here on Wikipedia, why Bacon? Spryde 18:09, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Maybe it's vegans?Scott fakename 17:40, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

There is a wierd bacon meme on the internet. I don't know why, but that is the reason for all the vandalism. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 153.91.70.78 (talk) 06:53, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

I wonder if all the billions of recent [citation needed] additions are vandalism as well. I'm not yet brave enough to simply remove most of them, but I'm very tempted. Pipatron (talk) 01:45, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

American Bias

Peameal bacon is never referred to in Canada as "Canadian bacon", nor do we consider "streaky bacon" the dominant type. Please do not deny Canadian culture by lumping us with American standards under the misleading grouping of "North America".

Nevertheless, having grown up in Detroit I wish "Canadian bacon", or whatever you'd prefer to call it, had it's own article. It's delicious, and sadly nearly impossible to get my side of the river anymore. What they sell as C. bacon in our groceries and restaurants now is simply cooked ham :( 69.212.46.21 15:31, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

UK Bias

This article is written from a UK perspective. Let's get some number on bacon production and consumption. I venture to guess that the amount of American style bacon consumed far outweighs all other types put together. Thus it is the predominant, most popular type of bacon in the world. And yet this article would have readers believe that back bacon is the most representative type. The sentence in the cooking section "The classic use of bacon is of being fried for the full English breakfast or similar dishes," shows a clear bias. The majority of the people who read Wikipedia probably have no clue what a "full English breakfast" is. It is certainly not the most representative or typical use of bacon. I fully understand that the English have an inflated view of their contribution to civilization. However, such delusions have no place here. I suggest that the UK bias should be removed and that market data regarding sales and consumption by type of bacon/country be added. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.37.61.2 (talk • contribs).

Well, someones got a burr up their ass about the UK haven't they? If you have figures to prove your standpoint, then give them, but don't "venture to guess" your own viewpoint and dismiss others with a whine about there being "no market data" on the page.

As for the "Full English Breakfast", this is served in hotels all over the world (including all of the hotels and many of the diners I have been to in the USA) so I would be surprised if a majority of the people who read Wikipedia probably have no clue what a "full English breakfast" is as you state. Perhaps it is just you. It is perhaps fair to say that it is not the most representative use of bacon - I would "venture to guess" that most bacon is consumed in sandwiches or cheese and bacon burgers.

It is a shame that you don't have a sufficiently inflated opinion of the value of your own comments to bother to sign your comments... Slothie 19:35, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

U.S Bacon sales: $2.2 billion [2]. U.K Sales (extrapolated from three-month figure[3]): $1.6 billion.

I've removed the statement of a full English breakfast being the "classic" use of bacon; that's totally subjective and impossible to verify. --Eyrian 20:16, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

I've put it back in, but without the "classic" wording. Hopefully the new sentence reads more NPOV than the old one. OscarTheCat3 22:04, 16 February 2007 (UTC)

Slothie, you're full of shit. I made the comments above. Identify ONE hotel in the US that has a "Full English Breakfast" on its menu. Also, I travel extensively around the world for business and the ONLY place I've ever seen "Full English Breakfast" is in. . .England. Maybe there's a few establishments in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand that offer such a conceit and a few UK hotels chains that may offer it outside of the UK. Of course in the rest of the UK it's called a "Full Scottish" or "Full Welsh" or "Ulster Fry." I've changed "Full English" to "Full Irish." Why? Why not? The English use of bacon at breakfast is no more representative than the Irish use is it? Or, we could take it out altogether as there are numerable national cusines that use bacon and if we can't cite any one as representative then we shouldn't cite any. --12.37.61.2 19:18, 20 February 2007 (UTC)An Dliodoir

Here you go: http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/california-muir-beach-pelican-inn.html Manys 20:52, 12 May 2007 (UTC)

Whatever the facts, there is no excuse for being uncivil like this. --Macrakis 19:20, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I see that English nationalism prevails over objectivity and that "Full English Breakfast" has been reinserted. Again, I suggest we change it to "Full Irish Breakfast" or, to be fair, list every type of breakfast of which bacon is a component part. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.37.61.2 (talk • contribs).

