The very IMPORTANT but PERPLEXING question of BACON

[AmoMondo]

Just had mine grilled with scrambled eggs but by that videos standard, mine was raw.looks like I cook mine NZ style.

 

Think we're on to solving the mystery though - it comes down to white fat left means not cooked properly. We use back bacon, probably more like what someone described as Canadian bacon earlier.

 

I avoid bacon on MDC as it is sometimes like shrapnel and not the kind that I normally eat. Toast is to avoid as well but very thing else at breakfast is just fine.

[papcx]

I wonder the same about how Aussies love Vegamite! Ughhhh!!! :)

 

 

Personally, I think a fondness for Vegemite is some sort of Darwin's natural selection at work!

 

 

I'll keep an open mind and give almost anything a go once. :)

 

 

I once heard somewhere, you should try everything in life at least once, except Morris dancing and incest.

[moomoocow]

Personally, I think a fondness for Vegemite is some sort of Darwin's natural selection at work!

 

 

 

 

 

I once heard somewhere, you should try everything in life at least once, except Morris dancing and incest.

 

 

Heh! I used to morris dance........:eek:

 

For some British people tipping is a province in China.

 

I have always tipped people in the service industry in the UK and during my trips to the US I will customary tip service staff up to 20% (or double the sales tax in New York state)

 

I even factored in the price of a tip when we went to a swanky steakhouse in Vegas. The meal cost I budgeted included an extra 30% to ensure I didn't stiff the tip. I've been accused of being over generous when tipping in the UK and one memorable birthday meal my mother in law snatched back £20 off the table that I left as a tip (which was only 10% of the bill total)

 

If people haven't grown up in a culture then perhaps they aren't being wilfully mean or tight. They are just not comperhending the practice of tipping. And (please don't flame me) it isn't a mandatory charge so some remain oblivious. It is up to us to educate in a thought provoking and subtle manner.

 

As for bacon - so long as it is on my plate I'll eat it. But do prefer the middle selection. Not "raw" or "crispy" - just right.

[legion3]

I once heard somewhere, you should try everything in life at least once, except Morris dancing and incest.

 

 

Or eat raw or undercooked pig...yuck ;)

[AmoMondo]

Or eat raw or undercooked pig...yuck ;)

 

Not a fan of prosciutto crudo then?

 

Love it myself.

Edited May 7, 2014 by AmoMondo

[Bracarense]

Sorry for interrupting but can anyone explain me, an European from Portugal, why this obsession with bacon that makes it theme for so many topics?

Our should one start a topic for Hot Chocolate? Eggs? Bread? Peanuts? Cheese?

[legion3]

Sorry for interrupting but can anyone explain me, an European from Portugal, why this obsession with bacon that makes it theme for so many topics?

Our should one start a topic for Hot Chocolate? Eggs? Bread? Peanuts? Cheese?

 

 

Well we in America eat/drink our Hot chocolate, eggs, bread, peanuts and cheese very similar to those in Europe and elsewhere...mostly.

 

We do not eat raw eggs and bread, usually. We do not eat our Bacon raw if we can avoid it.

 

The cultural divide is greater over bacon than any of the other products you have listed.

 

An egg over easy in America is the same egg as over easy in Europe but the side of bacon will be raw and chewy in Europe and cooked and crispy in America

[CruiseScrooge]

i'll take my bacon like i take my steak. rare or medium rare. NZ for this american.

[Bracarense]

legion3: You missed my point.

 

Why is bacon so important it deserves a topic?

It's just one of so many foods...

[Elmartellama]

What a healthy discussion about the bacon obsession (just as if there was no other alternative!)

[Skipper Tim]

An average supermarket in the UK will sell around 20-50 different types and cuts of bacon. The chances are however, it will not sell anything so low quality as is served on MSC.

 

"Shrapnel" is a good description from Amomondo. It is one of the regular complaints of UK guests which I blame on U.S. tastes.

 

My preferred bacon is back, thick-cut and trimmed so that it is totally devoid of fat. It should be cooked on both sides but should remain moist. The smell alone should make any human, other animal, or extra-terrestrial weaken.

 

I often think that we need to send a delicious piece of bacon to outer space to make inter-galactic peace.

 

The British are, on current evidence, the best-qualified to do this, apart from the space technology.

[GeorgesGal]

My view on American's overcooking bacon goes back to the days of trichinosis (sp?) which was carried by swine. Don't forget, we also cooked a pork roast to death!!!!

 

Don't cook either one that way any more,

 

Also, when on a cruise or in Europe, I always have the 'English Breakfast' some mornings, or the more continental European Breakfast of cold meats, cheeses, breads, etc. on others. I've also been known to partake of Belgium waffles - did they really originate in Belgium??

 

Try it all - you might surprise yourself and like it. I know I do. :<)

[conrad75070]

Being from the south-I do love bacon! I like it crispy and brown with my eggs and grits. After many trips in Europe-I have found that I like it also like the poster from New Zealand does. I always like to try everything and have not found anything I actually hate in different countries. I even loved Haggis! I don't eat oatmeal at home, but absolutely love the steel cut oats in Ireland. I believe in trying to eat like the locals when you visit their country. All Americans came from Europe-so I would never poke fun or say our way to eat is right or wrong. We, in the south, do eat some strange things ourselves and talk funny too! LOL!

 

Sorry but not all Americans came from Europe. Some from Asia, South America, Great Britain, etc.

[legion3]

legion3: You missed my point.

 

Why is bacon so important it deserves a topic?

