Why Don’t Stores Sell Bacon with the Rind On Anymore?

For bacon lovers, few things beat the taste of sizzling crispy pork bacon first thing in the morning. However, if you grew up eating bacon decades ago, you may have noticed a change in today’s typical grocery store bacon. The bacon of yesteryear often had the fatty rind still attached. So why is it that most bacon sold nowadays has the rind removed?

In this article, we’ll take a look at how bacon has evolved over time and the reasons behind the increasing rarity of rind-on bacon in stores While you can still seek out specialty bacons with the rind on, understanding the shift can provide insight into modern consumer habits and preferences.

What is Bacon Rind?

Before getting into why you don’t see it as often today, it helps to understand exactly what the bacon rind is. Pork bacon is made from cured and smoked pork belly. The pork belly consists of streaks of fat and meat.

The rind refers to the outermost layer of skin and fat on the bacon slice. It appears as a band of translucent white fatty tissue along the edge. The rind has a high concentration of fat, collagen, and pork flavor.

On a typical high-quality artisanal thick-cut bacon, the rind makes up around 30% of the total slice. With traditional preparation methods, the rind is left on the bacon before being sold.

Why Bacon Used to Have the Rind On

Up until a few decades ago, most grocery store bacon included the rind portion. There are a few reasons the rind stayed on traditional bacon preparation:

• Flavor – The rind contains concentrated porky flavor enhancers like fat, collagen, and gelatin.

• Cooking benefits – The fat in the rind bastes the lean meat portion during cooking. This keeps bacon from drying out.

• Efficiency – Leaving the rind on allowed producers to use the entire pork belly more efficiently and cut down on waste.

• Tradition – Bacon preparation historically involved leaving the rind intact before slicing and packaging bacon. Consumers expected it.

• Less processing – Removing the rind adds an extra production step compared to selling it attached. Less processing means lower costs.

So both taste and economics contributed to most bacon having the rind on through the first half of the 20th century.

When and Why Rindless Bacon Became Popular

A few key factors led to the increasing prevalence of rindless bacon in stores starting in the 1970s:

• Dietary concerns – As nutrition knowledge grew, the high fat content of bacon rind raised health alarms for consumers.

• Leaner preferences – Consumer demand grew for leaner and low-fat foods. Rindless bacon seemed healthier.

• Mass production – Highly automated bacon manufacturing made rind removal simple and inexpensive.

• Nutritional labeling – New labeling laws spotlighted the fat percentages of bacon with rind.

• Food pyramids – Dietary guidance began discouraging high fat foods. Rindless bacon let producers market it as a leaner choice.

• Fast food – Bacon became popular on burgers and sandwiches, for which uniform lean slices worked better than rinds.

So concerns over fat plus new nutrition facts influenced perceptions that rindless bacon was more health conscious. Production innovations also enabled cost-effective rind removal.

Why Rindless Became the New Normal

As more shoppers sought leaner and “healthier” bacon options, the pork industry responded by making rindless bacon the standard for packaged sliced bacon sold in supermarkets. Here’s why it stuck:

• Consumer expectation – Generations after the shift don’t expect bacon to have the rind on and see it as undesirable or unwanted.

• Shelf appeal – Uniform lean slices look more appealing in the package than irregular slices with fat.

• Cooking ease – Many find rindless bacon easier to cook evenly since the fat content is more consistent.

• Price – Mass rind removal allows packagers to sell rindless bacon cheaply and competitively.

• Dietary trends – Low fat and keto diets encourage use of leaner meats.

So while most grocery store bacon today is rindless, this was not always the case. The transition towards leaner, heavily-processed bacon took hold in the final decades of the 20th century.

Can You Still Buy Rind-On Bacon?

While regular packaged bacon has phased out the rind, it is still possible to purchase high-end artisanal bacon with the rind on through various specialty suppliers like local butchers, farmers markets, and online mail order.

The rind-on bacon from these producers tends to use premium pork sourced from pasture-raised heritage breeds. It is carefully cured and smoked using traditional methods. Here are some tips for finding rind-on bacon:

• Check at local butchers and specialty grocers for brands with rind on.

• Look for bacon labeled “heirloom”, “heritage”, or “artisanal” from small producers.

• Search online for mail order rind-on bacon sold directly from farms and smokehouses.

• Try farmer’s markets for vendors curing heritage breed bacon traditionally.

• Request custom orders from butchers and suppliers.

So while it takes more effort, you can still enjoy old-school rind-on bacon if you know where to look. The flavor and experience brings you back to the era when rindless bacon wasn’t the norm.

Is Rind-On Bacon Worth Tracking Down?

If you get your hands on some gourmet rind-on bacon, is it worth the extra effort and expense? Here are some upsides culinary experts highlight:

• Increased flavor – More concentrated porkiness from fat, collagen, and gelatin in rind.

• Juicier texture – Rind bastes the meat, keeping it tender and moist.

• Cooking benefits – Melting rind from higher fat content enhances flavor.

• Versatility – Rind can be cooked to enjoy separately or add richness when incorporated.

• Artisanal process – Small batch producers use heritage breeds and traditional curing.

• Sustainability – Utilizes more of the pig, reducing waste.

While the costs tend to be higher, those who try premium rind-on bacon often find it worth it for the standout flavor and experience.

Will Rindless Bacon Continue to Dominate?

Given the current ubiquity of rindless bacon in stores today, it seems unlikely that regular packaged bacon will revert to having the rind on again en masse. Consumers are now accustomed to uniform lean slices, and enjoy the affordability and convenience of standard supermarket bacon.

However, the growth of the gourmet bacon market suggests more people are developing a taste for premium rind-on bacon despite the higher costs. Specialty producers also continue innovating with small batch rind-on bacon using highest quality practices.

While our breakfast tables today may be ruled by rindless bacon, the bacon of tomorrow could see the triumphant return of artisanal rind-on bacon. But for now, bacon purists seeking that old-fashioned flavor will need to search beyond the standard grocery aisles.