UK vs USA Bacon! // why they're so different

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Please weigh in on the great bacon debate below...!

[@phalanx-it]

♥

[@neilgayleard3842]

Most British people don't like American bacon because of the way it's cooked and covered in syrup and with pancakes. The cut isn't the issue.

[@wessexdruid7598]

Those McCormicks Bac'n Pieces contain NO actual bacon (hence the name). They're made from soy flour and (artificial) flavouring.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

You can get also get collar bacon in the UK - usually only from butchers nowadays , it used to be dirt cheap when I was a child in the 1950s and was bought sliced for frying or in joints for boiling. I still buy bacon joints - they are cooked like a ham but are cheaper than ham - really good for soups, or sliced with parsley sauce.

[@antbuckley8845]

I buy thick cut smoked & plain streaky bacon from my family butcher. I am English & I cook it slowly in a cast iron skillet on a low heat, rendering it much of the fat. It is coloured to a beautiful darker colour & almost caramelised & slightly crisp on the outside & soft in the centre. Absolutely beats traditional back bacon. Thick dry cured home bacon from your local family butcher is definitely the superior bacon if cooked slowly

[@howardchambers9679]

Ok so if you want crispy bacon in the UK, I have a tip for you.... Cook it till it's crispy! Works for both streaky and back

[@granite676]

😂😂😂😂👍😉

[@mr.kinkade2049]

Streaky bacon is better than the imperial cut we have in the UK.

[@howardchambers9679]

@@mr.kinkade2049 never heard of the imperial cut.

[@Rapscallion2009]

Crispy bacon happens with a longer cook at lower temps where the fat is allowed to drain away. Try the cold oven technique. Start with a cold oven, place the rashers on crumpled tin foil to let the fat drain away. The bacon needs around 20 minutes with the over set to 180c. Should come out lovely and crispy.

[@YouTubestolemylife]

Takes longer but true

[@davidgrainger5378]

When I was little (I am now 80), bacon was always sliced in a grocery shop. The grocer would have a whole side of bacon on the slicer which was turned with a big handle. So each slice, or rasher, would have both back and streaky and would be twice as long as you would buy today. It was only when bacon came sliced and packed that the back and streaky became separated for packing..

[@chrisfryer3118]

That's middle bacon? Don't see it around much these days.

[@catgladwell5684]

And it always had bits of bone in.

[@tonys1636]

I remember the chart on the counter showing the slice thickness against a number so one could ask for the thickness required, oh, and the separate counters and queues for bacon, cheese and deli (cooked meats) in Sainsbury with the pay kiosk at the back of the shop. No cross contamination in their shops.

[@woodentie8815]

Yep, that’s exactly how I remember it, always a bit concerned that the grocer might slice the tip of his thumb off! My choice was always the streakier end of the slice.

[@robertwatford7425]

I worked Saturday morning as a teenager in the sixties delivering meat for a butcher. He had an electric slicer for bacon. My father would order a dozen rashers and say, "And none of your lace curtains!" Then he would joke that if the butcher got too close to the slicer he might get a little behind with his orders :-)

[@omgitsabloodyandroid5161]

British bacon and gammon - 100 % superior. Sorry Seppos (I’m Aussie) Left over fat in the pan? Cook the bacon with tomatoes and mushrooms, then throw in bread to get fried bread. Fry an egg too. HP sauce on the side. Truckers tea (strong tea). Perfection (maybe some baked beans too). Oh God, bloody starving now

[@cjmillsnun]

You would be welcome here any time. You've just described the perfect breakfast.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I have severe medical problems where I get no appetite and starve to death if I'm not careful. You've just made me hungry. I'm going to find a cafe. Congratulations, you helped me survive another day. This is not a joke.

[@paulphotios3920]

At the kangaroo hoppet quite often come into contact with visiting Americans. They are surprised we can get bacon with the eye intact. They only get the fat and rind part with a little bit of meat.

[@prezzeruk4054]

Beans warmed up in bacon grease is amazing!

[@whya2ndaccount]

Septic "bacon" is crap (technical term). 100% UK or Aust option.

[@chrisaskin6144]

You don't ever need to apologise for your accent Kalyn, it's what makes you and mark's you out, NOT what mark's you down.

[@andyt8216]

And “knife and fork” rather than “fork and knife” 😜

[@ballyhigh11]

@@andyt8216 I've noticed that in the US very few people say, let alone understand, the word cutlery. I think flatware is the commonly used term over there.

[@scottfw7169]

@@ballyhigh11 My experience here in the US with my family, mainly Mom who was a dietician and also worked some in food service at several levels, is that the term cutlery is used for things which cut, plus the special forks employed in combination with carving knives. Silverware and flatware seemed to be used interchangeably for the eating utensils beside your plate.

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Yep. Should never loose the accent. If I moved to the US, would never want to loose my London accent. No longer live in London but still.

[@sroberts605]

@@TheStevenWhiting 'lose'

[@stephenspencer2632]

When in the States and tried to eat bacon, I would called it grenade bacon because when you put your fork into the rasher and it would explode. Everybody on the table would be able to enjoy it except me.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

True!! It flies everywhere!

[@andrewcharles5575]

Socialist bacon, everyone gets equal amounts (whether they want it or not!!)

[@stephenspencer2632]

Fair enough but when they start dipping their solders in my fried egg, that's taking socialism too far.

[@mehallica666]

It always appears more like jerky in films/TV. Eat it with your hands? What?

[@nicholasmartin297]

That made me smile, which is quite rare these days.

[@crowbar9566]

US bacon is frazzled. In the UK we have bacon flavoured crisps (chips) called Frazzles, they're really good.

[@Pippins666]

unfortunately no bacon is involved, the "taste" is entirely artificial

[@crowbar9566]

@@Pippins666 I. Know. 😐. If you read what I wrote it clearly says: "bacon FLAVOURED crisps." Really, do you think they grate cheese over your cheese and onion crisps? Prawns are in your prawn coctail?

[@pjschmid2251]

Please explain to this American what you mean by frazzled? I’ve been to the UK, so I’m familiar with UK back bacon and of course American bacon which I’ve been eating all my life. But I’m not sure what you mean by frazzled. By the way, when my sister and I traveled to the UK we decided that UK bacon wasn’t our cup of tea. It was more like thin, sliced chewy ham than bacon. Each of us has our preconceptions of what bacon is supposed to be like and when it doesn’t meet those expectations we are just left with sad disappointment😆. But the Cumberland sausages …. amazing 🤩 . I really wish someone would export Cumberland sausages to the US. That and Caerffili cheese.