• No, WP:NPOV prevails over Irish nationalism. I changed the sentence to just "bacon and eggs" BEFORE you changed it back to "Full Irish". Here's the diff. If you'd like a litany of breakfast-type dishes containing bacon and eggs, please see Bacon and eggs...they're listed there. Wikilink to that article is already in the Bacon article. Oh, if you're curious about my nationality, read my userpage. Finally, please note that future nationalistic edits to that sentence will be treated by me as vandalism. Cheers! OscarTheCat3 22:23, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

OscarTheCat3, please see above where I originally suggested it be made neutral. My insistance that it be "Full Irish" was in response to Slothie's reversion to "Full English" after another user took "Full English" out. Thus, someone other than me took "Full English" out and Slothie came back and reinserted it. Then and only then did I change it to "Full Irish." I agree that not citing any national dish is the best course. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.37.61.2 (talk • contribs).

• The page history speaks for itself, and you are incorrect. Slothie has not ever edited the Bacon article itself, only the talk page. You, however, edited the article twice. The first time you changed "Full English" to "Full Irish". I later put "Full English" back in, alongside "Full Irish"; though minutes later I re-thought the whole thing and changed it to this. You then later vandalized the article by reverting my NPOV copy to this, putting "Full Irish" in yet again. Nevertheless, I'm glad we agree that not listing a litany of dishes is the best course. Oh, by the way, please make a point of always signing your posts by typing four tildes: ~~~~ OscarTheCat3 01:50, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Ok, who reinserted "Full English" today? Sorry, I wasn't aware of the page history function before. I assumed Slothie had made the revert, my apologies. That said, someone did it again. I took it out but did not add anything else. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.37.61.2 (talk • contribs).

You removed a reference to bacon and eggs. This is not a link specific to the Full English Breakfast. --Eyrian 15:27, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

• Also, you may want to make sure you are always viewing the current version of the page by employing the "reload" function of your browser. Full English was not put back in; if you're still seeing it, you may be looking at a cached version of the page. And, please sign your posts!! OscarTheCat3 16:32, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, I thought I was just taking out "Full English." I will make sure to reload before making any judgments/edits. 12.37.61.2 16:40, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

This has GOT to be one of THE most retarded arguments in the world...it's fucking bacon okay people? And so goddam what if it says full English Breakfast? You are probably one of those jackass secularist politically correct idiots and honestly should go drown yourself. Or get clogged arteries from too much bacon.

Who really gives a flying shit? It's BACON. It's GOOD. EVERYONE LIKES BACON. Can't we all just shut the fuck up and go fry some now for goddsake??? Jeez. 71.239.9.54 06:16, 26 October 2007 (UTC)

In general, whatever the bias, this article is not very informative; it is an OK start. From a food science perspective back bacon, belly bacon, Canadian bacon, mechanically separated and moulded turkey etc. are all similar in some ways but are different formulas and different processes. More could be added on cuts, formula, injection, curing, smoking, pressing, slicing, moulding, and cooking. For example the fully cooked bacon sold in the US is made industrially using microwave conveyor ovens. All forms/types of bacon mentioned should be expounded on no matter in what country they are popular.76.6.182.209 01:00, 8 November 2007 (UTC)

Photo

Does anyone have a better photograph of cooked bacon? This picture of cooked streaky bacon is absolutely disgusting; i've rarely seen anything less appetising! --www.secularism.org.uk 17:15, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Someone changed the caption to clarify that that's cooked *streaky* bacon. If you're in the UK, I gather from the article you might equate just the word "bacon" with back bacon. The picture seems an accurate depiction of naturally cooked streaky bacon. Advertising photography would probably make it more appealing by pressing it flatter, wiping off extra grease to make it less shiny, and using a slice (rasher) with more muscle tissue, but this looks like normal home-cooked bacon from my US perspective. Agyle 23:14, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Gammon

How is gammon typically served worldwide?

In England, sliced gammon is usually served with either pineapple or fried egg, and other components of what would normally be termed an English breakfast, but given the comments above I'm hesitant to make sweeping statements based on this. 217.155.20.163 23:22, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

Youre right not to mak sweeping statements on this because they would be wrong. The rather revolting idea of serving gammon with (tinned) pineapple is very recent and Ive certainly never had it served like that. In my household, Gammon was served with a bechamel-based parsley or egg sauce. --Pog451 16:00, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Picnic Bacon

In the USA, packages of pre-cooked bacon (from Hormel) indicate that it is made from both regular bacon and picnic bacon. This article should probably mention something about picnic bacon or other types of faux bacon. 66.109.195.72 08:45, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Picnic bacon is from a different cut of the pig carcass than the usual belly. I added it to the list of bacon types. I wouldn't call it "faux" bacon in itself, but if Hormel is combining the two cuts in one package, perhaps they're somehow deconstructing and reconstructing the tissues to seem like a leaner belly bacon. Combining them sounds like something Hormel, the makers of Spam, would do. Artificially constructed bacon would make an interesting entry, if that is in fact what they're doing. Agyle 09:36, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

"canadian bacon"

I added a couple lines explaining that so-called canadian bacon sold in the US is not Canadian at all and is not even bacon, peameal or otherwise. Most "canadian bacon" is nothing more than ham. If you want true Canadian bacon, it is almost always labelled as peameal bacon.

