Bacon in frying pan. MSPhotographic / Canva Pro
The 30th of December is Bacon Day.
It celebrates that crispy, salty, greasy meat that is many people’s favourite at breakfast. Except today, you get to have bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Today’s the day to truly “bring home the bacon”.
Some people are so wild about celebrating bacon today that they call this day “meat candy day.”
So may things are bacon-themed these days, from bacon ice cream to bacon-scented soaps and candles. Famous flavour combos include such things as bacon and egg, bacon and maple, bacon and… well, everything, really! With its smoky, salty taste, bacon makes a great complimentary or contrasting garnish for dishes and adds a wonderful depth of flavour.
In fact, using bacon bits as a garnish is a fabulous way to still savour the taste while dialling back the calories. You can make your own bacon bits by cooking bacon, crumbling it, and freezing it in a tub.
Many people suggest today’s activities should include watching movies with the actor Kevin Bacon in them or with bacon in the title.
#Bacon #BaconDay
See also: Bacon, Dunmow Flitch Trials
Further reading: Is canning bacon jam safe?
Activities for today
- Try a dessert with bacon in it;
- have some bacon jam for breakfast;
- try a kind of bacon different from what you typically have;
- have a cocktail with a strip of bacon in it (such as a Bloody Caesar);
- try a turkey bacon or plant-based bacon;
- have a bacon sandwich for lunch.
Recipes
- Bacon and Cheese Bread
- Bacon and Cheese Clafoutis
- Bacon and Egg Farfalle
- Bacon and Egg Salad
- Bacon and Potato Pie
- Bacon & Onion Tart
- Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Patties
- Pea and Bacon Soup
- Penne with Bacon & Roasted Cauliflower
- Potato, Bacon and Mushroom Frittata
- Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad
History
According to some blogs, and writers citing the same story as the blogs, a bacon day on the 30th of December was thought up in 1997 by two Jewish women who were university roommates at the time, Danya Goodman and Meff Leonard. [1]Brown, Sara. Murphy: Bacon Daze. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Farm Journal. 3 January 2018. Accessed December 2021 at https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/industry/murphy-bacon-daze Reputedly, their inspiration came from all the mentions of bacon on the animated TV series, The Simpsons. They felt, they reputedly said, that this final week of the calendar year was a dead time that needed something everyone could celebrate.
However, no mention of the day appears in any print media for a very long time. From 2009 to 2014, a National Bacon Day seems to have been observed either on the 5th of September or the first Saturday before Labour Day:
“Did you know Saturday is National Bacon Day? The National Pork Board and cookbook author James Villas, a Charlotte native whose tomes include “The Bacon Cookbook”, have teamed to get the word out about the Sept 5. celebration, which is in its second year.” — Food notes: New ways to eat — and drink — bacon. Charlotte, North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer. Tuesday, 1 September 2009. Page 2D, col. 3.
But, nothing appears for a 30th of December “Bacon Day”, so Goodman and Leonard’s proposal may have languished in obscurity before catching on. But finally a print mention of a Bacon Day on the 30th of December appears in 2014 in Pennsylvania:
“Tuesday Dec. 30. Senior Activities / Sunbury: The Sunbury Senior Action Center, 601 Pennsylvania Ave., features shuffleboard at 9 a.m., bingo at 12:30 p.m., and Cards 31 at 2 p.m. National Bacon Day — BLTs and fries ($3.50) at 11:30 a.m. Call (570) 286-1820.” — What’s Going On Here. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Daily Item. Wednesday, 24 December 2014. Page D2, col. 5.
Sources
How to celebrate National Bacon Day. Los Angeles, CA: KABC-TV. 30 December 2018. Accessed October 2021 at https://abc7.com/us–world-bacon-day-national/4990904/
It’s National Bacon Day: Here are 5 ways you can celebrate. Manchester, New Hampshire: WMUR-TV. 30 December 2020. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.wmur.com/article/its-national-bacon-day-5-ways-you-can-celebrate/14521535#
Johnston, Joy. National Bacon Day: 7 things to know about bacon. Atlanta, Georgia: WSB-TV. 30 December 2020. Accessed October 2021 at
https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending/national-bacon-day-7-things-know-about-bacon/RYB3MNHKZ5ERVMVUJ2KNLDCINU/
National Bacon Day: 7 things to know about bacon. Orlando, Florida: WFTV. 30 December 2020. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.wftv.com/news/trending/national-bacon-day-7-things-know-about-bacon/RYB3MNHKZ5ERVMVUJ2KNLDCINU/
Ty, Alexis. National Bacon Day 2020: 12 Facts You Never Knew About The Delicious Pork Slab. New York, NY: International Business Times. 30 December 2020. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.ibtimes.com/national-bacon-day-2020-12-facts-you-never-knew-about-delicious-pork-slab-3111849
Vitalicio, Andy. How to Celebrate National Bacon Day Without Leaving The House. Pasadena, California: Pasadena Now. 27 December 2020. Accessed October 2021 at https://www.pasadenanow.com/weekendr/how-to-celebrate-national-bacon-day-without-leaving-the-house/
References
| ↑1 | Brown, Sara. Murphy: Bacon Daze. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Farm Journal. 3 January 2018. Accessed December 2021 at https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/industry/murphy-bacon-daze |
|---|