Tocino is

bacon Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central ingredient (e.g., the bacon, lettuce, and tomato sand ...

in Spanish, typically made from the pork belly and often formed into cubes in Spain. In

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

countries, such as Puerto Rico and Cuba, ''tocino'' is made from pork fatback and is neither cured nor smoked but simply fried until very crunchy; it is then added to recipes, much like the way lardons are used in French cuisine. In the Philippines, tocino refers to

sweetened {{Wiktionary, sweetener A sweetener is a substance added to food or drink to impart the flavor of sweetness, either because it contains a type of sugar, or because it contains a sweet-tasting sugar substitute. Many artificial sweeteners have been ...

and cured pork belly.

Spain

In Spain, as in Venezuela (where bacon is "tocineta"), the word ''tocino'' refers to the layer of fat under a pig's skin. It is almost pure fat, and is often salted and cut into cubes. It is consumed as part of traditional recipes such as '' cocido''.

Philippines

In making ''tocino'' in the Philippines, the pork belly meat is first sliced into thin strips.

Anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and ta ...

wine, annatto, water,

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

, and salt are combined in a container, and the meat strips are sprinkled with the mixture and stacked in a container, which is covered and refrigerated for three days to cure. In an alternate recipe, the meat strips are marinated with salt, sugar, and ''salitre'' ( saltpetre), and pineapple juice may be added for a slightly tart flavor. ''Tocino'' is traditionally boiled in water (just enough to cover the meat), fried in oil, or cooked over medium heat until the fat is rendered. The

Kapampangans The Kapampangan people ( pam, Taung Kapampangan), Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in 2010. They live mainly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, as ...

(

kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary ...

: ''Pindang'') who make ''tocino'' by simmering it for four to six hours in order to achieve thickness and softness in the meat, then leave it overnight at room temperature before serving it as ''burong baboy'' (fermented pork). ''Tocino'' is often served as the popular breakfast or lunchtime combination called '' tosilog'', which name is a portmanteau of ''tocino'', ''sinangág'' (garlic rice) and ''itlóg'' (egg, which is cooked either sunny-side up or scrambled).

Caribbean

Tocino is cut into small squares and fried until crunchy and added to recipes like mofongo and ''arroz blanco con tocino'', "white rice and tocino". In Cuba, it can be added to soft bread.

Central America

In Nicaragua, tocino is prepared in a few ways. The most common is when it is marinated in achiote,

naranja agria Naranja is a Spanish word meaning 'orange fruit' and can refer to: * Naranja, Florida, a census-designated place * Renato Naranja (born 1940), International Master of chess from the Philippines * Naranja, one of the two academies in Pokémon Scarl ...

, and vinegar and then added to the Nacatamal. It cooks inside of the nacatamal via vapor.

United States

The

Hormel Foods Corporation Hormel Foods Corporation is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, ...

makes a tocino-flavored version of their

SPAM Spam may refer to: * Spam (food), a canned pork meat product * Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages ** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages ** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...

product for sale in supermarkets.

References

External links

Filipino Pork Tocino Recipe
* Tocino de Pancetta, Panci

* Panceta de Cerd

* Tocino Puerto Ric

{{Navboxes, list1= {{Filipino food {{Bacon {{Fats and oils Philippine cuisine Caribbean cuisine Pork Spanish cuisine