bacon mania
{{Short description|Enthusiasm for bacon in North America}}
File:Chicken Fried Bacon.jpg]]
Bacon mania is passionate enthusiasm for bacon in the United States{{cite web | last = Jenkins | first = Kathie | title = Baconmania is sweeping the nation | publisher = TwinCities.com | date = November 6, 2008 | url = http://www.twincities.com/ci_10906048?nclick_check=1 | access-date = April 5, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090415125905/http://www.twincities.com/ci_10906048?nclick_check=1| archive-date= April 15, 2009 | url-status= live}}{{cite web | last = Lapan | first = Tovin | title = Bacon Mania: Are U.S. Pigs Magical? | publisher = San Diego Union-Tribune | date = April 3, 2009 | url = http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/2009/04/bacon_mania_are_us_pigs_magica_1.html | access-date = April 5, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408024612/http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/2009/04/bacon_mania_are_us_pigs_magica_1.html| archive-date= April 8, 2009 | url-status= live}}"Robin Roberts also talked about Bacon-mania, and the country seemingly going bacon-obsessed. 'Baconographers' say this is because bacon is a comfort food, and people are taking highly great pleasure in eating something that's nutritionally taboo, and then extracting even more bliss by exponentially increasing the decadence factor!" {{cite web | last = Tamsen | first = Trevor | title = Robin Roberts Chats With News10 Goodmorning | publisher = KXTV | url = http://www.news10.net/news/goodmorning/story.aspx?storyid=57031&catid=53 | access-date = April 5, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090414231019/http://www.news10.net/news/goodmorning/story.aspx?storyid=57031&catid=53 | archive-date = April 14, 2009 | url-status = dead }} and Canada.Amy Grigg [Bacon, bacon everywhere:] Toronto gets reacquainted with a fatty friend, Daily Dish, Pantry Raid March 20, 2009, Toronto LifeSimone Abrahamsohn [https://www.thestar.com/living/article/648114 Get wrapped up in a sizzling culinary trend] All over Hogtown, bacon is the new 'It' ingredient, Hip to the Strip June 10, 2009, Toronto Star Novelty bacon dishes and other bacon-related items have been popularized rapidly via the internet.{{cite web | last = Meehan | first = Peter| title = Bacon is dead! Long live bacon! | work = Salon.com | date = April 4, 2009 | url = http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/10/long_live_bacon/index.html?source=rss | access-date = April 5, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415080656/http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/10/long_live_bacon/index.html?source=rss| archive-date= April 15, 2009 | url-status= live}}
{{cite web | last = Marvel | first = Bill | title = We are living in the Golden Age of Bacon | publisher = The Dallas Morning News | date = April 4, 2009 | url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/lifetravel/stories/DN-nf_baconmain_1213liv.State.Edition1.20447c.html#slcgm_comments_anchor | access-date = April 5, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430140457/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/lifetravel/stories/DN-nf_baconmain_1213liv.State.Edition1.20447c.html| archive-date= April 30, 2009 | url-status= live}}
The movement has been traced to the late 1990s when high-protein foods became a more prominent diet focus due in part to the Atkins diet."'I'm a bacon fanatic,' he said. 'When I go out to breakfast, I order oatmeal with bacon on the side. Nothing tastes like bacon.'" {{cite news | title = The fat of the land: popular, high-protein diet helps fuel bacon blitz | publisher = Rocky Mountain News | date = June 6, 2009 | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RM&p_theme=rm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB4E0C7E22F07C2&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | access-date = April 5, 2009}}"So why are so many people suddenly so into bacon? James thinks it's about people taking guilty pleasure in eating something that's nutritionally taboo, and then extracting even more bliss by exponentially increasingly the decadence factor. A hot dog is bad for you. A hot dog wrapped in bacon and sandwiched between two oblong maple doughnuts is hard-core food porn." Jill Rosen, "Bacon nation." Since then, bacon-focused events and gatherings celebrating the food have been reported and bacon-related exploits have been featured in the media. Many have criticized bacon mania due to the promotion of processed meats.
