Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2023 20:50:56 GMT -5
Lebanon Bologna
There's even a museum dedicated to this preserved meat.
Lebanon Bologna (pronounced “boh-low-nah”) may seem like a classic kosher salami, with its deep red color and the coarse grain of its meat. Looks can be deceiving, though. This bologna has a unique history and a taste that might give you a good startle.
Lebanon bologna isn’t from the nation in the Middle East, nor from Italy either. Originating in Lebanon County, squarely in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it isn’t anything like the cold cut usually called bologna. Instead, it’s more of a cured salami with a sweet-and sour-profile.
As for why it’s not called Lebanon salami, the answer is technical: real salami is air-dried rather than smoked. It became known as “bologna” locally around 1890; a time when actual bologna was the most similar product in size and shape. Today’s food scientists would describe it as a summer sausage.
Beef has always been the key ingredient. Originally, it was made from the tough meat of old dairy cows that could only be eaten ground and heavily spiced. There’s also a sweet note to the seasoning, although some varieties are far sweeter than others. This is the old Pennsylvania Dutch food philosophy at work; anything can be made better by adding more sugar. Part of the sweetness comes from the fermentation process as well. This is a living food—a sort of meat yogurt, if you will.
www.atlasobscura.com/foods/lebanon-bologna
There's even a museum dedicated to this preserved meat.
Lebanon Bologna (pronounced “boh-low-nah”) may seem like a classic kosher salami, with its deep red color and the coarse grain of its meat. Looks can be deceiving, though. This bologna has a unique history and a taste that might give you a good startle.
Lebanon bologna isn’t from the nation in the Middle East, nor from Italy either. Originating in Lebanon County, squarely in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it isn’t anything like the cold cut usually called bologna. Instead, it’s more of a cured salami with a sweet-and sour-profile.
As for why it’s not called Lebanon salami, the answer is technical: real salami is air-dried rather than smoked. It became known as “bologna” locally around 1890; a time when actual bologna was the most similar product in size and shape. Today’s food scientists would describe it as a summer sausage.
Beef has always been the key ingredient. Originally, it was made from the tough meat of old dairy cows that could only be eaten ground and heavily spiced. There’s also a sweet note to the seasoning, although some varieties are far sweeter than others. This is the old Pennsylvania Dutch food philosophy at work; anything can be made better by adding more sugar. Part of the sweetness comes from the fermentation process as well. This is a living food—a sort of meat yogurt, if you will.
www.atlasobscura.com/foods/lebanon-bologna
