Another food question from a newbie. English bacon?

[Ready to Sail!]

On one of our previous cruises of Northern Europe, which sailed from Southampton, the buffet served English Bacon which we had never had before.  I googled and apparently it is called Streaky Bacon?  I loved it.  Will we find it in the World Cafe?

 

My hopes are high since I now  know there will also  be Macarons, Gelato, Teramisu, lobster and crab on a regular basis.  One of the great joys of traveling is having food that is not always available at home. We joke that we can remember where we were by what we ate!  

[Jim Avery]

13 minutes ago, Ready to Sail! said:

On one of our previous cruises of Northern Europe, which sailed from Southampton, the buffet served English Bacon which we had never had before.  I googled and apparently it is called Streaky Bacon?  I loved it.  Will we find it in the World Cafe?

 

My hopes are high since I now  know there will also  be Macarons, Gelato, Teramisu, lobster and crab on a regular basis.  One of the great joys of traveling is having food that is not always available at home. We joke that we can remember where we were by what we ate!  

Yes.  My Mother is English so I grew up with the stuff.  DW, from Chicago, calls it "raw" bacon.  Most days there was English as well as every day crispy bacon.  Usually link and/or patty sausage as well.  I am from the school of everything is better with bacon.... We really miss the World Cafe breakfasts.  So easy to get some fruit and yoghurt.....  Then pile bacon on top!  Usually eggs too.  Then there is the Danish pastry, along with toast and jam.  Need to do this early so you can be ready for lunch.😎

[muddleaged]

I think streaky bacon is closer to what is served in the US.  Canadian bacon has almost no fat.  English breakfast bacon has a bit of fat around the outside, but not streaking through it.

[jono mono]

It's called back bacon,streaky is fat running thru it ,both nice,but back bacon for me !!!

[Ready to Sail!]

15 minutes ago, muddleaged said:

I think streaky bacon is closer to what is served in the US.  Canadian bacon has almost no fat.  English breakfast bacon has a bit of fat around the outside, but not streaking through it.

Well, I'm not sure now what we had but it was labeled English Bacon.  I know it wasn't Canadian.  We get that in the states.  If I remember right it looked more like our bacon but maybe larger and thicker?  I just know it tasted really good!!  I've looked for it on every cruise since with no luck>

[SantaFe1]

Well, this had me intrigued, so I went googling.  Check this site, complete with pictures and description:  http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2010/11/09/three-little-pigs/

[Jim Avery]

I vote for all three!

[Ready to Sail!]

11 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Well, this had me intrigued, so I went googling.  Check this site, complete with pictures and description:  http://www.endlesssimmer.com/2010/11/09/three-little-pigs/

Thanks.  From the picture I would say it is the English bacon that I remember.  I did find the term streaky bacon when googling, and maybe that is what the British are calling American bacon? 

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, Ready to Sail! said:

Well, I'm not sure now what we had but it was labeled English Bacon.  I know it wasn't Canadian.  We get that in the states.  If I remember right it looked more like our bacon but maybe larger and thicker?  I just know it tasted really good!!  I've looked for it on every cruise since with no luck>

Holland America, Princess, and MSC all have English bacon on their breakfast buffets.

 

It may not be with the regular bacon or sausage, but usually can be found in a section that has additional British breakfast items: grilled tomatoes, baked beans, etc. 

 

Corned beef hash is also somewhere around the buffet on those lines.

[Ready to Sail!]

14 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

Holland America, Princess, and MSC all have English bacon on their breakfast buffets.

 

It may not be with the regular bacon or sausage, but usually can be found in a section that has additional British breakfast items: grilled tomatoes, baked beans, etc. 

 

Corned beef hash is also somewhere around the buffet on those lines.

Have not traveled on Holland or MSC.  The cruise we took from Southampton was on Royal Princess in 2015.  We have taken 3 Princess cruises since then but all from the US west coast and they did not have the English Bacon, so am assuming it is on the European itineraries where it is likely to show up, at least on Princess. If it was in another area I feel sure I would have seen it as I always "cruise" the buffet pretty regularly before going back and making my choices.   