[@Pippins666]

@@pjschmid2251 I'm curious to know too

[@crowbar9566]

@@pjschmid2251 Frazzled is to be fried till crispy. We sometimes say "my brain is fried" or "my brain is frazzled" after a prolonged period of mentally strenuous work. So when the bacon is no longer meaty, but so crispy it snaps, it's been frazzled.

[@iwb316]

Growing up in the UK in the 1960's the type of bacon you could get from a butcher was Collar, Middle, Back and Streaky. Collar bacon was the defacto cheap bacon not streaky. With pre packaging in supermarkets Middle, Back and Streaky became the norm and these cuts would have the rind on. Later in the 1960's came the Danish invasion of rindless back bacon, I well remember you would see the packaging stating it was rindless. I can't remember when middle cut bacon fell by the wayside, maybe sometime in the 1980's, to leave us where we are now with only rindless back bacon and streaky as the available options for cuts.

[@eddiecobbett]

There is still a small amount of middle available, but a lot less after the cuts changed in about the early 90s and that's when collar/shoulder bacon disappeared too. I don't remember rindless bacon where I lived before the 70s.

[@andrewrossy]

Oh that is interesting. Only the other day I wondered where the rind was … and having to always cut it off.

[@sroberts605]

Interesting - I didn't recognise the class thing Kaylin mentioned, plus they're both great cuts just different - collar I imagine being much less of a piece? Gristly even? Personally, I loved the rind and couldn't believe it when I became deprived of it!!

[@Alan7S]

Tesco do middle bacon 🍔

[@davidholden2658]

It's pretty common in the UK to add other stuff to a bacon sandwich. Especially if you go to a roadside sandwich van or greasy spoon cafe. I used to have a 'full house' sandwich every Friday which was bacon, sausage, fired egg, black pudding, mushrooms and tomatoes between three slices of thick cut crusty bread.

[@noteanotell937]

I had 2 egg and bacon sarnies for breakfast this morning. ❤🐷👍

[@raymonray5444]

black pudding being the finest part of a pig ! 🤣

[@mdpenny42]

An easy way to start a proverbial "bun fight" is to ask what the "best" bacon sandwich would be... -- Brown bread vs white bread vs "50-50" bread. -- Sliced bread vs buns/baps. -- Butter vs margarine vs dripping. -- Grilled bacon vs fried bacon. -- Tomato ketchup vs HP sauce.

[@roberthuntley1090]

Agree - bacon, lettuce and tomato (BLT) is a standard choice in the sandwich aisle of many supermarkets.

[@jamesmason7262]

Egg, bacon and a slice of raw onion cut so thin its transparent with HP sauce. Yummy.

[@AntonLauridsen]

I prefer UK-style bacon, but in Denmark, it is difficult to find bacon that isn't "belly cut." As a child, I was told that a lot of our food traditions here in Denmark have been shaped by our export of pork to the UK. I.e. traditionally we exported the better and choicier cuts to the UK and the rest of the world, and that traditional Danish food is centered on low quality cuts which were harder to sell on the international markets. Still, IMO, the UK style is juicier and tastier than the Danish/US style

[@Phiyedough]

UK used to do that with cars, the best ones were exported!

[@JungleTunes94]

Danish bacon was always regarded as elite in as far as pre packed bacon went. Bacon had to be British or Danish, with lamb it had to be British or New Zealand and so forth. I guess they we're exporting all the back bacon for big money to the overseas wealthy and selling the belly to the local riff raff. I honestly will eat any pork

[@tiggerwood8899]

I miss Danish bacon

[@stevemichael8458]

@@Phiyedough Go to any food market in Spain and see the amazing seafood. Almost all caught in UK waters by British trawlers. Go to any UK market and the seafood offering is pathetic!

[@wncjan]

You can it from Abigail's British Food.

[@ricom6839]

If you want proper bacon, go to your local butcher, if you have a “ proper butcher “ it will be sliced in front of you. Supermarket bacon has a very high water content.

[@briancampbell7569]

Just to help things along, in Scotland, you can get Ayrshire bacon. It's made up of both streaky and back bacon.

[@paddlesmcbean2366]

As an Australian I enjoy both styles of bacon, however, whichever you choose I love the rind still attached. I believe that it adds greatly to the flavour and adds to the variety of textures.

[@brianhorsley6919]

As a kid I remember getting smoked bacon, his was actually smoked, now days being smoked is now injected into the bacon as a liquid. This is the type of bacon bought in a supermarket, that is why when you cook the bacon you will gat a white liquid coming out of bacon whilst being cooked, this is water. If you want buy smoked bacon which is smoked in a smoking shed then you will have to buy it at a butchers, at a cost.

[@wildthing6668813]

A lot of supermarket UK bacon is packed with water, a 250g pack can be up to 60% water. Get the bacon from a butchers and it contains no added water but will be more expensive as it don't have water added to make the product look like its more. A 250g pack of UK bacon bought in a supermarket can be as little as 110g of meat when it's cooked as they sell the pack in 8 rashers per pack. IMO supermarket bacon works out dearer than that bought from a butchers when the water is removed from the supermarket bacon. I buy cooking bacon as it's a lot cheaper than buying a pack with 8 rashers of water filled bacon sometimes the bits are small with a lot of fat which I render down to nothing and use the fat in other things I cook and sometimes there is very little fat as the bacon is more like gammon steaks with a little fat. I will use these large strips in a bacon and egg pie.

[@Phiyedough]

I like the taste of bacon but rarely bought it when I lived in UK for that very reason. It would shrink so much when you cooked it that it seemed a waste of money.

[@grabtharshammer]

You really think the Butcher doesn't have a bucket of Brine and a syringe?? :) The Brine is injected first anyway before the Butcher buys the carcasses. Though Supermarkets do put more in

[@Varksterable]

​@Phiyedough I think you bought the wrong kind of bacon. I'm lucky enough to have a local, independent butcher in the village. Their bacon doesn't shrink at all, doesn't expell that horrid white gunk that supermarket stuff often does, and tastes heavenly. Does it cost more? Possibly. But because it doesn't shrink and because it's less processed I don't really care anyway. Even in today's economic situation, it bothers me greatly when people consider cost a factor for stuff like this. My monthly bills are about £1200. A few extra pence for really nice, healthier bacon? Rack it up! You can't economise on pleasure. There's a old saying here, "look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves." My version is, "look after the pounds, and the pennies become utterly irrelevant."

