# (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:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/21 "2021-09-18T00:39:01Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > 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.” How the heck would a Muslim person know what bacon tastes like? A little late, but are we talking bacon in the USA, or British bacon? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/22 "2021-09-18T03:14:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Everything is made of peas so, give peas a chance? I like certain things about bacon - When it is used as a side for breakfast, or in a BLT/sandwich I like the crunch as well as the smell and taste. When it is used as a ‘seasoning’ and not crunchy it is specifically for the taste, not always because of the salt content [and I prefer not to have the variously smoked bacons] but also the umami content. As a similar product but not bacon, proper cracklings as in pork belly with skin that is deep fried _or_ pork trim put into a large rendering pot with a few inches of water in it and then simmered until the fat is all rendered out and the water is evaporated [the water is so it doesn’t scorch in the early part of the rendering process] and then strained out [the fat is then poured into vessels and reserved for use, the remaining pig bits are used as snacks] has a textural thing going for it - any meat or skin gets nicely crunchy, and the fat parts have a sort of solid/soft texture that I like. The commercial chiccharrones, they are simply friend skin with no meat or fat and just has a porkish flavor without the complex mouthfeel of pork belly and real cracklings. > [@kayaker](#): > > For me, turkey bacon is ideal. Have you ever had beef bacon? I think it has a bit more fat than turkey bacon, but no where near that of pig. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I look forward to cloned vat bacon. I love the idea of cloned meat as an option. I do wonder if those that are vegetarian because of the desire to not kill for food would eat vat meat if the original source was a pig or whatever was killed a decade ago or if it would have to come from a living animal not killed for the donation cells. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/23 "2021-09-18T03:25:23Z")
Salt, grease, fat - all the major food groups in a crispy meat package, that appalls at least two major religions. What’s not to like? This dog is pretty dumb, but he’s got the right idea. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2vnit_xL1hE/hqdefault.jpg "1989 - Beggin' Strips - It's Bacon Commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vnit_xL1hE) ---
**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, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/24 "2021-09-18T03:46:26Z")
I read that as _appeals_ to two religions, was thinking, “ok, there’s the Church of Dog reference with the video, where’s the Ladder Day Cats?”🤪 ---
**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 18, 2021, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/25 "2021-09-18T04:32:46Z")
Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever eaten raw streaky bacon? I caught my ex doing this once, but she’s Russian and the bacon was from Hungary (SFAIR, it was smoked). I haven’t tried raw bacon, but I have eaten _salo_, Which is basically salted pork fat, chilled and sliced off in small chunks. It’s delicious even (or especially) without a shot of vodka. ---
**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 18, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/26 "2021-09-18T04:36:32Z")
Cats worship ladders?!? 😲🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/27 "2021-09-18T05:01:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How the heck would a Muslim person know what bacon tastes like? They’re are Muslims and then there are Muslims 🙂. I’ve known self-described cultural Muslims that drink alcohol and eat pork products. Many of them have avoided one of the two as a token sacrifice to their background, but didn’t worry about it all that much. As a percentage there might be on average fewer non-observant Muslims in terms of diet et al than there are non-observant Christians or Jews, but there is still plenty of them in general. Especially in the west. As for the OP - fat+salt+texture+umami. But for me although the whole is more important than the sum of the parts, fat is probably the key ingredient. Hence other “bacons” not quite doing it for me. I like pork fat in just about any context. In fact IMHO there is nothing more sinful in general than lean pork. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/28 "2021-09-18T05:38:24Z")
Bacon is NOT good. It’s FUCKING AWESOME! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/29 "2021-09-18T05:46:10Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > It’s a rich source of essential Bacon Vitamins. [Elementary](https://s.yimg.com/aah/computergear/bacon-elements-t-shirt-23.gif), my dear doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/30 "2021-09-18T05:46:47Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How the heck would a Muslim person know what bacon tastes like? [Beef bacon is a thing,](https://www.marthastewart.com/8053979/beef-bacon-explained) you know. ---
