On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This article is about the meat. Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly bacon wrapped asparagus bundles less fatty parts of the back. Bacon is also used for barding and larding roasts, especially game, including venison and pheasant, and may also be used to insulate or flavour roast joints by being layered onto the meat.

Before the advent of cheap and widespread artificial refrigeration in the modern era, the curing of meat was necessary for its safe long-term preservation. Bacon is cured through either a process of injecting it with or soaking it in brine, known as wet curing, or rubbed with salt, known as dry curing. Bacon is distinguished from other salt-cured pork by differences in the cuts of meat used and in the brine or dry packing. Historically, the terms “ham” and “bacon” referred to different cuts of meat that were brined or packed identically, often together in the same barrel. For safety, bacon may be treated to prevent trichinosis, caused by Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm which can be destroyed by heating, freezing, drying, or smoking.

Bacon type differs depending on the primal cut of pork from which it is prepared, which reflects local preference. Side bacon, sometimes known as “streaky bacon”, comes from the pork belly. It has long alternating layers of fat and muscle running parallel to the rind. Back bacon contains meat from the loin in the middle of the back of the pig. It is a leaner cut, with less fat compared to side bacon. Collar bacon is taken from the back of a pig near the head. Cottage bacon is made from the lean meat from a boneless pork shoulder that is typically tied into an oval shape.

Jowl bacon is cured and smoked cheeks of pork. Guanciale is an Italian jowl bacon that is seasoned and dry cured but not smoked. The inclusion of skin with a cut of bacon, known as the ‘bacon rind’, varies, though is less common in the English-speaking world. The most common form sold is middle bacon, which includes some of the streaky, fatty section of side bacon along with a portion of the loin of back bacon. In response to increasing consumer diet-consciousness, some supermarkets also offer the loin section only.