Peameal bacon

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Peameal bacon
Peameal bacon
Place of originCanada
Region or stateSouthern Ontario
Associated cuisineCuisine of Canada
Main ingredientsPork loin
Food energy
(per 100 g serving)
157 kcal (657 kJ)[1]

Peameal bacon (also known as cornmeal bacon) is a wet-cured, unsmoked back bacon made from trimmed lean boneless pork loin rolled in cornmeal. It is found mainly in Ontario. Toronto pork packer William Davies, who moved to Canada from England in 1854, is credited with its development.[2][3]

The name "peameal bacon" derives from the historic practice of rolling the cured and trimmed boneless loin in dried and ground yellow peas to extend shelf life. Since the end of World War I, it has been rolled in ground yellow cornmeal.

Peameal bacon sandwiches, consisting of cooked peameal bacon on a Kaiser roll and sometimes topped with mustard or other toppings, are often considered a signature dish of Toronto, particularly from Toronto's St. Lawrence Market.[4]

Description and name[edit]

black frying pan on black stovetop, with eight slices of peameal bacon
Slices of peameal bacon frying in a pan

Peameal bacon is a type of unsmoked back bacon. It is made from centre-cut pork loin, trimmed of fat, wet-cured in a salt-and-sugar brine and rolled in cornmeal.[5] It can be sliced and cooked on a grill, griddled or fried; alternately, it can be roasted, then sliced and served.[6] The brining process makes it nearly impossible to overcook.[7] The low fat content keeps it juicy, and the cornmeal gives it a crispy edge.[8]

Cooked peameal bacon has a mild salty-sweet flavour and tastes more like fresh ham (when compared to smoked back bacon or side bacon).[6] The cooked slices have been described as resembling small pork cutlets.[9] It is eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner,[8] served in slices or as an ingredient in a pork dish.[6]

The name 'peameal' comes from the dried yellow peas that were ground into meal and packed around the meat to preserve it in the Victorian era. This has since been replaced by cornmeal, but the original name remains.[6][8] Peameal bacon is rarely found outside of Southern Ontario,[10][11] and is often simply referred to as "back bacon". Similarly, a peameal bacon sandwich is often called "back bacon on a bun".[12][13]

Some Americans refer to peameal bacon as 'Canadian bacon'. However, 'Canadian-style bacon' or 'Canadian back bacon' are terms used by the U.S.-based North American Meat Institute for an American style of smoked back bacon.[10][6] This may be sold in U.S. supermarkets as 'Canadian bacon', but is not Canadian.[6][7] 'American bacon' is a U.S. term for side bacon (also known as streaky bacon).[10]

History[edit]

William Davies Company stall at St. Lawrence Market, c. 1911

The origins of peameal bacon have not been firmly established. Curing pork with brine has been practised for centuries, in many parts of the world.[7] One such process was the Wiltshire cure used in England from 1765 or earlier.[14][a] Peameal bacon has been linked to pork packer William Davies and the Toronto-based William Davies Company, though it is uncertain if Davies, an employee, invented the process, or if the company otherwise acquired it.[16] Davies immigrated to Canada from Britain in 1854, and set up a shop in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market.[9]

According to Toronto's oral history,[7] Davies sent a side of brine-cured pork loins to relatives in England. To help preserve this shipment, he packed it in ground yellow peas.[17][6] This was well received, and Davies continued rolling cured loins in peameal to extend shelf life.[10] The William Davies Company expanded, forming Canada's first major chain of food stores,[2][18] and becoming the largest pork exporter in the British Empire.[17] By the early 1900s, the company's Front Street plant processed nearly half a million hogs per year. This contributed to Toronto's longstanding nickname of "Hogtown".[7][8] Following World War I, cornmeal replaced the peameal crust, due to the former's availability and improved refrigeration practices.[6]

Sandwiches[edit]

In the 1960s, customers of Joe Homer's St. Lawrence Market butcher shop opted for the centre cut of cured peameal loins, leaving him with the ends. Homer and Elso Biancolin, who ran a bakery shop at the market, sliced and fried the bacon ends and sold them on buns. Biancolin's sons, Robert and Maurice, expanded the family's Carousel Bakery during the market's 1977 renovation, and their featured peameal bacon sandwich on a fresh Kaiser roll received national and international attention from food critics and TV chefs.[5]

Slices of peameal bacon served on a soft roll bun

The Carousel Bakery's peameal bacon sandwich is simple, without complicated sauces, toppings or layers. It is composed of 1⁄8-inch (3.2 mm) slices of peameal bacon cooked on a griddle long enough to crisp, drizzled with honey mustard, served on a soft fresh roll. There are options to add an egg or side bacon.[9]

It was served at the inaugural Canadian Comedy Awards in 2000.[19] In 2016, the peameal bacon sandwich was named Toronto's signature dish. This was announced by Mayor John Tory at a local food festival with several versions offered.[20][21][22] Peameal bacon sandwiches were included in a wager between Tory and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf during the 2019 NBA Finals.[23]