76.105.157.253 (talk) 17:54, 6 July 2008 (UTC) Yeah, the "What the U.S. terms "Canadian bacon" is actually back bacon rolled in cornmeal" seems wrong. I've had a lot of "Canadian bacon" here in the the US and none of it has ever been rolled in cornmeal. Sorry. I agree that usually it's very similar to or in fact ham.

"mexican bacon"

They mentioned mexican bacon on the Simpsons. What is that?

I'd guess it was simply a joke; a twist on the existence of Canadian bacon, (mis-)attributed to the US's northern neighbor, and Mexico is the US's southern neighbor. The idea of Mexican bacon, for some undefinable subjective reason, seems humorous to me. A 2004 UrbanDictionary.com user-submitted entry defines Mexican bacon as thinly sliced hotdogs, fried in a skillet, which also sounds farcical, but may reflect some real-world usage. There are also references in google to "Mexican bacon smuggling," which refer to an incident in which a woman was arrested for trying to smuggle a kilo of bacon from Mexico into the US. -Agyle 10:23, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

It's a joke like the guy above said. Its funny in America to 'invent' a Mexican version of something Canadian or a Canadian version of something Mexican. Ex: Advocating better border patrol along the CAN border, saying "sí" for yes when speaking to a French-speaker, or on The Simpsons when Homer wore a sombrero for his visit to Canada to smuggle drugs.

By the way in Tijuana there are guys who sell hotdogs. They are smaller versions of a standard US hotdog and the weird thing is the wieners are wrapped in bacon and grilled this way. The bacon is like US bacon but smaller, like the crappy bacon you get on a fast-food burger but lighter in colour. Other than that I have never seen bacon in other parts of Mexico.

--Jon in California 6 September 2007

History of Bacon

Hi, I was just here looking for how they cured bacon to keep longer in the good old days before refrigerators. I am reading a book about the West in 1898, and it talks about the characters getting a list of what the Canadian government required Yukon gold prospectors to have in order to enter the country; one component was a year's worth of food. Most of it was dried, but one item was 100-200 lbs. of bacon. Good old "streaky" American bacon as we know it today doesn't keep more than a week; how the heck did they preserve a year's worth of bacon - of ANY style - to last for a year, with or without a fridge?? Any takers on this one?Phyreflye 05:12, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Streaky Bacon

This page needs a section on streaky bacon, and its uses in cooking. I'd have written something about it, but I came here to found out myself. Jason404 (talk) 16:54, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

in Mexico

in this article, it states that

"Bacon is said to be one of the favored dishes of Quetzalcoatl, an Aztec sky and creator god. Quetzalcoatl was often considered the god of the morning star, and his twin brother Xolotl was the evening star (Venus) and as such was one of the more important figures of Aztec mythology."

I'm fairly sure that pigs weren't available to precolumbian societies. Quetzalcoatl may well have enjoyed bacon in his private time, but I sincerely doubt that bacon is part of Aztec mythology.

Sorry I haven't signed up yet. I am just trying to find the time to become a dedicated wikipedian :) Will

Interesting comment, although I too have been told that Quetzalcoatl ate bacon when I was on vacation by a guide and we ate something that resembled bacon. Maybe someone else who happens across the article with some further expertise could comment on whether it is bacon made from pig or a similar cut from a different kind of animal. Rob

There are peccaries in Mexico... maybe this is the source of the "Aztec bacon"? Al —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.7.85.211 (talk) 06:58, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

Only the first sentence of this section seems to be relevant, if at all. Why continue on about Quetzalcoatl's brother and his importance in Aztec mythology? What does that have to do with bacon? I think the whole section should be removed. If some "Aztec bacon" reference can be found, then maybe add the section back. MDN —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.252.25.172 (talk) 22:10, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