It's just one of so many foods...

 

Bacon one of so many foods :eek:

 

Blasphemy... I suggest you don't get the point.

 

Crispy bacon seperates us as English speaking nations.

 

Most British food is sort of a dare anyhow ;)

The fact that they don't know how to cook bacon as well comes as no shock. :D

 

Bacon is one of the few foods that does deserve its own web page let alone thread.

[Katgoesonholiday]

legion3: You missed my point.

 

Why is bacon so important it deserves a topic?

It's just one of so many foods...

 

It's because it keeps cropping up in people's reviews and posts - usually in horrified tones as they divulge the shocking fact that the bacon was RAW!!!! :eek:

 

But as Amomondo clearly summarises, the difference seems to be in the fat. If it's present, white, and moist then by American standards it is considered raw. However, that is merely a matter of perspective as this is how it is generally preferred in a large portion of the rest of the world.

 

Anyway, the whole topic is part tongue in cheek and part exploring and clarifying different cultural expectations. Maybe someone reading this will one day encounter the moister style of bacon and instead on thinking 'Holy moly! It's raw!!!' They will instead think 'Oh! European style bacon! I'll give that a try!'

 

As for me, I'll eat my bacon in almost any style except shrapnel. And I'll give Morris dancing and incest a pass. Morris dancing because I can't even clap in time with everyone else and incest because ick! Have you met my brother? *shudders*

Edited May 7, 2014 by Katgoesonholiday

[AmoMondo]

Sorry but not all Americans came from Europe. Some from Asia, South America, Great Britain, etc.

 

Very true, except Great Britain aka United Kingdom is in Europe.

[conrad75070]

Very true, except Great Britain aka United Kingdom is in Europe.

 

I was told by a nice couple from Wales that the United Kingdom is not part of Europe. Therefore, they would not be european.

But I may be wrong.

Edited May 7, 2014 by conrad75070

[Alex71]

I was told by a nice couple from Wales that the United Kingdom is not part of Europe. Therefore, they would not be european.

But I may be wrong.

 

I guess the verdict is still out. AFAIK, te UK is considering a referendum on EU membership for some time between 2015 and 2017, but geographically, it can't swim away anyway.

[WoodyWindy]

Ah, bacon! Such a wondrous combination of pork, fat, salt, and smoke that when cooked properly (by whatever definition you should choose) is nigh unto the elixir of the Gods. Or, as Emeril Lagasse was fond of saying:

 

"Pork Fat Rules!"

 

Now, that being taken care of, the fact remains that most Americans have never even heard of, let alone experienced, the joys of back bacon. We live our lives with little more than the streaky bits, often sliced so thin that you could almost see through it. It is sold in packets wherein rashers as thin as the plastic that encases them are nearly sealed together. Institutionally, many restaurants even use partially (or fully) pre cooked rashers, and then COOK IT AGAIN!!! :eek: Little wonder, then, that the average American considers any bacon not brown and fragile enough to give you splinters to be practically raw.

 

Some of us, however, live in areas where thick, freshly sliced, bacon is readily available, and we do typically like ours much softer than the average. In addition, I personally LOVE back bacon, properly cooked as noted early in the thread, and make a point of seeking it out whenever I am on the east side of the Atlantic.

[Katgoesonholiday]

American is the home of many culinary atrocities. Pumpkin flavored everything is one thing that comes to mind! :p

[AmoMondo]

I was told by a nice couple from Wales that the United Kingdom is not part of Europe. Therefore, they would not be european.

But I may be wrong.

 

Fair enough, but more wishful thinking on their behalf., or they may have been talking about the Euro zone which we are not part of.

 

We are (UK) currently a member of the European Economic Community. We go into the EU passport lines at airports. We are subject to European laws. That makes us European even if we have chosen not to use the euro.

 

I'm a Scot, a Brit and a European. Don't see any of that a contradiction. Some of that may change depending on future referendums (Scottish independence in sept and perhaps one on EU membership). Personally I'll be very happy if we end up with status quo.

[Out to sea!]

Fair enough, but more wishful thinking on their behalf., or they may have been talking about the Euro zone which we are not part of.

 

We are (UK) currently a member of the European Economic Community. We go into the EU passport lines at airports. We are subject to European laws. That makes us European even if we have chosen not to use the euro.

 

I'm a Scot, a Brit and a European. Don't see any of that a contradiction. Some of that may change depending on future referendums (Scottish independence in sept and perhaps one on EU membership). Personally I'll be very happy if we end up with status quo.

 

Is Braveheart still fighting?? :p

[Out to sea!]

American is the home of many culinary atrocities. Pumpkin flavored everything is one thing that comes to mind! :p

 

Same goes for beans or fried tomatoes for breakfast!

[cruiserfromalabama]

Sorry but not all Americans came from Europe. Some from Asia, South America, Great Britain, etc.

I stand corrected! Sorry to offend! I meant that we all came from somewhere else besides America(except the American Indians)! Point to my post was that everyone has their likes and dislikes about food or whatever and no one is either right or wrong(American or European or whatever the nationality).

[Out to sea!]

I stand corrected! Sorry to offend! I meant that we all came from somewhere else besides America(except the American Indians)! Point to my post was that everyone has their likes and dislikes about food or whatever and no one is either right or wrong(American or European or whatever the nationality).

 

Even the American Indians came from somewhere else (Asia, across the land bridge that used to be between Russia and Alaska about 12,000 years ago). I completely agree with the rest that you said. :p