[@julia2jules]

My local uk butchers bacon has added water. He said that the dry cured version is too expensive for his customers to buy. I buy the dry cured

[@tiggerwood8899]

You need to buy dry cured bacon even from a butchers, if you can find one. Even supermarket dry cured doesn't contain water

[@stephenlee5929]

Hi Kalyn, I think you missed Middle Bacon, a UK cut, I believe it is effectively the streaky joined to the back. In general we are talking about rashers/slices of bacon, we do have bacon joints as well. UK have both smoked and unsmoked, in London Unsmoked is often called Green or Greenback. I prefer our (UK) Smoked Back Bacon, but will eat any.

[@b3564]

The best bacon!

[@Avfc-m4w]

What about collar bacon and bacon chops.

[@b3564]

@@Avfc-m4w Dingles tomorrow lad, three points or are they going to park the bus? Anyway what ever bacon, HP BROWN SAUCE!

[@Phiyedough]

@@Avfc-m4w And gammon!

[@Avfc-m4w]

@@b3564 three points I'm thinking.

[@mcmilge]

I am a Brit but I love streaky bacon and briefly we were able to buy American bacon in our local Tesco. It was delicious I don’t know why they stopped having it. I now know why I prefer American bacon (thanks to this video). I like BLT’s sprinkling crumbled bacon on baked potatoes and adding it to burgers. I am therefore a secret American (so secret even I didn’t know) Thanks so much for this, Kailin ❤

[@deanhayes2977]

For UK bacon sandwiches we have the following: Bacon sandwich Bacon and egg Bacon and tomatoe sausage bacon and Egg Not forgetting Bacon sausage egg tomatoe and black pudding sandwich in some areas.

[@SittaCarolinensis]

No spam?

[@noelsalisbury7448]

BLT

[@billyo54]

Hi Kaylin. I can't believe you made a video about bacon without mentioning the word rasher. How did you do that? In Ireland one of our traditional meals is bacon, cabbage and potatoes. Back bacon is boiled whole and cut into chops to be served with the vegetables. Pigs were quite commonly kept in the countryside up to the 1960s. In Autumn pigs were allowed to roam through orchards to eat the windfall apples. This gave the meat a distinctive apple flavour which was delicious. In modern times there is often an attempt made by cooks to re-create the flavour by adding apple sauce to the dish. Crispy bacon is, to me, simply burnt meat and quite tasteless.

[@stewedfishproductions9554]

I thought the same thing... 😂😂😂

[@johntanner3659]

Good afternoon, back in the 70's I learnt to bone, joint and rasher up sides of bacon. In addition to the back and streaky there were a number of other cuts available, that I have not seen for years. The shoulder end, as in your diagram was collar and hock, the hock being the part that had the upper part of the trotter. Between the gammon, which is shown as ham on your diagram, on the streaky side was a small joint called a flank, and between what is shown as loin was the oyster back and long back, between the ham and loin. My experience was from Waitrose and the branch I worked at did not do the other two cuts that I knew of, throughcut and bacon chops. Throughtcut was a single rasher with prie and streaky, a bacon chop was a thick cut piece of back bacon, like a gammon steak.

[@lat1419]

Brings back memories of decent butchers bacon, and all the cuts. I loved a bacon chop, the collar bacon. I have just got a kilo of bacon bits from my butcher for £1.25, so you probably know I'm a nose to tail gal, old school!

[@noelsalisbury7448]

🎶You say Tomato - I say Tomato - Let's call the whole thing off 🎶

[@jameslewis3296]

In the US they dont cook bacon, they cremate it

[@nukemanmd]

Not true. Perhaps you should actually visit the U..S. and try it.. Just don't order it extra crispy.

[@avancalledrupert5130]

​@@nukemanmd mate i spent months in America and will probably move there as my mrs family are from there. I love allot of things about America especially Colarado. But nowhere did i find Bacon, cheese, Bread or chocolate anywhere near what we would even tolerate anywhere in Britain or Europe. Thise things in America are universally awful. So is about 70% of the sausage. The beef is allso not as good as Britain. Not bad but nowhere near Britain. Thats the perk of it raining everyday. Cows pretty much only eat grass and clover. Makes them super yummy. But bread , cheese, chocolate and bacon just gave up trying to eat it and ate other things instead.

[@ianfinney7820]

​@@avancalledrupert5130100% agree with you. Meat in mericaland is far inferior to the rest of the world.

[@elknolasshrineofraja3966]

❤️😌I have visited the US and this is not always true. Baked American bacon is in a class of its own unreachable by the subpar taste of British back bacon.😌❤️

[@ianfinney7820]

@@elknolasshrineofraja3966 🤣🤣🤣🤣 complete bollocks

[@Gordon_Highlander]

I am a Scot, and I love my bacon. I remember our Sunday Breakfasts consisted of Lorne Sausage (Square Scottish Sausage) Several pieces of Back Bacon, three Tomatao halves, two fried eggs, Black Pudding White Pudding, Tatties, Baked Beans (It had to be Heinz Baked Beans to the English Recipe) and a wee bit of Haggis. When In England, we had the full English Breakfast, at E Pelici's at Bethnel Green. That was pure heaven. In 1961 we migrated to Australia, and although now "*DOWN UNDER* the routine was continued. In 2015, I visited my sister in California. I had not seen her for over 25 years. She contacted me to say she was dying of Cancer and did not have long to live. She rang me on the Sunday and by Wednesday, I was on a plane to California. My sister was being looked after at home by a nurse at home. When I arrived, it was breakfast time. Her nurse asked me if I could like some Scrambled Eggs and bacon for breakie, and I jumped at the chance, but when the breakie hit the table, the bacon looked like it had been through a Prisoner of War camp. It looked cremated. I put it into my mouth and it shattered like glass. There was no taste to it and what was left of the "SHARDS" of bacon chad more grease on it than the sump of my car.

[@scooberuni]

You said bacon sandwiches are bacon in bread and ‘not much else’ but in the UK we tend to butter the bead, which Americans don’t tend to do and we add either tomato or brown sauce to the bacon.

[@simonwatkins3236]

Buttering the bread for a bacon sandwich is very new. When I was a kid you might pour the bacon fat over the bread but that was it. And Victorians had a saying butter your bacon. meaning to spoil some thing with excess. equivalent to over egging a pudding.. And personally I think they were right.

[@tiggerwood8899]

As a Brit I never butter bread for a bacon sandwich. I use the bacon fat, juices. I do butter bread for everything else including peanut butter 😊

[@scottneil1187]

​@@simonwatkins3236New?!, I'm 48, been doing it all my life, so did my dad and grandad.

