Macon (food)

Macon is a food item that is prepared from mutton[1] (i.e. adult sheep meat). Macon is prepared in a similar manner to bacon, with the meat being cured by soaking it in large quantities of salt or brine.

Generally macon has a light black and yellow color, with the outer edges being a darker pink. Macon looks and feels similar to bacon. It would more commonly be found in a thin sliced form used in sandwiches, or as a smaller cut slice topping on a pizza.

Scottish recipe used in World War II

Macon derives from an old Scots recipe. It was produced in the United Kingdom during World War II when rationing was instituted. Scottish lawyer and politician Frederick Alexander Macquisten, was the first to suggest mass-production of macon. "If the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food will consult with any farmer's wife in Perthshire, she will show him how to cure it," he informed the House of Commons. This led to its popular name Macon's bacon.[2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Shephard, Sue (2006). Pickled, Potted, and Canned: How the Art and Science of Food Preserving Changed the World. Simon and Schuster. p. 73. ISBN 0743255534
  2. ↑ Frederick Alexander Macquisten Frederick Alexander Macquisten, who proposed macon's wartime production.
  3. ↑ Footnote in Time Magazine mentions wartime use.
  4. ↑ George Orwell noted it in his wartime diary.