**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 18, 2021, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/31 "2021-09-18T08:57:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How the heck would a Muslim person know what bacon tastes like? I think it’s possible to know more or less what a thing tastes like without having ever actually tasted it. I’ve never eaten cashew apples, but I’ve heard enough people describe them, with copious references and comparisons to other things I have tasted, that I think I’ve pretty much got the gist of what to expect. ---
**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 18, 2021, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/32 "2021-09-18T09:31:05Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > How the heck would a Muslim person know what bacon tastes like? 'Cause… they’re human and curious? Questions like that call to mind the two young Saudi gentlemen who, shortly after they arrived in the US, started frequenting the store I work at, buying copious quantities of pork products and alcohol. Kept it up for a couple weeks then switched to more varied food and much less (no) pork and alcohol. Sort of like Americans trying pot in Amsterdam back in the pre-legal days I guess. Oh, look, the forbidden thing is legal here! Let’s overdo it! A lot of Jews and Muslims have tried forbidden foods even if they shouldn’t. A lot of them in the US are pretty secular, Jewish and Muslim due to the families they were born in and not out of some deep inner belief, and don’t adhere to the dietary rules day to day, or in some cases at all. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/33 "2021-09-18T09:36:46Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Everything is made of peas Nice username / post combo. The only problem with bacon is that your kitchen stinks for a while after frying it and its taste may overpower other, subtler ingredients. Apart from that it is salty, umani-ish, fat and crunchy, which is nice. Bacon combines great with eggs, potatos, leeks and other simple dishes, is reasonably cheap and lasts long-ish in the fridge. ---
**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 18, 2021, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/34 "2021-09-18T11:40:51Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Have you ever had beef bacon? I think it has a bit more fat than turkey bacon, but no where near that of pig. On my bucket list now. I really love turkey bacon, though. ---
**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, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/35 "2021-09-18T18:29:32Z")
No, thats where they sit high above us, looking down on us as we faithfully give offerings of bacon. Ok, really, I just couldn’t think of anything better at the time. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/36 "2021-09-18T18:46:45Z")
No one has mentioned yet that essential bacon by-product, bacon grease (aka liquid gold). It imparts its addictive bacon essence to vegetables and bland meat like chicken. I try to avoid eating meat as much as possible, but no matter how delicious plant-based bacon is, it won’t yield the fat. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2021, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/37 "2021-09-18T22:57:19Z")
> [@bobsmom101](#): > > no matter how delicious plant-based bacon is, it won’t yield the fat Truth. I agree with what most pork bacon eaters say. I tend to enjoy different bacons for different reasons. Pork jowl bacon is even fatter than streaky, therefore really good to crumble on a soup just before serving it. I love cottage bacon (pork shoulder) diced into hash browns with veg. It also makes a hefty BLT. Streaky is good so very many ways. On burgers, BLTs, chopped up in salads with eggs for breakfast and as a treat, try it as peppered, candied bacon. Back bacon is good on a fried egg sandwich or, like cottage bacon, chopped up and served with many hot foods. But I grew up on something called wilted lettuce. It’s fresh leaf lettuce with cherry tomatoes and chopped up still-warm streaky. The dressing is made up of red wine vinegar, sugar, and that hot bacon grease, which wilts the lettuce a tiny bit. Mmm. Lovely on a hot summer evening. ---
**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 18, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/38 "2021-09-18T23:17:38Z")
Ohhhh! I will be making wilted lettuce in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/39 "2021-09-19T00:27:56Z")
@Biggirl, I forgot to add that you need chopped green onion in it too. And now I’m craving it too. Well, fall “spring greens” season is starting so onto the menu it goes. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2021, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840/40 "2021-09-19T02:04:30Z")
As Penn and Teller said, “It’s the candy of meats”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-like-bacon-why-is-bacon-good/950840.md?page=3)