# (If you like bacon) Why is bacon good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [September 17, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840 "2021-09-17T19:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/1 "2021-09-17T19:38:36Z")
If you enjoy bacon, what, specifically, is it about bacon that you like? What makes bacon good? (and in what context - e.g. are the things that make bacon good in a sandwich different from the things that make it good on a breakfast plate? Please be as specific and detailed as possible. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/2 "2021-09-17T19:43:43Z")
It’s made of meat and not peas! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/3 "2021-09-17T19:44:56Z")
Everything is made of peas ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/4 "2021-09-17T19:46:02Z")
There’s a distinction between streaky bacon and things like back bacon. Streaky bacon can be both smoky and crisp, whereas the other kinds are more like ham. I like them both, but streaky bacon has more fat and can literally melt in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/5 "2021-09-17T20:03:06Z")
Crunchy and salty. I don’t like it totally crispy, just a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/6 "2021-09-17T20:04:32Z")
For the record, I am thinking about sort-of reverse engineering a bacon sandwich. As @crowmanyclouds knows, I have been reviewing fake vegan bacon offerings lately. It strikes me that, in trying to look like bacon, and aiming for a preparation method the same as real bacon, the fake bacon analogues probably lose some of their realism in terms of flavour, texture, etc - or whatever it is that makes bacon good. So I want to make something that is good in a sandwich for the same general reasons bacon is good - starting from the descriptors of what is good about bacon ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/7 "2021-09-17T20:05:30Z")
It’s the mix of slightly crunchy/chewy texture, salt, grease, and animal flesh umami. If I were looking for a vegetarian alternatives, I’d still want the texture, the salt, and the oil+umami combination even if it didn’t taste the same. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/8 "2021-09-17T20:09:54Z")
It sets off all the feel good hormones in your brain, from the time you smell it cooking to the time it goes in your mouth. Sublime all the way. ---
**Author:** ![eschrodinger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschrodinger/32/122_2.png) [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/9 "2021-09-17T20:27:45Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > fake vegan bacon So, real bacon? But seriously, I’d say unctuous mouth feel, good amount of salt and umami flavors, crispy (which I prefer to crunchy, but crunchy will do) and some smokey flavor. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/10 "2021-09-17T20:41:08Z")
I like the taste of bacon, specifically the smoky taste, but I hate all the fat. For me, turkey bacon is ideal. I love pork, but can’t remember the last time I had pig bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/11 "2021-09-17T20:46:25Z")
It’s the taste, the texture, the salty smokiness. I feel sad that bacon comes from pigs, who don’t deserve all this. I look forward to cloned vat bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/12 "2021-09-17T20:56:18Z")
> [@eschrodinger](#): > > So, real bacon? missing comma ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/13 "2021-09-17T21:04:58Z")
Bacon? It’s a rich source of essential Bacon Vitamins. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/14 "2021-09-17T21:11:26Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It strikes me that, in trying to look like bacon, and aiming for a preparation method the same as real bacon, the fake bacon analogues probably lose some of their realism in terms of flavour, texture, etc - or whatever it is that makes bacon good. I have heard others express similar views about other “alt-meat” applications and I share it: you should aim to deliver something that people will want to eat because it’s enjoyable to eat, and avoid the pitfall of creating something that constantly reminds you it is imitation-something-else. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/15 "2021-09-17T21:29:55Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > So I want to make something that is good in a sandwich for the same general reasons bacon is good - starting from the descriptors of what is good about bacon I don’t know that will work. I was once in vacation in Turkey. And more than a few times, was served items described as “oh, it’s like bacon.” And while the foods in question were good and tasty and had a lot of the descriptors that go with bacon (salty, smoky, flavorful, crisp, etc.) not once did it ever taste like bacon. Whatever it is that makes bacon taste like bacon, it just wasn’t there. (Still really good food. Just not bacon-y) But, a mixture of salt, smoke, umami, with a tiny bit of sweet and a texture that is both crisp (not crunchy but not soft) and somehow melty all at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/16 "2021-09-17T22:03:46Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I have been reviewing fake vegan bacon offerings lately. Fewer than twenty seconds (start: ~1m06s – should tee up) and – in some universe – an important contribution to this thread: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lCgzecKwq9A/maxresdefault.jpg "Just the Jokes 11/7 - Modern Family") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCgzecKwq9A&t=66) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/17 "2021-09-17T22:55:05Z")
(referring to typical US supermarket “streaky” bacon) First, it’s pork plus crispy pork fat plus curing plus smokiness. I guess it’s salty but that doesn’t primarily register with me, more in the “add salt to point up the flavor” mode that is also done with baked goods. For me to be able to really enjoy it, the bacon fat has to be well rendered. Because nothing is worse than flabby pork fat. Compare bacon to pork belly. You can cook pork belly so that most of the internal fat is rendered out, except for the thick parts that you can easily separate from the meat. But the resulting meat just tastes kind of hammy. No smokiness, no curing spices. It’s fine, but it’s not bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2021, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/18 "2021-09-17T23:48:41Z")
Did not read other responses because I did not want to be influenced. Fat is flavor. Salt enhances flavor. Smoke really caresses the umami part of my tongue. Pork is life. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/19 "2021-09-18T00:05:45Z")
Bacon is sweet and salty. Tender and crisp. Umami and whatever you want to pair it with. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/20 "2021-09-18T00:27:37Z")
Some people go for the ice cream when emotionally distressed. I go for the bacon if a hug isn’t available, or enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840.md?page=2)