Bacon is a kind of meat that is obtained from the sides or bellies of hogs. The meat is cured and then usually smoked to provide its distinctive flavor. People often serve thin strips of fried bacon with eggs for breakfast or on sandwiches for lunch. Pieces of crisp bacon are used to add flavor to salads and other foods. Canadian bacon is made from the loin muscles on the sides of a hog’s back. This bacon is leaner than regular bacon.
Pork to be made into bacon is cured with salt, sodium nitrite or potassium nitrite, sodium phosphate, and sugar. Salt and sugar flavor the meat, and sodium phosphate helps it retain moisture. Salt and nitrite help preserve the meat, and nitrite gives the meat a reddish-pink color. Nitrite prevents botulism, a kind of food poisoning that may occur in cured meat. Under certain conditions, nitrite may combine with other chemicals to form compounds called nitrosamines. Experiments have shown that nitrosamines can cause cancer in laboratory animals. For this reason, the U.S. Department of Agriculture limits the amount of nitrite allowed in bacon and other cured meats.
Meat packers cure most bacon by the injection method. In this process, which takes from one to three days, the curing ingredients are dissolved in water and injected into the meat. The bacon is then usually cooked and smoked in a large oven. Smoke from burning hardwood or in concentrated liquid form may be added to give the bacon a smoky aroma and flavor.
