Bringing Home the Bacon: From Shakespeare to the Baconator
About this episode
This episode explores the historical and cultural journey of bacon from being shamed to becoming a beloved food staple in America.
For many Americans, bacon is an essential element of the perfect breakfast—not to mention a welcome addition to everything from cheeseburgers to doughnuts. But bacon hasn't always been beloved. Ancient Egyptians elites looked down on pork, Judaism and Islam banned it entirely, and in Shakespeare’s time, calling someone “bacon brains” was a serious insult. So how did we go from bacon shaming to today's full-on baconmania? We’re calling in the bacon experts to uncover how pigs domesticated themselves before becoming the key to world domination, what Sigmund Freud has to do with the ascendance of bacon and eggs as a breakfast staple, and why "bringing home the bacon" is the key to marital bliss. Listen in now for the salty story of humanity's on-again, off-again love affair with these streaky strips! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
People in this episode
Hosts: Cynthia Graber, Nicola Twilley
Topics covered
- bacon
- history of food
- cultural significance
- breakfast
- pork
- domestication
Keywords
- bacon
- breakfast
- pork
- cultural history
- food trends
- Sigmund Freud
- Shakespeare
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Baconator
Books & works: Shakespeare
Places: Egyptians, Judaism, Islam
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