[Heidi13]

In UK most bacon is "Back Bacon" which can be smoked/cured or unsmoked (green bacon). They do have small amounts of North American bacon, which is "Streaky" and you will also find gammon, which is similar to Canadian bacon. Occasionally in UK you will find the normal back bacon with the streaky portion still attached.

 

If travelling in UK you will also find bacon named after various regions. The bacon is normally back bacon, but the different regions cure it or smoke it differently. In Scotland, we enjoyed Ayrshire Bacon. Visiting B&B's in England last year, we enjoyed many breakfasts with Wiltshire Bacon. 

[jimgri]

Speaking as a son of a butcher, the most common kinds of bacon in the UK (see image below) are probably back bacon and streaky bacon, smoked or unsmoked. In my opinion, the most tasty is back bacon because of the higher fat content. This is closest to what I have eaten in North America, although the latter tends to be served crispier than in the UK. Unfortunately (and this is just my point of view) more and more supermarkets are removing excess fat from bacon and sometimes even streaky bacon is sold looking "bald" and rather sorry for itself. By the way, gigot bacon is the least common cut and usually found in more upmarket (= expensive) butchers in the UK.

.

[maddie2312]

Just off Orion last week. Plenty of back bacon and streaky (US crispy) bacon everyday at the world cafe on each side. They don't crisp the fat on the back bacon sadly so I had to cut it off. They also have streaky bacon at the omelette station at the end between the two sides which they will gladly cut up and add to your omelette if you wish. 

[Mrs Miggins]

The 'English' bacon is never cooked enough on any of our favourite cruise lines. I have to search for the most well done bits.

in our supermarkets I would say there equal quantities of back and streaky bacon plus gammon steaks which are offered smoked or unsmoked in exactly the same way as regular breakfast bacon but are often eaten as an evening meal.

 

 

[Homosassa]

19 hours ago, Ready to Sail! said:

We have taken 3 Princess cruises since then but all from the US west coast and they did not have the English Bacon, so am assuming it is on the European itineraries where it is likely to show up, at least on Princess. If it was in another area I feel sure I would have seen it as I always "cruise" the buffet pretty regularly before going back and making my choices.   

 

All my Princess cruises have been in the Caribbean. However, there are usually passengers from the UK on board and that may be why I see the English breakfast items. There are also usually smoked kippers available.

[peasmith]

On our recent Sky cruise the streaky was crispy thin slices and our good old English back bacon was the one which they seem to want to put in water on the buffet counter?

[Sunflower & The Scientist]

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 1:34 AM, maddie2312 said:

Just off Orion last week. Plenty of back bacon and streaky (US crispy) bacon everyday at the world cafe on each side. They don't crisp the fat on the back bacon sadly so I had to cut it off. They also have streaky bacon at the omelette station at the end between the two sides which they will gladly cut up and add to your omelette if you wish. 

Tell us more please!!!  We're on in 42 days and I'd love to hear more about food.  Is it true there is an overwhelming amount of seafood offered?  Did you see skim milk available?   We eat on the healthier side...guessing that will go well for us on Orion.  

[deec]

Lots of sea food and fresh fish!!!  One of the always available in the Main Dining Room  is salmon.  I don't remember if the milk was skim or 2% .  A sugar free gelato usually.  Salad choices!!!  Yes, you can definitely "eat on the healthier side"

 

We will be on the Sea in 10 days and can't wait!!!

[cruisenfreak]

We love the buffet which always had a wide variety of seafood including sushi.  Also they had great salads - some made to order.  And..check out what they might be grilling in the middle of the buffet area - great stuff! (Hubby is not a big eater, asked for 1/2 a steak, and it was available, grilled just right!)

 

We established our own routine of going to the bar behind the buffet, ordering the included beer or wine, finding something great for our own “happy hour” appetizers from the buffet, conversing with the bar staff ( who were so interesting and wonderful conversationists), and then eating dinner from the buffet.  We never went to the restaurants - not our “thing”.

 

Mary Jane