Innovation
Image:Bacon donut.jpg, Portland, Oregon]]
Newer bacon creations have joined more traditional foods like the BLT, Cobb salad, clams casino, and club sandwich. Dishes include hard-boiled eggs coated in mayonnaise encased in bacon (the "heart attack snack")[http://www.alternet.org/story/141498/gonzo_gastronomy%3A_how_the_food_industry_has_made_bacon_a_weapon_of_mass_destruction Gonzo Gastronomy: How the Food Industry Has Made Bacon a Weapon of Mass Destruction] by Arun Gupta, AlterNet, October 9, 2010 and Wendy's 'Baconator' (six strips of bacon on a half-pound cheeseburger). The growing popularity of bacon has also encouraged product introductions such as bacon salt,{{cite web | last = Lazor | first = Drew | title = Bacon Salt: Don't Snort It | website = Philadelphia City Paper | date = March 24, 2009 | url = http://mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/03/24/bacon-salt-%E2%80%94-dont-snort-it/ | access-date = April 4, 2009 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20090328110429/http://mealticket.blogs.citypaper.net/blogs/mu/2009/03/24/bacon-salt-—-dont-snort-it/ | archive-date = March 28, 2009 | url-status = dead }} maple bacon donuts, and baconnaise.
Bacon food oddities include the bacon explosion ("a barbecued meat brick composed of 2 pounds of bacon wrapped around 2 pounds of sausage"),{{cite web| last = Cochrane | first = Kira | title = Going the whole hog | website= Mail & Guardian | date = March 5, 2009 | url = http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-03-05-going-the-whole-hog | access-date = April 5, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090318191516/http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-03-05-going-the-whole-hog| archive-date= March 18, 2009 | url-status= live}} chicken-fried bacon, bacon-infused vodka, bacon ice cream,{{cite web | title = Candied bacon ice cream | date = 9 March 2008 | publisher = DavidLebovitz.com | url = http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/03/candied_bacon_i_1.html | access-date = April 5, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090412051612/http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/03/candied_bacon_i_1.html| archive-date= April 12, 2009 | url-status= live}} bacon jerky,{{Cite web|last=Myers|first=Dan|date=November 20, 2015|title=Isn't Bacon Jerky Just Cold Bacon?|url=https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/isn-t-bacon-jerky-just-cold-bacon|access-date=January 13, 2021|website=The Daily Meal|language=en}} and chocolate-covered bacon, all popularized over the internet.{{cite web | title = Get Your BBQ On: Bacon-Infused Webinar Sheds Light on Social Media Marketing Viral Marketing Sensation BBQ Addicts Join Marketbright for a Free Webinar on Marketing 2.0|website= Marketwire | date = March 24, 2009 | url = http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Marketbright-965147.html | access-date = April 6, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090327045213/http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Marketbright-965147.html| archive-date= March 27, 2009 | url-status= live}}
Bacon has been adapted into products including bacon bubble gum, bacon band-aids, sizzling-bacon-flavored rolling papers,{{cite web|url=http://rollingsupreme.com/Products/Rolling_Papers/Juicy_jays/|title=Welcome to JuicyJays.com|publisher=rollingsupreme.com|access-date=December 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122062258/http://rollingsupreme.com/Products/Rolling_Papers/Juicy_jays/|archive-date=January 22, 2009|url-status=dead}} and bacon air freshener. A bacon alarm clock that wakes people up with the smell of cooking bacon has been announced."10 minutes before you're supposed to wake up, it'll start cooking the bacon. The smell will waft out, waking you up to the odor of sweet, sweet hogfat." [http://www.portalino.it/nuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=36779 Wake and Bacon is most delicious alarm clock ever] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426051717/http://www.portalino.it/nuke/modules.php?name=News |date=April 26, 2009 }} Portalino[http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/wake-n-bacon-is.php] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802192257/http://dvice.com/archives/2008/07/wake-n-bacon-is.php|date=2009-08-02}} July 30, 2008, Dvice
A 2009 story in The Baltimore Sun describes bacon as being "more than bacon," and stated that for "obsessive and adoring Bacon Nation it's about cheap thrills and a chance for Internet fame.""Dan Taylor slathers Baconnaise on turkey sandwiches and has used it as a sauce to dunk steamed shrimp. The Lutherville foodie also makes a dip by crumbling bacon into warm cheese that he calls "life-altering". Phillip Kerrigan... recently tried bacon bread pudding, bacon peanut butter cups, bacon toffee and bacon rum. For a friend's birthday, he whipped up a batch of homemade bacon and egg ice cream. Here are just two proud soldiers of the burgeoning Bacon Nation, marching forward boldly and bravely, if somewhat greasily, striving to push the conventional limits of a once-ordinary breakfast meat." {{cite news | last = Rosen | first = Jill | title = Bacon nation: Devotees take this cheap meat to extremes | work =The Baltimore Sun | date = March 25, 2009 | url = http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bal-fo.bacon25mar25,0,2284866.story | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130117180720/http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/dining/bal-fo.bacon25mar25,0,2284866.story | url-status = dead | archive-date = January 17, 2013 | access-date = April 5, 2009 }} Calling it "like an extreme sport", the article described the innovators and enthusiasts celebrating bacon in all its incarnations.
