Here's What Bologna Actually Is (And Other Facts That Might Surprise You)

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Generations of Americans spent their childhood tucking into bologna sandwiches. In the school cafeteria, the home kitchen, and everywhere else, this simple meal of white bread and smooth, pink meat reigned supreme.

Like most cafeteria foods, however, bologna receives a less-than-stellar response from adults. So widespread is this dismissal of the meat that it is even part of the United States' lexicon, as explained to Eater by professor of food studies Amy Bentley: "It's been inserted into the national psyche of despicable foods, laughable foods. 'That's baloney, that's crazy.' That's how we think of it. It's been embedded in our brains that way."

Despite being widely mocked, bologna remains a desirable food product in some people's eyes. In 2017, Americans purchased 236.4 million pounds of bologna from grocery stores. This number is all the more impressive given that a poll commissioned by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council found that only 35% of American consumers know what bologna actually is. Given this shockingly low percentage, we thought it best to clarify a few things about one of America's most pervasive sandwich meats, starting with what it actually is. 

Bologna is a close derivative of another Italian sausage from the city of Bologna, mortadella. Unlike bologna, which is a relatively new culinary invention, mortadella has been produced in Italy for thousands of years.

All the ingredients that make up mortadella are not ground together, as they are in bologna. Instead, chunks of fat, pistachios, and other flavorings stud the sausage. The unique appearance and excellent taste that results from this approach have seen mortadella become increasingly popular globally, especially in the U.S. This was celebrated by chef Evan Funke in an interview with The Los Angeles Times: "Mortadella is the moment, always has been. I think it's one of the most underrated salumi to come out of anywhere in the world; it's underutilized, underappreciated, super versatile, and I think it's the best, so I love that it's getting a little bit of traction."

Mortadella's growing popularity puts it at odds with the oft-ridiculed bologna. The former's more authentic Italian origins undoubtedly play a part in its global success. Yet, the lack of history or cultural significance that surrounds bologna is also one of its strengths, as it allows producers and chefs the freedom to experiment that other heritage products — mortadella included — do not.

In the U.S., bologna has a reputation as mystery meat. This means that consumers do not always know what type or cut of meat has been used to make the product. Many fear bologna contains substantial quantities of offal (organs) in place of the more expensive skeletal muscle. This fear is hard to alleviate, given that bologna's appearance gives consumers no indication of its contents.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, the fear surrounding bologna's contents is misplaced: organs (or variety meats, as they are sometimes called) are not widely used in modern-day bologna. Even when they are, producers are bound by law to clearly list them in the ingredients. What's more, a product marketed as "bologna with variety meats" must consist of at least 15% skeletal muscle.

Upon inspection, the ingredient lists of many bologna products reveal that they have been made with mechanically separated chicken. This is residual meat that is forced from the bones when passed under pressure through a sieve. While a safe, affordable, and waste-reducing process, some high-end bologna producers prefer to use higher quality cuts, though these are also ground into a paste at a later stage.

As with many facets of the modern American diet, bologna was brought to the country by immigrants. Although it can not be definitively stated, most agree that German immigrants, and not Italians, were responsible for introducing bologna to the U.S.

This hypothesis is reinforced by places like Pennsylvania, where a large proportion of German immigrants settled in the mid-18th century. Many of these areas have a long history of bologna making, as these immigrants often opened their own butcher shops. Here, they recreated the Italian mortadella they had grown up eating in Europe. It is suggested that the prevalence of wild turkey in Pennsylvania led to this meat, and eventually others, being added alongside or in place of pork. Thus, the American bologna we know today was invented.

The sausage only spread across the rest of the country once The Great Depression took hold. As an incredibly cheap sausage, many families turned to it as a major source of protein. Even cheaper versions, that included a great deal of offal, were popularized around this time. 

While most Americans may only be familiar with the standard grocery store bologna, there are numerous types of bologna made in the country. Many of these are regional specialties not often found outside certain states.

In Pennsylvania, one of the most prominent types of bologna is ring bologna. This sausage is packed into a narrow, semi-circular casing which results in it carrying a more intense flavor of smoke. Commonly sliced up and eaten by itself, ring bologna has more in common with European dried salamis than it does the flaccid, store-bought discs of bologna found elsewhere in the U.S.

Another iteration of bologna native to Pennsylvania is Lebanon bologna. Traditionally, this type of bologna is made from beef, mixed with sugar and several warm-tasting spices. The sausages are then fermented and smoked. The end result is a complex, addictive sausage that can prove divisive. This was highlighted to Taste by chef Matt Russell: "It's salty; it's smoked; it's a little bit fermented. It is what it is. Some people don't like it for sure, but I think it's too good on its own to kind of mess with."

Finally, there is rag bologna, a variant hailing from west Tennessee. This sausage has a higher fat content when compared to other types of bologna, as well as more fillers. It was traditionally served wrapped in cloth, hence the name.

Over recent decades, bologna has become a prison food staple in America. Usually, bologna is given to inmates in the form of sandwiches. In the mid-2000s, the Dakota County Jail, in Minnesota, made headlines when it began serving two turkey bologna sandwiches to inmates for their dinner every day of the year. There were also numerous reports of rotten bologna sandwiches being served to inmates in Orange County, California during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The prison system's reliance on bologna sandwiches boils down to money. Swapping out hot food for these sandwiches saves prisons a great deal. This was highlighted to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2013 by Andy Shock, who was Faulkner County Sheriff at the time: "We realized we could save a lot of money just by taking away one hot meal a day [and two on weekends] and still meet the state requirements of calories. We completely shut the kitchen down to any cooking on Saturday and Sunday ... If it was up to me, we'd serve [sandwiches] three meals a day, seven days a week, 365 days."

Even when served in good condition, the constant diet of bologna sandwiches leaves inmates unsatiated. The diet has also been seen to negatively impact inmates' health, leading to higher blood pressure due to the sausage's fat and sodium content.

Perhaps following Momofuku's lead, many restaurants across the U.S. are now serving bologna sandwiches. One of the most popular of these is found at Au Cheval, a gastropub in Chicago. Chef Jeremy Fisher described his take on the dish to Bon Appétit: "Crisping up the bologna takes the sandwich to a new level. We like to create different textural elements: the little crispy bits of the meat combined with the parts that puff up, mixed with the gooey cheese, the creamy dijonnaise and the crisp toasted bread. I'd receive death threats if I took it off the menu."

The historic Rockford General Store in Rockford, North Carolina also sells a version of the bologna sandwich. This one is served on potato bread, and includes bologna slices that are half an inch thick. The sandwich is completed with condiments including hoop cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard. Chili or slaw rounds out the monstrous meal.