Nutrition[edit]

Because peameal bacon is lean, it compares favourably to side bacon and is less processed than turkey bacon. While turkey bacon has a healthier image, popular brands have higher sodium and carbohydrates from added corn syrup. Nutritionist Theresa Albert compared 100-gram (3.5 oz) samples (about 4 slices of side bacon or turkey bacon, and 2 thick slices of peameal bacon):[1]

  • turkey bacon: 382 calories, 2,285 mg of sodium, 3.1 g of carbohydrates and 28 g of fat
  • side bacon: 541 calories, 1,717 mg of sodium, 1.4 g of carbohydrates and 42 g of fat
  • peameal bacon: 157 calories, 904 mg of sodium, 1.7 g of carbohydrates and 7 g of fat

In 2018, a laboratory analysis was conducted on Carousel Bakery's 241-gram (0.531 lb) peameal bacon sandwich. It found the sandwich to have 499 calories, 2,520 mg of sodium, 49 g of carbohydrates, 8 g of fat, and 57 g of protein. Dietitian Shannon Crocker felt the calories and protein would make it a satisfying meal, but the sodium was 10% above the maximum recommended daily limit.[24]

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ The manufacture of Wiltshire bacon was described in 1883 as involving sides of pork being cooled, cured through brine injection and salting, "mopped" with peameal and smoked.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Albert, Theresa (5 August 2015). "Why good old peameal bacon is better for you than trendy turkey". Hamilton Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Points of Interest Along Lost Streams: Toronto Pork Packing Plant". Lostrivers.ca. The Toronto Green Community and the Toronto Field Naturalists. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  3. ^ City of Toronto Planning Division; Toronto Historical Association (2001). "188—William Davies Meat Packers". A Glimpse of Toronto's History: Opportunities for the Commemoration of Lost Historic Sites. Toronto: The Division and the Association. OCLC 50496020.
  4. ^ Oland, Sydney. "A Sandwich a Day: Peameal Bacon Sandwich at Carousel Bakery, Toronto". Serious Eats. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
  5. ^ a b Murray, Rose; Baird, Elizabeth (2012). Canada's Favourite Recipes. Whitecap Books. pp. 88–89. ISBN 978-1-77050-098-3.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Parrish, Marlene (15 April 2015). "Make your own Canadian Peameal Bacon". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. PIttsburgh, Pennsylvania: PG Publishing Co. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e Scoble, Devon (29 March 2016). "The History of Canadian Peameal Bacon". FoodNetwork.ca. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Ewbank, Anne. "Peameal Bacon | Gastro Obscura". Atlas Obsura. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Bovino, Arthur (21 January 2013). "Sandwich of the Week: Peameal Bacon Sandwich". The Daily Meal. Archived from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d Zimmer, David (27 June 2017). "4 types of bacon everyone should know". Cottage Life. Blue Ant Media. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019. Originally published in the Winter 2015 issue of Cottage life.
  11. ^ Chai, Carmen (20 May 2017). "18 delicious, classically Canadian dishes from coast to coast". Global News. Corus Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Back Bacon on a Bun". Today's Parent. Rogers Digital Media. 1 July 2003. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Back Bacon on a Bun Recipe". Farmway Foods. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  14. ^ A Companion to the Plan of London. London, England: T. Kitchin. 1765. p. 78.
  15. ^ Bowron, William (1883). The Manufacture of Cheese, Butter and Bacon in New Zealand. p. 29.
  16. ^ Banner, Aurora (9 March 2017). "Fun facts about 5 Canadian foods". YorkRegion.com. Metroland Media Group Ltd. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  17. ^ a b Ewart, Paul (3 October 2017). "Three Delicious Canadian Food Traditions You Need To Experience". Huffington Post Australia. HuffPost News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  18. ^ MacLachlan, Ian (2002). Kill and Chill: Restructuring Canada's Beef Commodity Chain. University of Toronto Press. pp. 152, 188, 203, 297.
  19. ^ Niester, Alan (7 April 2000). "A night for the Groucho glasses". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: The Globe and Mail Inc. Archived from the original on 2 August 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  20. ^ Shah, Maryam (10 June 2016). "What is Toronto's signature dish?". The Toronto Sun. Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  21. ^ Davidson, Terry (9 July 2016). "Toronto's signature dish? Peameal bacon sandwich". The Toronto Sun. Postmedia Network Inc. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
  22. ^ Keenan, Edward (29 March 2018). "So what should Toronto's signature food be?". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Raptors and Warriors mayors compete in charity challenge". Global News. Toronto, Ontario: Corus Entertainment Inc. The Canadian Press. 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  24. ^ Ogilvie, Megan (17 April 2018). "Peameal bacon sandwich from St. Lawrence Market packs a sodium punch". The Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2019.

External links[edit]

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