Organization
The increased interest in bacon has led to Bacon-of-the-month clubs,{{cite web | title = Bacon of the Month Club | website= The Grateful Palate | url = http://www.gratefulpalate.com/?p=Category_11 | access-date = March 15, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090322001006/http://www.gratefulpalate.com/?p=Category_11| archive-date= March 22, 2009 | url-status= live}}{{cite news | title = Food Gifts That Keep On Giving: From Utensils To Treats, Bobby Flay Likes To Give (Or Receive) These Presents | work= CBS | date = December 13, 2007 | url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/food-gifts-that-keep-on-giving/
}} a dating app for bacon lovers,[http://www.oscarmayer.com/find-bacon-love/ Oscar Mayer's Sizzl app.] and even "bacon camps."[http://baconcamp.org/ Bacon camp.org][http://baconcamp.com/description.html Bacon camp.com] Seattle hosted a "bacon camp" where bacon was included in an assortment of bacon dishes and other bacon-related items. Bacon has even been referred to as a fashion statement after a bacon bra was photographed.{{cite news | last = Hepola | first = Sarah | title = Bacon mania: Why are Americans so batty for bacon? It's delicious, it's decadent--and it's also a fashion statement. | work= Salon| date = July 7, 2008| url = http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/07/07/bacon_mania/ | access-date = March 15, 2009}}
The Portland Monthly noted that "Bacon is such a quintessential breakfast staple, even vegetarians stake a claim to their own versions."{{cite news| last= Barker| first= Brian| title= B... Is for Bacon: Pork-Drunk Love| work= Portland Monthly| date= March 2009| url= http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/issues/current-issue/articles/0309-good-morning/8/| access-date= April 6, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090430134412/http://www.portlandmonthlymag.com/issues/current-issue/articles/0309-good-morning/8/| archive-date= April 30, 2009| url-status= dead}} A website called "Bacon Today" was started to provide updates about bacon related happenings.{{cite web|website= Bacon Today|title= Daily Updates on the World of Sweet, Sweet Bacon|publisher= Yards Media|url= http://bacontoday.com|access-date= April 6, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090322232340/http://bacontoday.com/|archive-date= March 22, 2009|url-status= dead}}
The San Francisco Weekly reported on the first "BaconCamp" held "in solidarity with the growing popularity of events (see the recent Grilled Cheese Invitational)" and reported that the event "demonstrated just how much of a high bacon is currently on in terms of notoriety and how far people are able to stretch one culinary theme".Tamara Palmer [http://blogs.sfweekly.com/foodie/2009/03/last_saturday_baconcamp.php Saturday Gluttony: BaconCamp] March 23, 2009 The event included lectures on bacon as art, a PowerPoint presentation of the Obacon project (a recreation of the famous Obama Hope poster), as well as judging and awards. The slide show from the event includes a wide range of innovative food and decorative bacon entities.[http://www.sfweekly.com/slideshow/view/270135 BaconCamp slide show] The San Francisco Weekly advised those attending to live, breathe, and smell like it and to bring a bacon dish.Michael Leaverton
March 13, 2009 [http://www.sfweekly.com/2009-03-11/calendar/food-apocalypse Food Apocalypse] San Francisco Weekly
Events
In and around Baltimore, Maryland, bacon has featured at various eating and drinking establishments. There is a "clamoring" for the bacon happy hour at Bad Decisions bar in Fells Point which includes a menu that is completely redone with bacon dishes and big bowls of bacon served on the bar (using up to 30 pounds of bacon in a two-hour period). A café in Hampden offers the Bacon Bulleit, a cocktail of bourbon, lemon, and maple syrup, "with applewood smoked bacon replacing the swizzle stick."