[@adamlee3772]

When I worked in Houston, the bacon was so awful I learned how to cure my own. Never looked back. But we do get American bacon, it’s called streaky bacon.

[@cwoollard1]

Good video. I really want to eat bacon now. Another thing about British Bacon that isn't so good from a native Brit. Often supermarkets inject extra water into our bacon to give it more substance/weight. The wet stuff also noticeably shrinks when cooked. Dry cured bacon is so much better and is less floppy and wet once cooked. It maybe more expensive, but tastes so much better

[@archereegmb8032]

Good video. There is also 'middle cut' bacon in UK. This combines both loin, and belly in each slice. I used to eat 'back' bacon, (when fat was 'bad' for us) but now i prefer streaky bacon.

[@robinboyes9675]

In the south of England we traditionaly cook bacon for only frying it for 1-2 minuets where as in the North it is fried to a crispy 4-5 minuets.

[@robinboyes9675]

@captaintorch983 sorry I'm dyslexic and don't know how to get spellchecker to work.

[@robinboyes9675]

@captaintorch983 my wife told me how to spell that one.

[@tomwalker779]

Canadian here. We have both types here, belly bacon is softer smoked/flavoured with maple. Back bacon is usually cured and rolled in coarse cornmeal and is referred to as peameal bacon. So once again we stand astride the British/Americans divide, fun eh?

[@stanboyd5820]

In Scotland we also have "Ayrshire Middle" bacon which is the 'back' and streaky (belly) in one slice

[@spritbong5285]

Put up a similar comment mate.

[@Phiyedough]

My mum used to sometimes buy a bacon boiling joint which we would have with mashed potato, peas and parsley sauce. We never had bacon for breakfast but if we had a mixed grill for Saturday lunch it would include middle bacon, unsmoked.

[@blackbob3358]

Man, that takes me back. Cheap joint stewing in the pan to soften it, for hours. With taties and cabbage. It was well worth waiting for, mind.

[@scottneil1187]

​@@blackbob3358Nothing stopping you doing it lad.

[@Mickenos85]

British bacon is called Streaky bacon, or Back bacon. Streaky from the belly and back from the toes. As a 85 year old Briton, streaky has been my favourite since first taste , more than a few years ago. My mum n dad also liked streaky. And itd always be cooked by mum, how we liked it. Not crisp, but crunchy and still meaty. We wouldnt appreciate it burnt to all be crisp, but at least have a bit of chewy meat too.

[@swingswang9214]

You mentioned that different breeds of pig could result in UK vs US differences. I would suggest that differences in feed have a greater effect on flavour and texture than breed. In particular the reliance on maize in the US will give a softer fat than the mix of peas and other grains in UK pig rations. Pigs that are fed on mast (usually beech and oak) will have even firmer and more flavoursome fat, and it is possible to find this premium bacon in the UK in certain areas.

[@scottneil1187]

Nevermind the chemical crap they're pumping into the poor animals.

[@badadamuk]

It matters on the what the pigs are feed and space to move. Cuts are important but that's linked to what you use it for.

[@bigmacntings7451]

oh yes!!!!...any spanish,italian or portuguese can tell you that straight away!#

[@bigmacntings7451]

omg yeah fo sure.There is a whole other level of ham/pork expertise to be discovered several levels above quality bacon.Quality and type of feed is really important. You want a real treat then try proper farm bred bellotta ham.It's seriosly expensive, and seriousl good!...ot for the ameican pallet I think as this is very,very much quality over quantity.....even a small 4oz(100g) pack will be over $20/€20.Soooo worth it though you just have to take your time and savour every last tiny bit.

[@chrisaris8756]

If you go to a proper butcher rather than a supermarket you can often get through cut bacon that combines the back with the streaky part all in one big rasher. Also not all British bacon is back bacon. You can get collar bacon which is usually cheaper and has more fat through it but tasty. It used to be the bacon you always got in greasy spoon cafes. Not so prevalent these days though. I’ve never seen gammon in the USA. Maybe I’ve just missed it though. I like a gammon steak or a nice gammon joint don’t you?

[@johnphelps9788]

In Australia we can get either back bacon, streaky bacon or whole bacon rashers which is the back and streaky still attached in one piece. This is how I prefer my bacon as it is he best of both cuts. As for soft or crispy, it's all in the cooking. My wife prefers crispy while I prefer soft. No problem, we just cook my wife's for a little longer. I have eaten bacon in the USA and their crispy style seemed very greasy and I was told that's because they deep fry it. When living in the UK I found their bacon is either smoked or salted. I made sure I bought the smoked as the salted version was way too salty for me.

[@carolineskipper6976]

That was a really detailed dive into bacon (Mmmm.... :P ) Brit here. I usually buy streaky bacon, always unsmoked, and eat it either in a bacon sarni (sandwich) which for me has to be between buttered sliced bread rather than a bun, and eaten with a dash of ketchup, or chopped up and cooked with tinned tomatoes, onions, and a dash of tabasco as a pasta sauce. I also use it for covering meats being roasted in the oven.

[@blackbob3358]

Agree with everything, ms Skipper, BAR the bleeding tabasco. That's a criminal offence !

[@carolineskipper6976]

@@blackbob3358 😂😂

[@robharris8844U]

I'm a Brit and I generally use streaky bacon for sandwich/ bun but Back bacon for "Full English breakfast" without NITRATES. Friendly mention to our US cousins ; I believe crispy/burnt bacon has been linked to cancers of stomach and bowel.😮

[@chixma7011]

When you start frying a couple of rashers in the U.K. they almost immediately start to give off salty water, which is the preserving liquid. This will effectively poach/steam the rashers and prevent the fat from going crispy until it has all evaporated, by which time the meat is over cooked and tough. The best way to deal with this is to mop up the milky looking water with a good wodge of kitchen roll before it turns into the brown solid glaze sticking to the bottom of the frying pan. Then add a little oil, which will be hot in a matter of moments, and carry on frying. Alternatively, grill, airfry, or oven cook on a rack so that the liquid drips through. You will still be left with some clinging to the bacon but it’s less intense. The very best flavour with no nitrates and virtually no shrinkage and curling is dry-cured bacon. It’s noticeably more expensive than back bacon but tastes absolutely wonderful.

[@nightwishlover8913]

More likely to be Sodium polyphosphate, which holds the extra water that is used to increase the weight (and thus profit!)

[@yorakhunt447]

Back bacon and streaky bacon are both sold in the UK.

