Bacon love | Popularity goes beyond breakfast

In the 1980s, bacon crumbles were usually found only between the Catalina and ranch salad dressings at the salad bar.

Bacon was also known, and still is, as the faithful sidekick at breakfast, if the fear of elevated cholesterol doesn’t stop your hidden craving.

Nobody is putting bacon in the corner anymore, since people are now wearing it, drinking it and using pictures of it to remind them of daily appointments on their calendars.

Bacon has become so popular these days that pork enthusiasts are expected to pile into the first-ever House of Blues Bacon Fest, whic hhas been re-scheduled for this spring.

A quick survey of bacon-inspired products shows that it has become more than a food fad.

Local businesses have displays with bacon-flavored lip gloss and bacon-inspired Halloween costumes.

This year, the slice-of-bacon Halloween costume is expected to continue to be popular, according to L.A. Ward, assistant manager at Spirit Halloween, located at 3269 Waccamaw Blvd. in Myrtle Beach.

“I have bacon and egg costumes,” said Ward. “We have had the bacon and the bacon and egg costumes for a couple of years.”

The costumes come in adult sizes, with few available for children, she said.

“We have the one-slice bacon costumes, but it’s mostly for the adults,” Ward said.

The bacon costumes always spark plenty of conversation with customers, Ward said, who often share their favorite bacon recipes or simply why they love salty, greasy pork.

“I have a co-worker that works with me that just loves bacon,” Ward said. “When she saw that bacon costume for the first time, she fell in love with it.

“A lot of people like a simple costume. You don’t have a mask on your face. It’s the comfort zone that people choose with certain costumes and bacon is a comfortable costume.”

But why the recent sizzle?

The bacon mania movement can be partially traced to the Atkins Diet, a protein-inspired food fad that has dominated the past decade.

Dr. Robert Atkins, unlike previous diet gurus, didn’t encourage people to hold off on bacon. His diet actually inspired people to lose weight by eating more bacon and other fatty meats.

Since then, the fear of bacon and its possible impact on heart health has evaporated like hot grease on a griddle.

The words “bacon addiction” have actually entered the vocabulary of some health experts.

Bacon addicts can join support groups. Bacon addicts can also skip the 12 steps and wear a T-shirt that shows they have simply given in to their love of of pork.

“You can get addicted to anything,” said Stephanie Merrill, a nurse who often advises her patients on healthy eating. “That’s why I switched to turkey bacon.”

Bacon has a lot of salt, but it does have protein and even turkey bacon does have a lot of sodium, said Crystal Cates, a dietician at Tidelands Health.

“We encourage people to get center-cut bacon, because it’s a little bit leaner and [has a] little bit less sodium,” she said. “I don’t know about the addictive quality of bacon, but it might be because of the salt.

“We always say to enjoy what you are eating, so just by limiting the frequency of when you consume it can limit how much salt and fat you are taking in.”

Bacon-centered world

Health concerns aside, bacon has continued to gain popularity in art, clothes and food.

Bacon-related shows are now featured on cable television: “The United States of Bacon,” is now featured on Discovery America and “Bacon Paradise 2” is on the Travel Channel.

The shows give the latest bacon recipes used in coffee, doughnuts and alcoholic drinks.

A few of the bacon-related dishes listed on the internet include such treats as bacon ice cream, bacon vodka, bacon cakes and bacon cupcakes.

Locally, the craze hasn’t escaped the notice of local bakeries.

Maple bacon cupcakes are a favorite treat at Coccadotts Cake Shop off S.C. 544.

Although many people indulge in the cupcakes at breakfast, the cake shop sells the goodies at all hours of the day. Customers dip the cupcakes in coffee or take them home for dinner.

“I feel like recently in the past year, people have wanted to experiment with new things,” said Taylor Alcorn, a cupcake decorator at Coccadotts. “Everyone loves bacon, and they want to incorporate that in everything they can.”

The maple bacon cupcakes have become a hot item in the past two years, she said.

She thinks the information provided on the internet and the multitude of cooking shows have inspired the bacon craze.

“When you think of bacon, you think of maple syrup,” she said. “We put it in a cupcake and it works so well, and it’s so delicious. I know it’s good heated. It has that breakfast feel to it.”

The cupcake has inspired her to try other items that contain bacon.

“I’m a bacon lover anyway,” she said. “I have tried chocolate dipped in bacon, and that’s really good.”

Some customers order cakes that feature bacon, she said, and a co-worker had a bacon bar at her recent wedding.

“There are some people who try it and fall in love with it,” Alcorn said. “I think it started about two years ago, because of television and internet. Recently, a lot more people are starting to ask about it.”

At Seven Hundred Grill + Bar in Georgetown, the Carolina Roll includes bacon in a sushi roll.

The Carolina Roll has tempura shrimp, cucumbers, shrimp, pecans and crab inside of the roll. The roll is topped with sweetened pecans, bacon and sweet soy sauce.

“Our sushi chef said that down South, everyone loves bacon, so we decided to include it in the sushi roll,” said Chris Cox, a server at the restaurant. “It is one of more popular ones because it does not have raw fish in it. It’s more of what they are familiar with, instead of in a sushi roll.”

He said they don’t have bacon-flavored coffee or drinks, but “If somebody asked, we would look into it.”

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 10:43 AM with the headline "Bacon love | Popularity goes beyond breakfast."