Big_Lou
Well-Known Member
Love this picture. Saving it.Peameal is hold on let me grab a copy paste.
Canadians know peameal bacon as an iconic national breakfast food, but the back bacon’s backstory is even richer than its flavour. In fact, the story of peameal bacon is tied to several important themes of the last two centuries: the rise and fall of the British Empire, emigration and immigration, and the development of modern agriculture. But more than anything, the history of peameal is a salty tale of how Hogtown got its name, not to mention its most iconic sandwich.
For those who don’t know (and for Americans who claim it’s something else altogether), peameal bacon is wet-cured pork loin from the back of the hog that has been trimmed of fat and rolled in cornmeal, creating a yellow crust. Originally, it was rolled in crushed yellow peas, hence the name peameal. It is much leaner than the pork belly strips that the British call “streaky,” and Canadians and Americans simply call “bacon.”
Peameal bacon holds a spot in 1001 Foods You Must Taste Before You Die, and it’s easy to understand why. The brining process makes it nearly impossible to overcook, and it’s both leaner and juicer and than regular bacon. A uniquely Canadian product, it’s often confused with Canadian bacon, a smoked back bacon that’s popular in the U.S., and isn’t Canadian at all.
These days, it’s hard to find peameal bacon outside of Canada, making it a favourite with tourists at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market. The Carousel Bakery, which has occupied the same spot in the market since 1977, is a city landmark famous for its fresh peameal bacon sandwiches.
obert Biancolin, who co-owns the bakery with his brother, dubs peameal bacon Toronto’s most original food. “It wasn’t brought here from somewhere else,” he says. “It is very uniquely Torontonian. Of course, like poutine was uniquely Québécois, it spread across the country. It is one of those dishes that encompasses being Canadian. It is part of our tradition.”
Unlike Canadian bacon (which is, let’s not forget, American) peameal bacon must be cooked. Biancolin says the best way to prepare it is by griddling, although it can also be baked, barbecued or roasted.
Peameal bacon is delicious, iconic and Canadian, but culinary historians have struggled to identify its origins with absolute certainty. “I don’t think that you’ll find a single origin story,” writes Daniel Bender, Director of Culinaria Research Centre and University of Toronto history professor, in an email. “There are and have been for centuries many ways of curing pork — ways of making it last through lean months. Smoking is one. Salting is another. Corning (curing through brine) exists in numerous locations and recipes.”
and so and so from food something
Peameal is soooo good....