[@beverleyringe7014]

Us bacon is our streaky cheaper bacon.and they are rashers not strips,yes our bacon do crumble, if you overcook it,

[@Mike-James]

I remember when we used get Sides of pig where we would bone, cut and slice and dice up to 30 sides a week, everything is now prepackaged and you don't know the quality.

[@upthesock1]

The idea of American bacon vs English bacon, I think is wrong. What Americans call bacon, we also just call bacon, it's the way it's teated which differs. In America they like their streaky bacon cut thinner and cooked until crispy, that's basically the difference.

[@stuartwhyte4959]

@@Dionysos640She exactly that in the video!

[@d.i.l.l.i.g.a.f]

@@Dionysos640 Just because the USFDA deem bacon to be the "cured belly of a swine (hog)" (and as bacon goes back over 3500 years), does not mean that their description is the only valid one, Just like what they call cider in the US is simply fruit juice elsewhere, and an alcoholic beverage in other places. And Not all British bacon is taken from the Loin, it is more the pigs sides, going down to the belly centre, and simply folded while being cured for Middle Bacon (Which is best as offers more bacon in two different cuts) :) And from quick research it is not just one breed of pig, and can be the belly of any breed of pig, its just probably the main oscar meyer commercial stuff is probably from one preferred breed, as they know exactly how quickly they can go from piglet to bacon and what hormones/chemicals and foods to get them fattened up the quickest way possible for maximum product to profit ratio.

[@upthesock1]

@@Dionysos640 if you show American bacon to an English person, it’s literally just streaky bacon. As for it being a different pig, We have lots of different pig breeds here, but it’s still just bacon. What special breed of American pig do you use?

[@upthesock1]

I've had American bacon plenty of times, the biggest difference it that you cook it until it snaps, apart from that it's still just bacon. Oh and I've looked it up, you use Yorkshire pigs.@@Dionysos640

[@peterharridge8565]

@@Dionysos640 I've eaten both, but grant you UK streaky not for a long time. Because why would I? But US bacon is a disappointment. As nothing like bacon.

[@willhovell9019]

The Yank version appears to be streaky bacon, though with even more additives.

[@nightwishlover8913]

HFCS?

[@chrisperyagh]

Dry cured thick cut smoked back bacon is the only bacon worthy of the name bacon. My favourite bacon has the two crunchy oval bits of gristle (cartilage) in it, but I hardly ever see that nowadays.

[@boroblueyes]

Smoked pork bellies is the way to go. Anything else is just delicious pork. 🥓 We used to have a bacon festival in Savannah every year and there were so many ways to prepare bacon. Candied bacon, smoked bacon, chocolate covered bacon and alcohol infused bacon for starters. When I was young I cooked bacon in a frying pan but now I put it on a slotted roaster pan and cook it in the oven. 25 minutes in the oven @ 425° and it's perfect every time, the grease drains down into the pan, and the bacon is flat.

[@TukikoTroy]

To add to the debate: Brown sauce or Tomato Ketchup? For me it has to be Tomato Ketchup with the Brown sauce reserved for sausage sarnies.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Definitely ketchup for me - I basically eat things just for an excuse to have ketchup.

[@austinbeardshaw9344]

I'm the exact opposite, my rules are brown sauce on bacon, red sauce on sausage and if it's a bacon & sausage sandwich it's brown sauce because bacon has priority

[@terencesaunders1357]

Thank you Danny baker.

[@katrinabryce]

Egg yolk is much nicer than either😜

[@chrisfryer3118]

Egg n bacon, ketchup. Bacon, brown sauce. Sausage, mustard.

[@allenwilliams1306]

You left out “middle bacon”, which is the back and streaky parts of the side of bacon intact, without dividing it into the two sections. There is also “oyster bacon”, which is derived from the parts of the side towards the fore and hind leg joints: There ceases to be a distinction here between “back” and “streaky”. Before the advent of packet bacon, you would specify which type of bacon you wanted at the shop, and they would slice it for you to your required thickness.

[@tonyphotiou1742]

worst thing to happen in Australia regarding bacon is the US cooking shows. People are now requesting crispy bacon. As mentioned, in the video, the US cut cooks up crispy. It's virtually impossible to crispen up back bacon that we use

[@miketogwell1000]

Bizzarly, And I don't understand the science, But fry it with a thin layer of water in the pan at the start

[@reeseprince8]

It cooks more evenly with water

[@joepollard9476]

We like dry-cured thick-cut back bacon. We like it to be well done in an air fryer. This helps to crisp it and reduces the fat. If I didn't have it well done I'd cut off most of the fat. Bacon is good for a full English breakfast, but for a main meal we like a roasted leg of lamb because this is the tastiest meat obtainable. Sometimes in a restaurant I order gammon, egg and chips, which is really just a thick bacon steak.

[@arthurvasey]

Pigs in blankets used to be served as part of the Christmas traditional dinner and still are - but, as they are just sausages with bacon wrapped around them, no need to just save them for Christmas - you can do them as part of a buffet or something!

[@Falney]

I would never say that American bacon is bad. I love pork belly in pretty much any form.

[@steveknievel]

Bacon is life, any bacon tbh, but mostly use streaky for wrapping other meat and back bacon for fry-ups. The smell of cooking bacon is alluring, just thinking about it makes me want to eat it. Best cooked in cast-iron skillet imo Oh look it's lunchtime, guess what?

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Oooh, have never tried it in cast iron. What's on the lunch menu for you today?

[@steveknievel]

@@GirlGoneLondonofficial BLT for lunch, steak for dinner :P

[@My2up2downCastle]

I'm an old school bacon butcher (when halves of cured and sometimes smoked pigs were sent to stores....pre the vacuum packed rubbish sopping wet with brine) there's other cuts of bacon that are now not really found in the uk.....longback, middlecut, collar, oyster cut etc. The rind is now removed from all cuts of rashers.....and the rashers are sliced so thin, in most cases, they disintegrate rapidly before they get anywhere near a frying pan

[@mickb2009]

The USDA is not the world wide arbiter on Bacon this is not like US sports where Teams are declared World Champions in sports that only America Plays ( mostly ) Bacon is cured Pork and like most meats has various cuts just because America can't differentiate between them is not the worlds fault so technically the USDA definition is not correct its an American definition only

[@elknolasshrineofraja3966]

❤️😌It could equally be stated that Britons and non-Americans are not the “worldwide authority on what is and what is not bacon”; Americans are no more obligated to abide by British definitions than you are American definitions. In the UK American chocolate cannot “legally be called chocolate“ due not meeting its legal definition of chocolate, and in America UK bacon “cannot legally be called bacon” due to not meeting the American standard for what is bacon (deal with it)😌❤️

[@noelsalisbury7448]

I would have thought the Germans were the world's arbiters for Bacon. And Sausage. They even had a National Team Soccer ( The Entire rest of the world know this game as 'football') Player by the name of Schweinstieger - literally meaning 'Pig Farmer'.

