Due to health reasons, most people prefer non fat food and though existence without bacon in your regular diet may be difficult, it is good to know about the calories in bacon, which bacon has the most fat?

But due to the demand of leaner meats, as compared to 30 years back, pork especially bacon has about 50% less fat than before. But if you are on a diet, concerned about the calories in bacon or just want to avoid high fat meat, there are other options available such as turkey bacon, peanut better bacon and many other recipes that have low fat varieties.

How is Bacon Made?

Basically, bacon is cured pig meat or pork. It is prepared from a variety of different cuts of meat such as pork belly, side and back cuts. The bacon carved from the bellies is called ‘fatty’, ‘streaky’ or even American style bacon. The bacon carved from the side cut has less fat and more meat than that taken from the belly. The back cuts are distinctly divided into two portions: Fatback and Pork Loin. The Fatback is pure fat while the pork loin is nearly devoid of any fat and is considered lean meat. The bacon cured pork loin is commonly addressed as back bacon.

Those of you who are on a high protein and low carb diet, bacon are a perfect snack providing the crunch that other meat snacks lack. To help you lower the calories in bacon and go slow on the fat content, you need to go with lean bacon and when you cook it, drain it well using paper towels. However, a word of caution to all bacon lovers, when you cook bacon do not cook for long time over high heat as the nitrite curing agents are turned into nitrosamine.

Uses of Bacon

Bacon is eaten boiled, smoked, baked or grilled and even as flavoring in many dishes. It is used for larding and barding game bird roast. In USA, bacon is usually smoked and valued as both a flavoring agent and for fat. In Italy, bacon is cooked as small cubes which are known as pancetta while the thinly sliced ones are known as antipasto and are eaten uncooked.

Stages of Bacon Manufacture

Differentiating between salt pork and ham may be confusing but you need to know that the brine is different for both. The brine for bacon has sodium nitrate or saltpeter during the curing period. While during later stages, sodium erythorbate is used to fasten the process of curing and is also required to stabilize the color.  For adding more flavors, maple or brown sugar is sometimes used in products. To improve texture and reduce splattering while bacon is being fried and improve cutting slices, sodium polyphosphate is added.

Some people prefer smoked bacon which is smoked using a wide variety of woods to give it a distinct flavor. The process of smoking bacon can take about 10 hours or more, depending upon the flavor that is required.

Types of Bacon Flavors

But if you love bacon and are concerned about the calories in bacon , you can try peanut butter bacon or even chocolate covered bacon. Those who are looking for healthier options while not missing out on the taste of bacon can try turkey bacon and those who want leaner meat can go in for pork loin bacon.

But as bacon is saturated in fat, you need to have a balanced diet with fresh fruits and vegetables. People with cardiac ailments should avoid red meat.

Coming back to the question calories in bacon, which bacon has the most fat, it is now easy to judge that bacon cut from the belly or streaky bacon has the most fat content. It is cured, smoked and sometimes both processes are used. The crispy snap comes from the fried fat and that is also what contains the maximum flavor. For those who cannot miss out on the fat and flavor of bacon saturated fat, might stick to the favorite American styled bacon.

Disadvantages of Eating Bacon

Though it may be a regular part of your diet, having fatty meats can be disadvantageous to your health especially if you lead a sedentary life. Too much fatty meat especially from calories in bacon will lead to high doses of sodium which can lead to high cholesterol, weight gain and this in turn leads to heart and kidney diseases. But if you just cannot stop eating bacon, you can go in for leaner bacon and those with low levels of sodium content. Check on the packing and the ingredients including preservatives would be listed.

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