Home Today Is No Matter How You Spell It, Bologna, Is Still Baloney

No Matter How You Spell It, Bologna, Is Still Baloney

Updated February 6, 2024

Each year on October 24th, people across the nation make a sandwich to take part in National Bologna Day.  This would be a good day to have a bologna sandwich for lunch.

  • 1928 – In 1928, bread slicers were commercialized forever changing the way Americans eat. Going from something available almost exclusively at deli counters to a homemade, bagged lunch, pushed bologna sandwiches into ubiquity in the pre-Depression America.
  • 1929 – 1939 – During the Great Depression, bologna was one of the most accessible foods to Americans. It was affordable and it kept well for long periods. This made the bologna sandwich a mainstay for many Americans and, also, how garnered the reputation as something consumed during hard time
  • 1963 – In 1963, the New York Board of Education included bologna as an official lunch item, helping to feed the children in the country’s largest public school system.
  • 1974 – One of the most successful and longest-running commercials ever made came from Oscar Meyer, featuring a child fishing and singing a jingle about how his bologna is named Oscar Meyer.
  • Sometimes this specialty meat is spelled baloney since that’s how it is pronounced. However, the more common spelling is Bologna. That’s because it originated in the city of Bologna, Italy.
  • It’s a type of sausage and is similar to Italian mortadella.
  • Bologna Bowl – When a slice of bologna is heated, the fat renders and the round slice takes the shape of a bowl which may be filled with cheese or other fillings.
    • There is a variety of different types of bologna:
    • German Bologna
    • Kosher or halal bologna
    • Lebanon bologna
    • Lauantaimakkara
    • Rag bologna
    • South African polony
    • Vegetarian
  • Mortadella dates back to the 15th century, and the original recipes included myrtle, ‘mortella’ in Italian, hence the name.
  • The main difference between bologna and mortadella is that mortadella also contains added fat or lard, which gives it that marbled appearance. Mortadella also sometimes has pistachios or green olives in it — sort of like a fancy version of bologna’s olive loaf.
  • U.S. government regulations require American bologna to be finely ground, and without visible pieces of lard.
  • There are 1,632 people in the U.S. listed on whitepages.com with the last name ‘Bologna’ and 88 with the last name ‘Baloney’
  • Americans eat 800 million pounds of bologna annually.
  • Oscar Mayer is the most popular bologna brand thanks to its 1973 jingle “My bologna has a first name….”
  • Bologna is a popular breakfast food in Newfoundland, served fried as a substitute for ham slices. It is also sometimes barbecued as well. In either case, it is referred to as “Newfie Steak.”
  • A recent poll shows only 35 percent of Americans know that bologna is a type of sausage.
  • Even if you are a huge bologna fan, the idea of being locked up in the Dakota County Jail sounds pretty awful because bologna is all you get. The jail serves two turkey bologna sandwiches and a small side dish of fruit per inmate, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Even on Christmas
  • Packaged bologna sometimes comes with a red string or seal around it. What exactly is that stuff, and can you eat it? It might be a casing made from the gastrointestinal tracts of cattle, sheep and hogs — which makes it slightly gross, but still edible.
  • The classic bologna on white bread sandwich reigns supreme with 70 percent of bologna eaters
  • Bologna Burger Sliders: An update to the classic ground beef slider, adding in ground bologna and topped with pepper jack cheese and grilled onions for an extra flavor kick
  • Bologna-Slaki with Tzatziki: A Mediterranean twist with skewers of bologna, red onion and red pepper chunks, marinated in olive oil, oregano, lemon and garlic, then grilled and served with a cool yogurt, cucumber, mint and cumin sauce.
  • Crunchy Grilled Bologna and Cheese Sandwich: These indulgent, crispy-gooey sandwiches, topped and grilled with crushed potato chips are terrific for lunch, naturally, but also work fabulously as an hors d’oeuvres when cut into quarters and dipped into honey-mustard
  • Grilled Bologna Salad Sandwich: Step away from the tuna melt and try this delicious bologna alternative chopped with provolone, Dijon mustard, hot relish and mayonnaise.
  • Bologna Snowflakes are a thing. Slice bologna into a thin, round shape. Fold it, then take random bites. Open it and you have —bologna snowflakes.
  •  Bologna used to serve as a daily meal that the Roman Army would consume. When he came to Italy, Napoleon loved the meat blend so much that he took it back to France with him.
  • Bologna became much more prominent during the Great Depression because it was cheaper. Since it was made from the cheaper parts of animals and even organs of an animal, it served as a way less expensive meat compared to ham or salami.
  • Bologna really became popular when it turned into packaged bologna in the 20th century. One of the most popular bologna companies, Oscar Mayer, became one of the first pioneers in vacuum-sealed packaging.

Sources:

National Day Calendar

Mobile-Cuisine

Cision

Entity Magazine

Mashed