I did a little crowd-sourcing last week, and asked people (all of them British) what their favourite food was. Result: 80% said bacon, 15% chocolate, and 5% chips.Bacon is crucial to British meals - there's bacon and eggs (and other things!) for breakfast, bacon sarnie for lunch, and there are fry-ups for later in the day.
479,000 tonnes are consumed per year.
Whilst bacon is eaten all over Europe, of course, I doubt whether you'd find a single French or Italian person, say, who'd list it as their fave.
Admit it, it's remarkable. Bacon flavoured crisps, popcorn... then there is the very popular 5000kcal "Bacon Explosion" (American in origin, but with a huge British following on Youtube -check it out!)- and bacon has even entered the language -"bringing home the bacon", "saved may bacon" etc.
Another curious thing: Bacon lovers the world over eat mostly rashers, whereas Britons prefer thickly-cut back bacon, which looks a bit like a horizontally-sliced pig.So why ARE the British so keen on their bacon? What inner craving is satisfied by eating bacon?
(Sorry, couldn't resist!)
Naughty Margit ! Personally, I like the smell of bacon more than the taste.Prefer a sausage to bacon any day ! x
ReplyDeleteOh you're so cruel Margit. It was my Sunday morning treat but since starting on treatment to reduce my cholesterol level, I'm not allowed bacon any more! That goes for sausages and black pudding too dammit. RIP the full English.
ReplyDeleteWhy do the British love Bacon so? My mind is filled with reasons... Nostalgia, texture, taste, the smell and sound of bacon frying, affordability, tradition, and of course, it is a straightforward 'treat' to cook.
ReplyDeleteRight, I'm off for a Full English.
Agree with Serenaf66, it's the smell of bacon sizzling in the pan that makes me dizzy. Enjoyed the placement of that last photo.
ReplyDeleteI love your comments, thank you youngandfoodish, essexgourmet, Serena, Hipvet -it's an on-going debate! Interculturalism and thinking about the in's, out's and why's of food will never seize to fascinate me!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Margit. I do like nice bacon but I cannot, not for the life of me, understand why Brits like it so much. But then Finns love their sausage, disgusting reconstituted meat that has more unmentionables in it than meat...great post again xx
ReplyDeleteI went through a brief spell in my teens, trying to commit to a vegetarian diet, full of noble ambition. It was the smell of bacon frying that was my undoing. I lasted a week.
ReplyDeleteBacon tastes great.
Fact.
I totally agree! But we seem to relish it so much more than anybody else...
ReplyDelete