[@noelsalisbury7448]

​@@elknolasshrineofraja3966Maybe hence 'candy bars' of.... chocolate?😊

[@GuruCube]

​@@elknolasshrineofraja3966, I mean, if the US wants to use the language, then they should use it correctly. I mean, they can just make their own words, rather than misusing the existing language. Your response aligns with the ignorance of most US people when they refer to 'America'. America is the whole continent and the US definitely doesn't speak for the whole continent. That's like a Brit constantly speaking on behalf of Europe. It's nonsense. Oh, and the correct form is 'obliged', not obligated. (ahhh, US education systems 🙄)

[@karlbmiles]

Typical hubris from 2nd-rate Britain. America proves it prowess every four years in the Olympics. But league baseball is played in Japan and Korea, and all over Latin America and Carribean. Basketball of course is world wide. Before you mock the world champion basketball or baseball teams, who do you think can beat them?

[@petethefungi]

In the UK, there are 3 types of bacon! Back, Streaky (USA equivalent) and Whole bacon which is Back and streaky still attached as it comes off the pig, usually only available from good butchers not supermarkets!

[@gillianrimmer7733]

I buy whole rashers from the local butcher - smoked middle it's called

[@colinhiggs70]

Something thay wasn’t covered in the video, but which surprised me when I first visited America, is that it seems common to have maple syrup with bacon. Typically a hot vat of maple syrup with a ladle is right next to that crispy bacon at a breakfast buffet.

[@markflatters9819]

Yes & also served with strawberries I have discovered on many visits.....I just can't get my head around that one!!

[@WhiskeyGulf71]

So the answer is simple, there are different cuts of bacon, we have both in the UK, ‘Back bacon’ is the larger rasher that has a medallion & what we call ‘Streaky bacon’ is the thinner rasher. There is also another rasher of bacon that can be bought that is called ‘Middle bacon’ which looks like a back bacon rasher with a tail of streaky bacon. Middle bacon used to be popular in the UK but we don’t see it so much today.

[@bartonseagrave9605]

Britain: Double Decker - bacon and egg. : Triple Decker - bacon, egg and tin tomatoes : Black Pudding - could be placed in all of the the above. Scotland : Square Loin Sausage was used in a Morning Roll. Glasgow Morning Roll had the darkertop. Ireland : All of the above. Wales : Welsh Rarebit.

[@andrewtadd4373]

Sussex pudding is historically made with streaky bacon, but then each family would have a variation on the recipe.

[@cessbuller7027]

U can get all American bacon on the isles in a uk supermarket it’s just streaky bacon. We use it as well. I don’t see any difference between American bacon and streaky

[@whitedrguy6503]

In Australia you get both types, pan size is back bacon, streaky is belly but you can get rashers which is basically both. Bacon is also popular on hamburgers and Pizza, an Aussie Pizza consists of bacon with an egg in the middle, very nice.

[@auntiejilly1954]

That US bacon is what we call streaky bacon. The most common bacon in UK is back bacon. UK bacon from a good local butcher with traceability is far better than US. Our welfare standards are higher, and we have more restrictions on additives, before and after slaughter.

[@dianasullivan3285]

We have both in UK we call the meaty one back bacon and the thin one streaky bacon I love streaky bacon crispy, it all comes from a pig so if you have a pig you have it all

[@shazzabbegg9934]

Is US bacon free from nitrates? Here in the UK we have a choice of with or without nitrates. I personally purchase nitrite free. 👌🏻

[@steelcrown7130]

I am in Australia, which in some ways is the cultural love-child of the UK (dominant and older influences through immigration) and the US (newer and more superficial influences via the media). But not with bacon, it seems... I can just remember the time when bacon rashers (slices) were sold sliced to order from the whole side of bacon - I'm 65. In those circumstances you ALWAYS got both the loin and the belly together. Thus there was not a difference in cost between the loin cut and the belly cut, because they were always sold together - and generally they still are, although now they are nearly always sold pre-sliced. They are shaped roughly like a comma or an apostrophe (or a 9 or a 6, you get the idea) with a long wiggly tail. What DID (and does still) make a huge difference in popularity was that *no-one* wanted bacon cut too close to the head of the beast, or the tail - in those circumstances the "best bit" - the meatiest bit from the loin - was just missing. The choicest rashers of bacon were (and still are) therefore called "middle cut" which is pretty self-explanatory. A nice oval of loin meat and a nice crisp tail piece. Together. What has happened in the last 20 years or so is that there has been a general movement against saturated fat, and so now you can always find bacon with the tail cut off completely - you just choose the meaty bit from the loin (which is called "short-cut" bacon). Without the fat from the "tail" It is flavourless and chewy (a bit like fried ham), but people are making a health choice, I guess. Finally, what you can now buy if you really look for it is streaky bacon a bit like the UK version you mention. I buy it in Costco (so in huge amounts), and it is marked "US style", although it is a fair bit thicker than the wafer-thin US bacon you showed.

[@KevinK-gk4wt]

I was brought up in the English countryside in the middle of the last century. Market stalls selling local produce were well used, today these stalls are rare - specialist Markets called Farmers Markets are as near as you can get. The Farmers Markets sell roughly the same produce but the presentation is very different. Bacon is a splendid example of the similarity and difference. There used to be 3 types, long back, short back and streaky. In modern times Long back has become rare now. Short back is just called Back and the other half of the long back rasher is, as you know, called streaky bacon in England and just plain Bacon in North America. The naming of parts and presentation of pig meat varies across the United Kingdom. In Wales I have been blessed to have been fed Long Back and Laver bread cooked by an Aga stove. In Cornwall the preparation of the Laver is a bit different and it’s not so good with any type of Bacon, but it goes well with Hogs pudding.

[@noelsalisbury7448]

Could you tell us what's "Hog's Pudding"? Is it like Black Pudding, which is so popular in the Bury/Bolton/ Greater Manchester areas. (?)

