The Fat.
Pork and beef were salted to preserve them.
Many cuts of pork have historically been salted to preserve them, but the part commonly called salt pork comes from the belly of the pig. This is the same place that produces bacon.
Salted Pork
no salted pork
Hardtack (hard biscuit) Sow belly (salted pork fat)
Hardtack (hard biscuit) Sow belly (salted pork fat)
Bacon is the salted flesh of a pig.
Generically the meet form a pig is called "pork", as in pork chops or a pork roast.However, by convention if the meet is cured (salted) it is then called "bacon", "ham", "gammon" etc.
Hardtack (hard biscuit) Sow belly (salted pork fat)
Since they had no refrigeration, salt was a method of preserving meat. The salted beef was cooked in dishes such as beans, stews, soups, etc., and was also eaten with biscuits, much the same way we eat bacon. Salted pork was used in the same way.
The food was pretty bad. There was no cooking on the ships. They had dried beef, barrels of water with them, salted pork, and barrels of ale.
The southerners had to change their diets during the Civil War. They ate potatoes, bread, salted pork, peas, and apples.