Solved: Why bacon smells so good during cooking

That heavenly aroma so many find hard to resist comes from something known as the Maillard Reaction.

It’s a combination of more than 150 different chemical compounds created when the meat meets a hot skillet.

More simply, it's sugars in the bacon intertwining with amino acids during the cooking process. Time reports the Maillard Reaction is also what turns food brown.

A blog called Compound Interest adds certain kinds of porky goodness are even more likely to smell yummy.

"In the case of smoked bacon, nitrite used in the curing process can also react with the fatty acids, and fats present in bacon on heating," they begin. "This leads to a higher percentage of nitrogen-containing compounds than in standard pork meat."

The site also points out nitrogen is a key component in bringing about the, "meaty aroma" many love.

More here.