Prior to modern refrigeration, the dry curing of pork was necessary toprevent spoilage. It was accomplished by applying a salt crust to theexterior of the pork belly, where it was absorbed over time, essentiallydrawing moisture out of the meat and preserving it for later use. Airdrying may also have contributed to preservation. Old World dry-cure mixtures typically consisted of unpurified salts and sometimessugar. This method worked well for preservation but the quality leftmuch to be desired; more often than not, the result was extremelysalty and harsh with inconsistent salt dispersion.Modern bacon manufacturers use a more efficient and reliablemethod called wet curing, or Wiltshire curing. This evolutionarymethod was first routinely used by John Harris and involved sub-merging raw pork belly in concentrated salt brine. Injection, a mod-ern modification of this process, uses large needles to infuse brinedirectly into the interior of the belly instead of relying on migrationof the salt from the surface over time. It provides even curing andmore effective brine incorporation. Today, most bacon brines are amixture of salt, sugar (to lessen the harshness of the salt), and a smallamount of sodium nitrite for preservation purposes.