Bacon is simply meat that is cut from a pig’s belly or back and then salt-cured. Before there was modern refrigeration, there was only one way to preserve meat–cure it. There are examples of ancient civilizations curing meat, from the Chinese to the Romans to Native Americans. 

Marcus Gavius Apicius, a first century nobelman in Rome, wrote one of the first known recipes for curing meat. He instructed that the salt should be added to the meat for 17 days. It should then be dried for two days in the open air and then smoked for two days. 

Salt is still part of the curing process today. It dehydrates any microbes and bacteria, killing them. Salt has a naturally occurring nitrate, so the salting and drying process changes the texture and color of the meat. 

In the Middle Ages, people began to use saltpeter, which is potassium nitrate, as a curing agent. Using this instead of plain salt gives a better color and flavor to bacon. 

Colonists in the United States kept bacon as a staple, stored in their larder. In fact, the word larder comes from the Latin word for bacon fat. The first colonists came with their own recipes for curing bacon, but soon learned other techniques from the Native Americans they encountered. 

Today, we have adequate refrigeration to store meat, but nothing beats the taste of good bacon. It is a long and labor-intensive process to salt and smoke meat. So, larger meat-processing plants generally cure their bacon in a salt brine, adding sweeteners and flavoring to the meat. Many still include the addition of nitrates, although the amount of nitrates used has been steadily decreasing. In fact, you can buy nitrate-free bacon. There is some concern over the long-term safety of nitrates, so read the label of the bacon you’re buying if you are worried about excessive nitrate consumption. 

And now there is a growing supply of artisan and small-batch bacon producers. You can get dry-cured, brine-cured, organic, and flavored bacon in lots of varieties. 

Bacon comes in many varieties and flavors: 

• Cured and uncured bacon
• Lardon – thick meaty bacon piece, usually cubed
• Macon – bacon made from mutton
• Slab
• Buckboard
• Canadian bacon
• Rashers – British word for a slice of bacon or ham
• Gypsy bacon
• Peameal bacon
• Pepper bacon – bacon covered in a crust of black pepper
• Prosciutto – Italian word for ham, cured and air-dried, but not smoked, usually served in paper-thin slices
• Pancetta – Italian bacon that is cured or pickled, but not smoked. Comes in a long, sausage-like roll.
• Lap yuk Chinese bacon
• Szalonna
• Guanciale
• Speck