# Canadian Bacon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978 "2003-07-25T22:18:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DdDHellspawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DdDHellspawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DdDHellspawn)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/1 "2003-07-25T22:18:32Z")
So I have just sat down at work and getting ready for another boring day of helping morons who have never used a computer try to do a online class. Sorry just had to put that out there. Anyways~ I just nuked two big slices of meat lovers pizza and the thought occured(sp?) to me… Wht do we call Canadian Bacon “Canadian Bacon”??? I mean in all acuality it’s just ham…but why the term “Canadian Bacon”??? Is that their bacon??? Anyone from Canada??? Pleased explain… ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/2 "2003-07-25T23:57:01Z")
Nah. Our bacon is the same as your bacon. What you call “Canadian Bacon” we usually call “Back Bacon”. Why do Americans call it “Canadian” Bacon? You’d have to ask an American I guess! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Merseybeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Merseybeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merseybeat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/3 "2003-07-26T01:19:35Z")
If I could ask, as a Brit, I’ve seen “Canadian Bacon” mentioned in other places. **bernse** describes it as “Back Bacon”. Is this the same as our Back Bacon - all meat with just a little fat on the upper edge, whereas US bacon is what we call “Streaky Bacon”- stripes of meat and fat? ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/4 "2003-07-26T01:21:55Z")
Well, it is Canadian, and because some countries think Canada dumps a lot of it into other countries, the name kinda sticks…but that’s just my guess. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/5 "2003-07-26T01:27:18Z")
maybe because it’s not the normal default bacon people in the US think of when they think of “bacon.” Consider Buffalo wings. In Buffalo, folks just call them “wings,” without the “Buffalo.” You can’t get a New York strip steak in New York; there, it’s just called “strip steak.” Chicago-style deep dish pizza is just “deep dish pizza” in Chciago. Tacos, enchiladas and the like in the US are considered Mexican food in the US; in Mexico, it’s just “food.” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/6 "2003-07-26T02:06:23Z")
The term _Canadian Bacon_ goes back to about 1934, according to the Merriam-Webster 10th ed. It pretty much was lean, no rind, no fat, bacon. Almost a slice of ham. But no fat. That’s what it’s been in the US, since I first ate some in about 1959. Why the connection to Canada, I don’t know. But I’ll try to find out. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/7 "2003-07-26T02:19:31Z")
From [this](http://www.rosepacking.com/about.htm) site: England imported its bacon from Canada a long time ago when there was a pork shortage in Britain. Though the bacon from Canada closely resembled English bacon (also taken from the choice center portion of the loin) it still retained its own unique flavor So, the English called it “Canadian Bacon” and the name stuck. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/8 "2003-07-26T02:38:43Z")
**x-ray vision**. The nice story from the _Rose Packing Company_ sounds good. But they are probably just reprinting something they heard or read somewhere. There is no proof. When was this shortage of pork in England? Why is there no entry in the _Oxford English Dictionary_ for “Canadian Bacon.?” If the term originated in England during the “pork shortage”, one assumes the OED would have picked up on it. It’s a US term, almost certainly. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/9 "2003-07-26T03:47:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*Consider Buffalo wings. In Buffalo, folks just call them “wings,” without the “Buffalo.” You can’t get a New York strip steak in New York; there, it’s just called “strip steak.” Chicago-style deep dish pizza is just “deep dish pizza” in Chciago. Tacos, enchiladas and the like in the US are considered Mexican food in the US; in Mexico, it’s just “food.” \*\* Canadians think of “bacon” the same way Americans do. Strips about 1" wide by about 8-10" long with about 1/3 of it fat. That is standard bacon in Canada… and the US as far as I know. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/10 "2003-07-26T04:58:25Z")
I’m Canadian and I honestly have no idea what the hell this “Canadian Bacon” stuff is, aside from a really lousy Michael Moore film. Everyone I know eats regular bacon. Well, if they eat bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/11 "2003-07-26T06:04:00Z")
Canadian bacon is the only bacon worth eating. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/12 "2003-07-26T06:38:03Z")
I’ll second that Aesiron, and it makes McDonald’s Egg McMuffin the only fast food breakfast sandwhich worth eating. When I was in Canada with some friends, we kept seeing signs refering to “Canadian Cuisine”. Between the four of us canandian bacon was the only canandian cuisine we could think of. We asked a cab driver, not knowing what cuisine meant, we told him it meant food. He replied “Steak, chicken, that must be canandian cuisine, steak and chicken.” ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/13 "2003-07-26T11:52:11Z")
Did you know that in Québécois, “avoid this place at all cost” is “mets canadiens et chinois”? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/14 "2003-07-26T15:07:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by x-ray vision \* > \*\*From [this](http://www.rosepacking.com/about.htm) site: > England imported its bacon from Canada a long time ago when there was a pork shortage in Britain. Though the bacon from Canada closely resembled English bacon (also taken from the choice center portion of the loin) it still retained its own unique flavor So, the English called it “Canadian Bacon” and the name stuck. \*\* I’m English, and have _never_ heard the term Canadian bacon before this thread … I only know of “back bacon” (which seems to match the description of Canadian bacon) and “streaky bacon” (ditto US bacon). Unless I’m just unobservant … Julie ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/15 "2003-07-27T21:16:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Aesiron \* > \*\*Canadian bacon is the only bacon worth eating. \*\* I’m Canadian and I have to completely disagree. I’ve heard about Americans buying “Canadian Bacon” and how great it is. So where is it here? Bacon in Canada is some of the worst, fat laced cuts I’ve ever seen. British bacon is far superior. There is back bacon which is better than regular bacon, but it’s still not anything close to the quality of British bacon. ---
**Author:** ![homercles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed8c4c/32.png) [@homercles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/homercles)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/16 "2003-07-27T21:35:30Z")
Mmmmm, bacon…arrrggghhh ---
**Author:** ![lightweight\_traveller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ab097/32.png) [@lightweight\_traveller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightweight_traveller)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/17 "2003-07-27T22:01:41Z")
Canadian bacon is a pork chop with the bone and all but the top strip of fat removed and then cured and smoked. Its really quite good but its not “bacon”! ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/18 "2003-07-27T22:08:58Z")
To throw another term into the mix, there is also “peameal bacon”: [http://www.realcanadianbacon.com/](http://www.realcanadianbacon.com/) What we call “Canadian bacon” in the US, in my experience, is “back bacon” in canada, and very close to ham in renditions found in the US. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/19 "2003-07-27T22:26:05Z")
From [Britannica.com](http://Britannica.com), at **bacon** : “a side of a pig that, after removal of the spare ribs, is cured, either dry or in pickle, and smoked. Some varieties, notably Canadian bacon, are cut from the loin portion of the pork, which is more lean.” ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978/20 "2003-07-27T22:31:51Z")
From [Britannica.com](http://Britannica.com), at **bacon** : “a side of a pig that, after removal of the spare ribs, is cured, either dry or in pickle, and smoked. Some varieties, notably Canadian bacon, are cut from the loin portion of the pork, which is more lean.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-bacon/190978.md?page=2)