Why Bologna In The US Is So Different From Its Italian Origins

You spot it on deli counters, in grocery stores, and possibly in your own refrigerator –- it's hard to go too far without seeing bologna crop up in one place or another. While you might not even be certain of what kind of meat is in bologna, or maybe you've falsely equated it to a big hot dog, the deli meat and school lunch staple has unquestionably changed over the years. In fact, you can even take a look at how bologna in the United States has evolved compared to its Italian ancestor.

Over the years, American bologna has developed into its own category of meat, and that's even reflected in the laws surrounding its production. While Italian mortadella, for example, can have larger chunks of fat in its composition, American law dictates that its domestic bologna can't contain any of these unmixed fatty bits. In American bologna, all ingredients, be they fatty or meaty, must be finely ground. American bologna must also contain no more than 30% fat or a 40% total of fat plus water. This ensures consistency from one product to another, but you could argue this comes at the expense of some of the artisanal potential seen in the likes of mortadella and even German bologna. But if you ever wanted to compare for yourself, none of these similar-yet-distinct meats are hard to track down.

Just in case its name and its progenitor didn't give it away, bologna comes from Bologna, Italy, where you can still find "mortadella di Bologna" today. Bologna and the Italian mortadella are certainly different from one another, even if they remain recognizably similar. Both are essentially conglomerations of finely ground meats that are cured and/or cooked in a sausage-like shape. But, unlike the American bologna of today, Italian mortadella contains large and visible pieces of fat throughout. You'll likely also see some differences in terms of the seasonings being used as well, with mortadella sometimes containing red pepper, pistachio, and similar ingredients.

The meat originally caught a lot of steam as it gained popularity in Italy, before expanding throughout other parts of Europe. And while you may assume that the United States inherited bologna through Italian immigration, the truth actually brings another European player into the mix in the form of Germany. Germany has its own style of bologna, and while it's different from American bologna now, the American style is believed to have arrived through German immigration first and foremost. These days, German bologna in the U.S. is also finely ground, though it tends to contain a more pungent presence of garlic compared to its American counterpart. Still, a lineage can be traced this way, with American bologna, German bologna, and Italian mortadella following a journey of culinary tweaking and cultural inheritance that you can still taste today.