Bacon dates back at least 3,500 years. The Chinese were the first to cook salted pork bellies. The salt preserved the meat so it could be eaten all year. During World War II, Americans were urged to save bacon fat so it could be used in the manufacture of bombs. (It was used to make glycerol, an ingredient in explosives.)

The word bacon means “meat from the back of an animal.” American bacon is made from the pork belly, which accounts for its trademark streaks of fat. European and Canadian bacon are still made from the back meat of a pig, which is considerably leaner. 70% of all bacon in the US is eaten at breakfast time.