There’s bacon and there’s back bacon and there’s Canadian bacon and there’s stringy bacon. On the face of it, it can be confusing that some clearly different cuts of meat have the same name. So why is that? Let’s dig into the origin of the word. Originally bacon comes from proto-Germanic word “bakkon”. The word “bakkon” means “back” (it is the same root for talking about a human back) and it became the default word for any type of meat that comes off of the back of an animal. Its usage changed over time, however, and it gradually became specifically associated with cured meat. So at the most basic level, when you’re talking about bacon you’re talking about a piece of cured (salted and preserved) pork meat. “Back bacon”, the oval shaped leaner bacon popular in the UK and Canada, comes from the pork loin. “Streaky bacon” (or just “bacon” *ahem*), the rectangular shaped fatty bacon popular in America, comes from the pork belly.
– A few thoughts from your friend Saxo