Ten things you barely knew about bacon

Did you know, for example, that bacon was “discovered” by the Chinese? Around 1500 BC, the Eastern people were the first to process this part of pork as food. From here, the bacon came from Asia to Europe, where it was first tasted by the Romans - they consumed it with figs and wine, among other things.

Where does the word bacon come from?

In Hungary, too, we mostly use the English word bacon when we think of pork, but where does the English word bacon come from? From the German word “buck,” which referred to the back of the pork, where the meat that would later become the bacon is located. In the French-speaking world, the word ‘buck’ became ‘bacco’, and in the 12th century, the novelty was first mentioned in England as bacon. True, at that time the word “bacoun” was not yet specifically used in the present sense for bacon, in medieval England salted meats were given that name.

It has been produced in a large factory since 1770

In England, bacon was made by communities butchers and preserved by smoking and salting. The meat was sold at local markets, bought by locals. All of this lasted until about 1770, when John Harris opened his factory in Wiltshire, where he made large-scale production of his own (Wiltshire) process bacons and sold them to the people of the country.

Its scent has its charm

At least in part. During the baking of the bacon, the amino acids, fats and sugars in it begin to melt, creating a Maillard reaction that results in the bacon flushing and releasing majestic substances from which our appetite comes.

The French also invented the bacon-scented perfume

A little over a hundred years ago, a cunning Parisian butcher figured out how to create a bacon-scented perfume that he hoped would scatter in front of his store to entice shoppers into his store. The idea was probably workable, at least the Fargginay company has been alive and well since they delighted the world in 1920 with Eau de Bacon, which is still sold.

1992 is one of the most important years in the history of bacon

Although bacon lost its popularity in the mid-20th century due to its high fat content, due to the dietary trends of the ’80s (such as the Atkins diet), fatty foods were no longer considered devilish. Not so much that in 1992, one of America’s fast food chains, Hardee’s, created its first bacon burger, which immediately became an audience favorite, so competing companies quickly stole the idea: bacon into the hamburger! Later, the Hungarian restaurant chains joined the trend, bacon is still one of the most popular hamburger conditions in Hungary, we learned from Péter Kovács, the commercial director of Tamás Hús Kft.

Bacon also has a church

Of course, this is also found in America, with more than twenty-five thousand members. “Believers” essentially need do nothing but glorify the bacon. Although the church does not have an official church, members meet from time to time at various locations. At these meetings, not only their worship of bacon is discussed with the other. Thousands of dollars were raised and donated to charity.

Moreover, there is even a camp dedicated to bacon

The bacon camp is not much different from a traditional summer camp, except that participants can learn fewer scout tricks, but they can better expand their knowledge of using bacon. A camp in Ann Arbor, Michigan is held every year, and the most important program is the cooking course, where professional chefs tell you how to make food even more delicious with bacon.

Americans are the biggest consumers of bacon

After the previous points, this may not be surprising, but we can be more astonished that an average American consumes a little over 8 kilograms of bacon a year. This amount is relatively easy to gather, given that more than seventy-five percent of American restaurants offer at least one dish that also contains bacon. Moreover, bacon can be found as an essential part of a traditional American breakfast, but Americans aren’t scared of sweet bacon either: meat is also added to cupcakes, along with maple syrup. Extreme recipes like this are becoming more common in Hungary as well, Péter Kovács added.

An excellent remedy for a hangover

While there are thousands of practices to read on the internet about what is the best panacea for a hangover, we swear by bacon. The amino acids in it help to relieve headaches, dizziness and tinnitus. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to drink as much water as possible to get over the unpleasant aftermath of the previous night as soon as possible.

(Source: marmalade.co.uk; hirado.com | Image: pixabay.com)