Macon is a
cured and
smoked form of
mutton
Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
. Macon is prepared in a similar manner to
bacon, with the meat being either dry cured with large quantities of salt or wet cured with
brine and then smoked. The name macon is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...](_blank)
when rationing was instituted. Scottish lawyer and politician
Frederick Alexander Macquisten
Frederick Alexander Macquisten KC (23 July 1870 in Inverkip, Scotland – 29 February 1940 in Walton-on-Thames, England) was a British lawyer and politician. He was the son of Reverend Dr. Alexander Macquisten, the minister of Inverkip Parish C ...
, was the first to suggest mass production of macon. "If the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Food will consult with any farmer's wife in Perthshire, she will show him how to cure it," he informed the House of Commons. This led to its popular name ''Macon's bacon''.
Footnote in Time Magazine mentions wartime use.
See also
*
List of lamb dishes
This is a list of lamb and mutton dishes and foods. Lamb and mutton are terms for the meat of domestic sheep (species '' Ovis aries'') at different ages. A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a ...
References
{{Scottish cuisine
Lamb dishes
Scottish cuisine
United Kingdom home front during World War II