Bacon & pancetta

What’s the di erence between streaky and back, lardons and pancetta cubes? We guide you through what’s readily available.

Streaky or back bacon?

In many countries this choice doesn’t exist, as only streaky bacon is available to buy. The di erence between streaky and back bacon is the cut and the meat-to-fat ratio; streaky is from the thinner end of the belly with more fat running through it. Back bacon (known as ‘Canadian cut’ in the US) is from the loin (attached to the belly) like a gammon chop, and has a generous eye of meat tapering o to a small section of streaky bacon. Back bacon is ideal for eating on its own, in a sandwich or as part of a breakfast, while streaky bacon is better for cooking with, but you can swap one for the other.

Smoked or unsmoked?

Smoked bacon tends to be drier, gives o less liquid when cooked and has more flavour, but in the unlikely event that you don’t want a smoky taste in your dish, then opt for unsmoked, which is simply cured and dried.

Pancetta

Pancetta is Italian-style streaky bacon that's cured and dried with herbs and spices to give it extra flavour. It can be bought very thinly sliced, diced (see below), or in chunks, for dicing yourself, from delis and butchers. Like bacon, pancetta can be bought unsmoked or smoked (a umicato). ‘Pancetta’ on the label doesn’t mean the product originates from Italy.

Lardons and diced pancetta

Lardons are cubes of streaky bacon and diced pancetta (see above) is a more flavoured version, but the two are interchangeable. If you chop sliced bacon to cook in a dish, it can break down and get lost, but lardons and diced pancetta remain chunky – perfect in something like carbonara. They can be unsmoked or smoked, and it’s worth spending a bit more as the cheaper packs tend to be just the fatty o cuts rather than pieces of meat.