I got rid of the extra background regarding Quetzalcoatl, since it can be found in the Quetzalcoatl main article. I've added a reference to peccaries, since it actually makes sense that they would be eating a peccary instead of a European pig, plus it's interesting...I personally didn't know there was a peccary. Thanks for the info Al. --Kevin —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.69.246.131 (talk) 01:50, 6 January 2008 (UTC)

To add to the above information, peccary when eaten would be more similar to game (e.g deer or rabbit) (from http://www.hunting-in-texas.com/javelina-info.htm'). Pigs and peccory originate from different sides of the world and are physically very different animals. Even if aztec gods did eat peccary, the cut would not resemble anything in taste, odor or appearence to what we know as bacon, and any comparison would only be the result of a superficial similarity (imagine saying wasps and bees are the same). According to urban dictionary, mexican bacon is thinly sliced hotdog, fired in a skillet. "http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mexican+bacon". I suggest complete deletion of the topic of mexican bacon, as it seems ridiculuous and founded only on unverifiable information and hearsay, Jai alai (talk) 03:33, 12 April 2008 (UTC)jai_alai

The part about Quetzalcoatl seems a bit ridiculous in an article about bacon, but it is good he is a deity so that he can conjure up a peccary that is indigenous to South America, since he is in Mexico which is in North America. South Americans do eat bacon or some thing similar. My wife is from Colombia, South America where they eat Chicharron which is about as long as bacon, but instead of being a millimeter or so thick, it is about an inch thick.Ken. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.229.70.178 (talk) 03:18, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Bacon Flow Chart

This is directed to Noah Salzman.

Noah, I'm sorry you felt obligated to remove the link to this image, which I thought perfectly captured the attitude of all true bacon lovers. Yes, Wikipedia wants to be taken seriously; does this really preclude any sense of humor? Embedding the image directly in the article would have been out of line, but a link?

But then, judging from the comments here on the talk page, the contributors to this article take themselves awfully seriously indeed. Too bad.

• Sign your posts if you want to be taken seriously.
• Noah obviously did the right thing. The link has nothing at all to do here, even if it would have been funny. (It isn't, unless you haven't seen the internet before and haven't already seen all the eleventy billion ha-ha-funny-flowcharts yet.)

Pipatron (talk) 01:45, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

American bias revisited

Hey, I'm an American, have never set foot in Britain, and I agree this article now has a complete American bias. The photo and extensive info on UK bacon needs to be restored, even if the article starts out with, or is centered around, American-style bacon. Thanks in advance. Softlavender (talk) 08:08, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Have to agree - I also agree with the bit about English Bacon being the "classic" bacon. Whoever posted those bacon sales above also forgot to include the British Commonwealth too in their sales comparison. Regardless of all this though, the fact remains that American bacon is an entirely different entity to that eaten in most of the rest of the English speaking world, so it seems ludicrous that it dominates so much - there should be at least equal time given to other major varieties or, yet again, Wikipedia becomes too US-centric at the expense of usefulness to non-Americans70.189.213.149 (talk) 03:36, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

I wouldn't really describe an Internet encyclopedia article on "bacon" as "useful" to anybody, regardless of what countries predominate. Randy Blackamoor (talk) 04:25, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

The definition for bacon shown in the second paragraph of this article does not conform USDA IMPS (Institutional Meat Purchase Specfication) for Item 535 (Bacon)(page 30). Has anyone factchecked this text? What manufacture would put this label on their product? If it is true, how much trich contaminated bacon is produced? Does this label only appear on bacon and if so why? The definition of Canadian bacon also does not conform to that IMPS Item 550 (Canadian Bacon) (page 35). There is nothing in the US standard about rolling it in cornmeal.Bobmarkwillis (talk) 18:05, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Poorly written

Boy the phrase designed by committee is applicable here, trying to please everyone has created one of the worst pages I have seen on wikipedia, and unless the Aztecs called their peccary meat bacon, and actually smoked it or cured it like bacon, it is just that peccary meat and not relevant. Riveira2 (talk) 15:14, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Bacon

I agree with Jason404, there is a definite lack of streaky bacon in this article. i believe there is a general discrimination against streaky bacon in the community. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Fatty Smells (talk • contribs) 02:53, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Is this relevant or even true?

From the article:

"Canadian Bacon is also the name of a popular strain of marijuana in New York City." 68.46.183.96 (talk) 04:30, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

True or not, not relevant; I deleted it.

Thanks.68.46.183.96 (talk) 09:14, 12 September 2008 (UTC)