The "Bacon Takedown" competition in Brooklyn, New York, was held March 29, 2009,Weekend Scheduler [http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/02/bacon_takedown.html Bacon Takedown] New York Magazine[http://chili-takedown.com/ Bacon takedown website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329025706/http://chili-takedown.com/ |date=March 29, 2009 }} and featured 30 contestants vying for the best bacon dish. The winner was bourbon-bacon ice cream. The "Bacon Mania" ABC News segment covered the event and noted that $2 billion in bacon was sold in the United States in 2008 and that "with the bacon business booming... you might say our love affair with the breakfast meat is more passionate than ever".[https://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7206736 Bacon Mania] March 30, 2009, ABC News
On February 28, 2009, the second annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival in Des Moines Iowa hosted a sell-out event for more than 300 people.[http://blueribbonbaconfestival.com/ Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival][http://desmoines.metromix.com/events/roundup/bacon-fest-101/983960/content Bacon Fest 101] February 24, 2009, Des Moines MetromixTom Perry [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090225233550/http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090225/ENT02/902250327/1046/ENT 'Best' bacon made in Iowa] February 25, 2009, Des Moines Register First held March 1, 2008, on National Pig Day, it was founded by Brooks Reynolds,[https://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2008/02/linkfest_bacon_festival.html Bacon Festival] NPR Blog and the 2013 sold 8000 tickets in three minutes.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/02/09/us/ap-us-bacon-festival.html?ref=us&_r=0|title=Bacon Enthusiasts Converge in Iowa for Festival|date=February 9, 2013|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 10, 2013}}
Humor about bacon includes an April Fools' Day story about a putative all-bacon restaurant[http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/omnivore/2009/04/01/atlanta-to-open-americas-first-all-bacon-restaurant/ Baconalia] and the supposed creation of "squeezable bacon" including a video advertisement.Nina Garin [http://www.signonsandiego.com/entertainment/street/2009/04/bacon_prank_squeezbacon_real_o.html BACON PRANK: SqueezBacon, real or not?] April 1, 2009, SignsonSanDiego.com
A group of graduate students in Boulder, Colorado, established an International Bacon Day celebration.http://bacontoday.com/september-5th-is-international-bacon-day/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420133908/http://bacontoday.com/september-5th-is-international-bacon-day/ |date=April 20, 2012 }} September 5 is International Bacon Day[http://internationalbaconday.blogspot.com/ International Bacon Day blog]
In Portland, Oregon, there are multiple bacon events each year, including Portland Baconfest. These are described as "some of the happiest places in the world" by attendees. These events focus on fun just as much as bacon.{{cite web|url=http://pdxpipeline.com/monthly-event-list/2012-portland-baconfest-east-burn/|title=2012 Portland Baconfest Info: Pig Roast, Beer, Greasy Slip N Slide, Live Music, Skate Competition, & More - Portland Events: Music, Festivals, Art, Theater, Film | PDXPIPELINE.com|publisher=pdxpipeline.com|access-date=December 2, 2014}}
Possible decline
Negative publicity surrounding swine flu, although not transmitted via pork product consumption,Paul R. La Monica [https://money.cnn.com/2009/05/01/markets/thebuzz/?postversion=2009050115 It's still safe to bring home the bacon Call it swine flu or H1N1. But the outbreak has led to bans on pork and falling prices of commodities and pork processors. It looks like an overreaction.] May 1, 2009, CNNMoney.com hit sales and prices in the pork industry in 2009."Eat bacon!" Clytie Bunyan [http://newsok.com/campaign-could-save-porks-bacon/article/3366280 Campaign could save pork’s bacon] May 3, 2009, News OK (website of Oklahoman)"The threat of a global pandemic of swine flu has not only threatened the economic recovery, it’s put one of America’s greatest love affairs on the rocks. I am, of course, speaking of bacon." Cindy Perman [https://www.cnbc.com/2009/04/29/swine-flu-myths-wash-your-hands-eat-the-bacon.html Swine Flu Myths: Wash Your Hands, Eat the Bacon] April 29, 2009, CNBC Heather Lauer, author of Bacon: A Love Story, said of the impact, "Bacon has been around for thousands of years. It has survived numerous health scares. Anyone who attempts to capitalize on this recent event in an effort to destroy the best meat ever will fail."Cindy Perman April 29, 2009 [https://www.cnbc.com/2009/04/29/swine-flu-myths-wash-your-hands-eat-the-bacon.html Swine Flu Myths: Wash Your Hands, Eat the Bacon] CNBC Efforts to alleviate flu concerns and fight back against the anti-pork and bacon tide were reported.Indrani Sen [http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/a-swinish-proposal/?hp A Swinish Proposal] May 5, 2009, Diner's Journal New York Times
See also
{{Portal|Food}}
- List of bacon dishes
- Seduced by Bacon, a book on the subject
- Heather Lauer, the author of the Bacon Unwrapped blog and book on bacon
- 2010s in food
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- Joanna Pruess Seduced by Bacon: Recipes & Lore about America's Favorite Indulgence October 1, 2006, The Lyons Press 192 pages {{ISBN|1-59228-851-0}} {{ISBN|978-1-59228-851-9}}
- Bacon: A Love Story: A Salty Survey of Everybody's Favorite Meat Heather Lauer
{{Bacon}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon Mania}}