[@sarahhardy8649]

In the Uk, there’s also middle bacon, which is the back and streaky joined together. As a child, we would get the rubbishy fatty streaky bit and mum would save the meaty back for my father, it being the “ choicest cut”

[@grabtharshammer]

Streaky Bacon in the UK CAN be brittle and crunched up to use as a topping, it just depends upon how long you cook it. My Father who grew up before and during WWII would always overcook bacon (of any variety). Bacon within Sandwiches bought in a Supermarket will always (mostly) be made from Streaky Bacon (cheaper). If you get a Sarni in a Cafe or street van, or made at home will usually be made from Back or Middle cut Bacon. Though there is no law against using Streaky if you wanna. The biggest difference I see between Bacon in the USA vs the UK is that we now mostly Grill our Bacon to cook it where in the USA it mostly seems to be fried in a Frying Pan, so then that will lead to a major difference in taste depending on which type of Fat you use. Also you have to consider that Pigs in the USA are fattened more hence you get more fat on your streaky bacon than we do in EU / UK where over fattening of Pigs is frowned upon. Lastly you need to also consider just how much Brine is injected into the meat, it happpens on both sides of the Atlantic, but is strictly regulated in UK / EU but I can't find any statistics for the USA. Remember injecting Brine makes the meat heavier and therefore you get less meat and more water for your money depending on the Water content. In the UK, in a famous Supermarket that shall remain unamed (though it happened in all of them) I worked there in the 70's and we had brine and a massive syringe solely for the purpose of injecting the Pigs Carcasses before we cut them up and prepared them for sale - Bacon is Pig cured in more Brine than meat destined for Pork

[@davecass485]

I prefer Aussie bacon since I have traveled down under. It is like a combo of the two.

[@mattydare]

I love the 3rd type - smoked middle cut. It has the 'eye' of back bacon with the rest being streaky. Looking like a punctuation comma. The bacon sandwich - 1 slice of buttered bread, 2 or 3 rashers of bacon, cooked to however you like it, with 4 slices of fresh tomato laid on top. Add a runny yolk fried egg to the top of that. Burst the egg so it runs between the tomato and bacon. Then top with another slice of buttered bread. Washed down with strong tea or fresh coffee. Part of your 5 a day. 🍞🧈🥓🍅🍳🧈🍞☕

[@nadeansimmons226]

Interesting. I would say that in NZ we find middle bacon and streaky bacon taking the same amount of space as each other in supermarkets. However, as a general rule, I would say that streaky bacon tends to be the main type found on breakfast menus in cafes and restaurants rather than other types of bacon.

[@CliveScholefield]

We buy Belly Pork which is cut quite thick and can be Grilled or cooked in the oven.

[@seijika46]

You can buy both streaky and back bacon in the UK pretty much everywhere (just as how you can get both ham and gammon, smoked and unsmoked). Its partially a matter of taste/preference and partially a matter of suitability for the dish being prepared. For example, back bacon is not going to work for pigs in blankets but if you want a juicy BLT sandwich you're probably better off with back. Personally, if having a plain buttered bacon roll, I like crispy streaky bacon but if I'm having a full cooked breakfast I like back. (Either way, always need it to be cooked properly though - its always horrifying when someone seems to have decided to treat it like blue steak.) As for the difference between European streaky and US-style, at least part of the reason can be chalked up to international bans on ractopamine feed which the US uses - making pigs plumper but exponentially more unhealthy.

[@geoffclarke8934]

Great video Kalyn. On my sole visit to the US my Step Mum advised me to avoid US bacon as she said it looked like our Streaky Bacon but was overly crisp, fatty with an odd taste. She did say that overall she loved US food with the exception of bacon over there.

[@stevensmith7460]

You can get streaky bacon over here as easy as in the states. Does anyone remember, especially up north England, Rodey bacon ( spelling might be wrong ). Used to always be in the fridge in the corner shop, grocer would slice it on the meat slicer for you. Seem to remember it being the full piece of back and streaky bacon. Might just have been what we called it in our town.

[@Savagetechie]

Never mind streaky OR back just get middle bacon. 3 slice in a buttered roll with a bit of brown sauce. Heavenly.

[@julia2jules]

Never been to the USA. However, I prefer extremely well cooked streaky bacon so I would love your bacon. My favourite café (sadly closed now) used to see me walking up the seafront promenade and put on my bacon so that it wouldn’t take so long to get crispy once I arrived!

[@FreeFromReligion100]

I lived in the US for most of my adult life, and only returned to the UK 5 years ago. American bacon is one thing I couldn’t get used to in 35 years. It’s actually counted as a fat in the US Diabetic Exchange system. Although I like the flavour, I don’t like it crunchy, so would always undercook it. If I need a more fatty bacon for a casserole, I use lardons.

[@clivewilliams3661]

In the UK it would have been better to have consulted a pork butcher rather than the internet. British/Danish bacon consists of the loin and the belly i.e. Back and Streaky that will be sliced as a whole unit. It is then cut in half to provide Back bacon and Streaky bacon and originally there was a difference in price between the two, Streaky being the cheaper cut. The USDA is only an authority on bacon in US and nowhere else, in UK the FSA is the authority. Crispy bacon is found in the now eclectic UK cooking and can be found crushed and sprinkled over vegetables

[@jamesgilbart2672]

Good to air this issue - along with cheeses, breads, pastries, cakes etc., there are large differences in these foods. The first time I visited the US, I was appalled when the American I was with at the breakfast buffet smothered her almost cremated bacon with maple syrup. Now, I like [good] bacon and I like maple syrup but not together!

[@billmmckelvie5188]

BLT sandwich is also served here in the U.K..I find crispy Streaky Bacon too salty so I opt for Back Bacon plain or Smoked, if it is available I will opt for Oakwood smoked there is nothing more ideal than savouriong that flavour!

[@grahamgresty8383]

UK 'bacon bits' are soya that's bacon flavoued. The flavour disappears if baked bean sauce comes in contact with it. Bacon crisps are also vegan! People check the ingredients before commenting!

[@KevinMcNeill-n7h]

The best is Lancashire bacon, which has the back and streaky in one, can't get it here so I have to put up with Ayreshire bacon which is similar but a bit thicker cut. Bacon butties, the best!!

[@wiganfan3373]

That is Middle bacon

[@facelessnomore]

When I live in the US I would buy 'Canadian cut' from Target.

[@katrinabryce]

Bacon, Lettice & Tomato is fairly popular in the UK as well. If you go to a Tesco Express at lunch time, you should find them in stock. I sometimes have it for lunch. I have other things as well, but that is one of the regular options I choose.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Yes, definitely - researching this now for my UK vs USA sandwich video! Thanks for watching!

