Grumbles about watery bacon that stews instead of crisping when you cook it have been around for some decades, since butchers started pumping the curing liquid into the flesh instead of allowing it to soak.
Not only does the additional water speed up the production, it also adds weight - which is why dry-cured bacon, taking a week or 10 days to cure, is more expensive. But then you are not paying for the additional water which oozes out when you cook it.
Bacon is pork that has been cured with salt or brine and sometimes other flavourings such as spices, herbs, sugar or honey, then dried and/or smoked.
In the centuries before refrigeration, salt-curing and smoking preserved the meat for storage.
It would be found hanging from the rafters in kitchens or cottages, gaining more flavour from the smoke from the cooking fire.
These days, although bacon no longer needs to be cured to preserve it, we still like the flavour.
However, most modern bacons use less salt than in the past, and need to be kept in the fridge - few of us have smoky kitchen rafters to hang it from anyway.
It goes without saying that bacon given a long, traditional curing has a more complex flavour than industrially cured ones, which can be processed and packed the same day and may include additives such as soy, gelatine, thickeners, stabilisers and artificial smoke flavouring as well as water.
Some bacon cured in New Zealand is made from imported pork, but bacon made from New Zealand pork carries the "New Zealand Pork" logo.
Nitrates and nitrites are traditionally used in the curing process to suppress bacteria that can cause botulism.
They can form cancer-causing nitrosamines, although it appears there is no clear evidence that the nitrites in cured meats cause cancer.
It is also thought that cooking meat in hot pans or barbecue flames also contributes to the production of nitrosamines.
So it makes sense to eat cured meats in moderation and to cook bacon gently.
All the more reason for choosing a small amount of a good-quality product.
Types of bacon
Slices of bacon are called rashers. A whole side of bacon (not that you see them much) is called a flitch.
Streaky bacon is usually from the belly, and has layers of fat and meat. Some say it has the best flavour, and is the one to use for draping over dry cuts of meat or poultry to keep it moist, and for making crispy lardons to top Caesar salad and other dishes. Middle bacon has both a meaty eye and the streaky bacon "tail". Eye bacon, or D-loin, is middle bacon without the streaky tail.
Shoulder bacon is, not surprisingly, from the shoulder and is not considered as good-looking as loin or streaky bacon, although it can taste as good. It is often used for quiches, pies and stews as it is often more economical than middle bacon.
Bacon ends are also a good buy for cooking as you can usually cut it into chunky bits, although it can be hard to find.
Many of us associate bacon with breakfast, but bacon is a versatile flavouring in many savoury dishes from sandwiches to muffins or quiche It can be crisped and crumbled over salads and other dishes or, in an age-old method, added for extra flavour (a bacon bone will do, too) to bean or vegetable dishes, soups or stews.
Lamb's liver and bacon is a delicious traditional combination.
Thin streaky bacon rashers can be wrapped round other food items before grilling or roasting, such as oysters or prunes, savouries known respectively as angels or devils on horseback, or asparagus spears or carrot or other vegetable batons.
Cut and dried
How do you find a dry bacon that doesn't exude water and stew as it cooks?
Buy a dry-cured bacon (some brands are labelled as such) or one that has been wet-cured then properly smoked so it loses the additional moisture.
To avoid wet bacon look at the ingredient list. Not all brands state the percentage of pork, but those that do range from 80% to 96%. If bacon is only 80% pork then water probably makes up most of the other 20%. A packet of watery bacon is usually soft and squidgy.
To get a good, dry bacon, buy it from the producer - old-fashioned butchers who cure their own bacon, or at a farmers market. There are several stalls at the Otago Farmers Market at the Dunedin Railway Station on Saturday mornings which cure their own bacon: Havoc Pork, A Touch of Dutch, Leckies, and Waitaki Bacon and Ham.
Last year saw the first 100% New Zealand Bacon Competition and some of the winners' products are available in supermarkets. Look for Heller's Tasty Middle Eye Bacon, which won the Bacon of the Year award, or the silver-medal Kiwi Heritage honey-cured middle bacon, or the bronze-winning Verkerk's streaky.
You may also want to consider how the pigs were raised, and buy bacon from free-range farmers such as Havoc or Freedom Farms.
The disturbing thing is, according to Robyn Kippenberger, chief executive of RNZSPCA, that although sow crates, which severely restrict the movement of sows feeding their piglets, are banned in the United Kingdom, they are allowed by law in New Zealand and are still widely used, as are antibiotics in the feed. Industry claims that sow crates are humane and that the situation in New Zealand is better than the UK are not true, she says.
• Select good bacon
Look for pinky-red flesh and white fat that is not sticky. The rind should be smooth and it should smell salty or smoky.
If buying vacuum-packed bacon, make sure the plastic is tight around the slices. Once opened, keep it tightly wrapped in foil or a zip-top bag and use within one week. Very soft, squishy bacon is probably watery.
• Bringing home the bacon
This well-used phrase means to be successful in a venture, but there are several opinions as to its origins.
The most popular explanation appears to have originated in the 12th-century English town of Great Dunmow in Essex where a side (flitch) of bacon was said to have been given to a married man who could swear he had not quarrelled with his wife for a year and a day. Apparently only eight people managed to bring home the bacon in 500 years!
However, the Oxford English Dictionary first records its use in the 20th century, so there may be something in another story: when Jack Johnson, an African-American boxer, won the world heavyweight boxing championship in 1910, his mother is said to have exclaimed: "He said he'd bring home the bacon and the honey boy has gone and done it".
• Bacon & bean potato savoury
Preparation: 10min
Cooking: 15-20min
Serves: 4
200g bacon
2 Tbsp oil
2 onions, chopped
500g potatoes, quartered
2 tsp lemon pepper
150g frozen green beans
2 tsp cornflour
1 Tbsp water
Method -
Chop the bacon and fry until crisp. Remove from the pan. Add the oil and onions to the pan and cook until the onion is lightly browned.
Add the quartered potatoes to the onion and water to cover. Season with the lemon pepper.
Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are just tender.
Add the frozen beans and cook until just tender.
Mix the cornflour in water and pour over the vegetables to coat and glaze.
Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Place in a serving dish and sprinkle with the bacon.
- This recipe is from Pip Duncan's All Seasons, All Reasons cookbook.
