# What do you call an individual unit of bacon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719 "2013-02-08T18:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 8, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/41 "2013-02-08T22:41:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, that’s good to hear. I was mixing it up with peameal bacon, thinking that was the default, but regular ol’ streaky/side/belly bacon is the norm. Is peameal made from actual peas, or is it just another name for cornmeal, because that’s what I’ve always thought it was. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/42 "2013-02-08T22:57:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Uncurly bacon? I weep for our future. I think you’re over reacting mate… [Bacon in a pan…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3f4GOEv7ck) [Bacon in the oven…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-hN1t1AS5k) Both equally good! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/43 "2013-02-08T23:03:38Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Is peameal made from actual peas, or is it just another name for cornmeal, because that’s what I’ve always thought it was. 😕 Used to be yellow peas, but now it’s rolled in coarse cornmeal. I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/44 "2013-02-08T23:04:04Z")
“Strip” for American-style bacon, “slice” for back bacon, pancetta, or slab bacon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/45 "2013-02-08T23:16:45Z")
> [@Lukeinva](#): > > I think you’re over reacting mate… > > [Bacon in a pan…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3f4GOEv7ck) > > [Bacon in the oven…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-hN1t1AS5k) > > Both equally good! I know how to make flat bacon. I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/46 "2013-02-08T23:26:38Z")
“Strip” is my choice. I’ve only ever seen “rasher” on restaurant menus, generally with the size of the order indicated, as **Rasher of bacon (3 strips)**. Grew up in Ohio, now live in Indiana, so basically lifelong Midwesterner. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/47 "2013-02-08T23:42:13Z")
I voted _slice_, but _strip_ would be OK. _Rasher_? I’ll try to use that term next time we have bacon. ETA: Bacon in the oven is awesome. Instead of five seconds of perfectly done bacon, between limp and burnt, you’ve got a couple minutes. And who cares if the bacon is flat. Seriously? That’s a disadvantage? That even matters? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/48 "2013-02-08T23:46:46Z")
In the UK. The answer here is _rasher_, which refers to a single slice, of either back or streaky bacon. I didn’t realise it meant something else in the colonies… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/49 "2013-02-09T00:59:44Z")
What do you call an individual unit of bacon? A good start. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/50 "2013-02-09T01:12:05Z")
I’m in the UK, so I voted for “rasher”, but it really depends on what cut I’m buying. If it’s slices of back or streaky bacon (or middle, or Ayreshire Roll), they’re rashers, but otherwise it may be medallions, or chops, or a joint. Sometimes I’ll buy a half pound of off-cuts to make into soup or a pie, in which case each unit would probably be a “piece” or a “bit”. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/51 "2013-02-09T01:16:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “Unsmoked bacon”? Um… I’ll just let that stand on its own. Smoked or unsmoked is not the issue. In Britain you can get it either way, and it does not actually make a huge difference to the flavour, once cooked. The unsmoked stuff is maybe not quite so salty tasting, but it all tastes like bacon (and all comes in rashers). My point, however, was that American bacon is almost all fat. In the UK that is called streaky bacon, and is considered to be cheap and inferior. [Decent bacon](http://www.porkshopfethiye.com/FileUpload/bs191604/UrunResim/5584116.jpg) has some actual meat in it. (It is also known as “back bacon”, but, in the UK, if you just ask for “bacon” without qualification, that is what you will generally get, and if a British person were to get American style streaky bacon instead, without having specifically asked for it, they might well be quite indignant.) Contrary to what some Americans believe, “back bacon” (at least as the term is used in teh UK, I can’t speak for Canada) is not the same as what Americans call “Canadian bacon”, which is a form of ham. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2013, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/52 "2013-02-09T09:00:19Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I’m in the UK, so I voted for “rasher”, but it really depends on what cut I’m buying. > > If it’s slices of back or streaky bacon (or middle, or Ayreshire Roll), they’re rashers, but otherwise it may be medallions, or chops, or a joint. As an aside, I sometimes visit a “British bakery” in Toronto that sells (along with haggis, black pudding, etc.) Ayreshire bacon and (what they call) Scottish beef sausage patties. Fry the two up together, top with some XO white cheddar, and you have the best damned bacon cheeseburger in the world! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/53 "2013-02-09T23:59:35Z")
\*\*MORE! I call it MORE! More bacon! Gotta have more! Slice isn’t enough! \*\* **gobbles up all the bacon in the thread…** Oh, um, sorry, I forgot myself there. **fries up new batch of fresh crispy bacon for everyone… slinks out of thread…** I call it a piece or a slice, depending on my mood. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/54 "2013-02-10T00:21:23Z")
I usually call it a strip of bacon. I’m an American, from Texas to be exact, so when I say bacon, I mean streaky American bacon. I’ve used a bacon press, and liked it, because the bacon will cook up far more evenly, instead of some bits being burned or nearly burned and some not cooked at all. ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/55 "2013-02-10T00:24:01Z")
“Back bacon” and “Canadian bacon” are both an affront to god. I don’t care what you end up calling it but quit calling it bacon. Real bacon comes from the belly, has lots of fat, and tastes yummy 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/56 "2013-02-10T00:27:19Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Of course, they don’t have [proper bacon](http://www.meatpacks.co.uk/lg_images/UnsmokedBackBacon454.jpg) in America anyway. Ooooh that looks good! That looks like bacon with a piece of ham attached! We don’t have that in America for what reason??? Aren’t we the greatest nation ever?? Where’s our Ham/Bacon/Pig Slice Breakfast? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/57 "2013-02-10T00:30:54Z")
I didn’t vote because– raw bacon is a “strip” cooked, it’s a “piece” of bacon. US ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/58 "2013-02-10T00:32:28Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Ooooh that looks good! That looks like bacon with a piece of ham attached! We don’t have that in America for what reason??? > Aren’t we the greatest nation ever?? Where’s our Ham/Bacon/Pig Slice Breakfast? Incorrect. That looks like thin sliced center-cut pork chops. Might be good with a side salad and a veggie but not with eggs and toast. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/59 "2013-02-10T00:41:58Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Incorrect. That looks like thin sliced center-cut pork chops. Might be good with a side salad and a veggie but not with eggs and toast. Well that’s good, then. As long as England wasn’t getting away with something. I never doubted that we weren’t the best ever, mind you. That bacon looked too good to be true anyway. USA! USA! USA! ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719/60 "2013-02-10T00:50:17Z")
> [@yorick73](#): > > Incorrect. That looks like thin sliced center-cut pork chops. Might be good with a side salad and a veggie but not with eggs and toast. It’s a very thin slice, well, equivalent to the “thick sliced” bacon I get in California, and it’s smoked. Nothing like a pork chop. Excellent with eggs and toast. I miss it, having grown up on proper bacon in Australia. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-an-individual-unit-of-bacon/649719.md?page=4)