[@lemdixon01]

Yeah I think its a new thing in the UK from the US

[@parshakamarsh]

​@@lemdixon01you've been able to buy BLT's for years 😂

[@lemdixon01]

@@parshakamarsh okay 👍... by the way nice haircut, Frank Zapper back and sides.

[@gbulmer]

Pretty much every supermarket (and Boots) which carries a reasonable range of pre-packed chilled sandwiches has BLT (Bacon, Lettice & Tomato). Even Aldi, which has fewer options, has BLT. IIRC, one who offers a pre-packed "Selection" triple pack includes one BLT. I was getting them from the Tesco Express near the office in 2015, but IIRC Sainsbury's were selling them earlier. AFAICT, chill-cabinets full of 'fresh' pre-packed sandwiches is not common in the USA. They are missing out on the "meal-deal"! (watch "Lunchtime Lover" kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3u7n553i92CkKM by the Brett Domino trio for their take on it). Best Wishes. ☮

[@LeslieGallier-pe2jj]

Back bacon and streaky.. smoked and unsmoked eat all😋

[@TheSOULBRUVVA]

as a kid i grew up with middle-cut bacon which was green (unsmoked) the middle cut has both some belly and loin and the skin (rind is attached). Over time and as an adult i discovered Back bacon, streaky bacon and smoked bacon. Also i discovered "french bacon" from France dry cured back bacon, and some other bacons popular in Spain, Italy and Germany. there were many similarities between them all, with the French dry cure being really good. Last year I was able to Visit the USA (new York) for the first time, i took the culinary challenge of eating some American bacon! very crispy a little salty and that was it. We have had a resurgence of people experimenting with different cures, dry wet, molasses and other strange variations, but at the end of the day, a good dry cured British bacon smoked or not will carry the day always.

[@robertskrzynski2768]

some times you can find middle cut bacon, rare collar cut, every expansive gammon.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Will have to look for that!

[@highlyunlikely3698]

You will have to go to a real butchers to find collar bavon.​@GirlGoneLondonofficial

[@tiggerwood8899]

I've not seen bacon with the rind on for years. Used to love breaking my teeth on a well cooked piece of rind 😅😅

[@gennytun]

​@@tiggerwood8899I miss the rind! Loved to eat it if it was properly crispy.

[@germansnowman]

As a German who has lived in the US and now in the UK, I definitely prefer the US version.

[@billps34]

You can get the same bacon here. Next time you are in a supermarket look for "smoked streaky bacon". We don't call it American bacon here. Even better, avoid supermarkets if you can, and buy it from a proper butcher.

[@johntyson4428]

Another very interesting video, the whole series has certainly been enlightening and I have certainly learnt from them. I'm British but have been to the States and tried the bacon there. Personally I like bacon either way, in fact I like crispy bacon inbetween bread slices, but the more usual British style in rolls and as part of an English breakfast. On a totally different topic, I don't know how you come up with the topics, but I enjoy them so please keep them coming. An Octogenerian subscriber.

[@GirlGoneLondonofficial]

Thank you so much for watching and I'm glad you're enjoying - there are plenty more like this coming your way, so stay tuned! I think you're right - both bacon types are good, just in different ways. Have a great weekend.

[@craig5066]

Uk streaky bacon can have a lot of fat released into the pan it just depends on the quality used. I like to crisp my streaky bacon and use it cold on a BLT. If you want any of the uk bacon to be really crispy then just cook it until it’s crispy it’s really not that complicated.

[@JohnWilkes-tb5vc]

In the UK we do use pork belly as bacon because it is mostly fat with streaks of meat. We call this streaky bacon and it is used mainly for basting during roasting for example when cooking a roast turkey or roast chicken. We would never consider eating streaky bacon as it is not healthy to consume with so much fat. After roasting the streaky bacon is usually discarded. Back bacon is much meatier than streaky bacon and can be cooked to such an extent that it is crispy and snaps but this is very unusual and is not normally done. On visits to the USA I have tried to cut the fat out of the strips of bacon but it has always been futile because the basic production is different.

[@Chicken-x6q6d]

The butchers on my local market will sell me strips of smoked belly bacon like you get in the US, I like to use it for certain things like bacon topping for a cheeseburger or to crush up into salads and such, it’s even good to cook into strips just to eat as a snack since I don’t like biltong.

[@johnevans6644]

I left England to live in the USA 51 years ago, and one thing I really miss is Bacon Flavoured Bacon. Here in Florida it is almost impossible to find bacon unpolluted by Smoke and Sugar and Syrups. And if you want Baked Beans, do not choose a can labelled Baked Beans. They will be drowned in a sweet syrup. Choose Pork & Beans which are like English Baked Beans with a small lump of white fat added. I also miss English Sausages and Melton Mowbray Pork Pies. (Sausages available here are mostly labeled Italian or German.) Its impossible to bring in meat products through the customs. When returning to the US I try and eat breakfast at the airport. The best one was The Full Monty Breakfast at London's Heathrow. I find your videos very interesting and perceptive. Keep up the good work

[@casinodelonge]

Here in Ireland, there is a phrase called "Being on the pigs back" which means you are doing very well for yourself. I often wondered where that phrase came from and now I feel I might know!

[@andyf4292]

that streaky stuff is just for laying on the outside of a turkey your roasting

[@95Gabe]

If you buy supermarket bacon, it's full of water. Water washes out protein when cooked which is why it looks like egg white in the pan. If you can afford a few pennies more, buy dry-cured bacon. It shrinks less and tastes so much better.

[@Bobrogers99]

Bacon is part of three food groups: the fat group, the salt group and the nitrate group. Throw in a little protein and you have a perfect food! You can add it to almost anything, including ice cream. The only competitor for versatility is the onion. I prefer both in my sandwiches.

[@dubhanr]

What you call British/Canadian bacon was actually first created in Waterford Ireland by Henry Denny, before him bacon was thick & soaked in a brine so he cut thinner strips & cured the strips in a dry salt rub creating what today we call rashers.

[@TripsandFeasts1]

I’m a dual citizen as well (I say tube, not toobe). In an average USA supermarket, there is only a choice of one type of bacon, i.e., that what is called streaky in the UK & the average person there would only serve to a dog (seriously). In the average UK supermarket, there is a much greater choice of the different types of bacon, including streaky. Personally, I find USA bacon disgusting, far too much fat. Now, how about a video on cottage & shepherds pie?

[@brianpowell6058]

For breakfast or in a sandwich I prefer smoked back bacon but, when cooking a chicken, or liver, I lay rashers of streaky bacon over them both.

[@davebox588]

Interesting perspective, and great to see someone on YT going into some depth on a subject. Thanks.