> So while I'm not sure that 'English bacon' has the unfortunate qualities that Sam decries...

I'm positive. I lived there for two years and was bacon deprived. I went to restaurants and watched them eat it. A strip of American LOOKING bacon, cooked but looking raw, eaten with a fork and knife. My father bought some of the stuff and tried to cook it. It refused to burn, let alone shrivel up and get crispy.

However, if your hosts served you "organic" produced bacon, maybe that means they didn't load it up with the preservatives that may be the reason the usual English stuff doesn't change shape, size, or color very much when cooked. Just a guess.