# Salty bacon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364 "2011-03-20T16:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XXAILEANXX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/94ad74/32.png) [@XXAILEANXX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXAILEANXX)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/1 "2011-03-20T16:28:40Z")
;)A friend of mine recently claimed that freezing bacon increased the salt content. Is there any truth in this, or was he just taking the piss? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/2 "2011-03-20T16:38:28Z")
Unless he freezes it in brine, no. ---
**Author:** ![XXAILEANXX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/94ad74/32.png) [@XXAILEANXX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XXAILEANXX)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/3 "2011-03-20T16:47:41Z")
OK. Thanks for that. I couldn’t see how it could either. Or some of the moisture content would have to be extracted first. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/4 "2011-03-20T16:49:51Z")
Instruct him to subject bacon to many freeze/thaw cycles, increasing the salt content each time, out of thin (and cold) air. Then, he can scrape off the salt, and sell it. But really no, you can’t get something from nothing. I’ve seen bacon left in the fridge that I’d forgotten (forgive me, I was young and foolish,) dry out a bit, and some salt would crystallize on the surface. In the freezer a short time, properly wrapped won’t dry bacon out that much. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/5 "2011-03-20T17:19:20Z")
He may just be talking about the bacon drying out in the freezer. With lower water content, the concentration of salt will be higher and make the bacon taste saltier. I would think enough water content to make that noticeable would be a sign of low quality bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/6 "2011-03-20T19:34:42Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > Instruct him to subject bacon to many freeze/thaw cycles, increasing the salt content each time, out of thin (and cold) air. This is how bacon salt is made. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/7 "2011-03-20T20:33:50Z")
> [@XXAILEANXX](#): > > ;). . . taking the piss? Wow, I never heard that phrase before. Are you British? ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/salty-bacon/575364/8 "2011-03-21T23:25:06Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Wow, I never heard that phrase before. Are you British? The OP may or may not be British, but it’s certainly a very common phrase in the UK. So much so that when I started work in a hospital Urology department almost every single one of my friends attempted a joke along the lines of “so you’ll be taking the piss then?”