Mortadella

Mortadella(Italian:[mortaˈdɛlla])is a largesalumemade of finely hashed or ground cured pork, which incorporates at least 15% small cubes of pork fat (principally the hard fat from the neck of the pig). It is traditionally flavoured withpeppercorns, but modern versions can also containpistachiosor, less commonly,myrtleberries. The sausage is then cooked.
The best-known version of mortadella ismortadella BolognaPGI, but other varieties are found across Italy, including some made of other meats.
The origin of the namemortadellais debated. One theory derives the name from theLatinwordmortarium('mortar'), traditionally used in pounding the meat to produce the sausage.This theory, proposed by Giancarlo Susini, professor of ancient history in theUniversity of Bologna, relies on two funerarysteleskept in theArchaeological Museum of Bologna, believed to pertain to the same monument, one showing a herd of piglets and the other a mortar and pestle.
Another theory, introduced byOvidio Montalbaniin the 17th century, derives the name from aRomansausage flavoured withmyrtleberries that Romans calledfarcimen myrtatumorfarcimen murtatum(myrtle sausage).Myrtle was in fact a popular spice beforepepperbecame available to European markets.
Traditionally, the pork filling was ground to a paste using a largemortar(mortaio,Italian:[morˈtaːjo]) and pestle.
Mortadella originated inBologna, the capital ofEmilia-Romagna.Anna Del Conte(The Gastronomy of Italy2001) found a sausage mentioned in a document of the official body of meat preservers in Bologna dated 1376 that may be mortadella.
Mortadella is very popular in Spain and Portugal, where a variety withpepperandolivesis widely consumed, especially in sandwiches. In eastern Spain, the standard mortadella is often referred to asmortadela italiana(lit.'Italian mortadella').
Mortadella is also popular in Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and Venezuela, due to the Italian immigrants who settled in these countries in the early 20th century. In these countries, it is spelledmortadela, and its recipe is quite similar to the traditional Italian, with additional peppercorns. In Peru is known asjamonada.
In Brazil,São Paulohas a very popularmortadela sandwichsold in theMunicipal Market.
In Puerto Rico, "smoked mortadella" is sometimes confused with commercial salami or with cooked salami because cafeterias,panaderías,colmadosand restaurants buy the bulk of whole smoked mortadella. While salami may contain pork, beef, veal and small pieces of fat uniformly distributed within the sausage, mortadella has the traditional larger chunks not so uniformly distributed. Its diameter is much larger than that of hard salami and more closely resemblessalame cotto(lit.'cooked salami') in size, hence the confusion of some people. It is smaller in diameter than the traditionalmortadella Bolognabecause the smoking process causes some shrinkage. It is best served at room temperature to bring out its rich flavour.
In Romania, a similar cold cut is also known asparizer. In Hungary, a similar product is calledmortadellaand a plain variety calledpariser,parizerorpárizsi. The termparizeris also often used in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia,whileparizieris used in other territories of the Balkans. It mainly differs from mortadella and similar salami in that garlic is used instead of myrtle and it does not contain pieces of fat, pistachios or olives.The classic Italianmortadellais widely sold in supermarkets along the entire Adriatic coast.
In Greece, where there is a smaller version in addition to the regular one, that variety is calledparizakiormortadelaki, and in Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia, the product known asmortadelais widely eaten.
In Poland,mortadelaslices are sometimes dipped in batter, fried and served with potatoes and salads as a quicker (and cheaper) alternative to traditionalpork cutlets.
In several countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Israel,halalorkoshermortadella is sold, which is made from chicken, beef or turkey. The Siniora brand, a Palestinian brand established in Jerusalem in 1920, is the first in the region, a mortadella with sliced olives, pistachios or peppercorn.LebaneseAl-Taghziahis a famous brand that is sold around the world.The most popular brands in theGCCareAmericana Groupand Halwani Brothers. It is also popular in Iran, albeit usually made with beef or lamb, and called commonlykaalbas, from Russiankolbasa.
A similar commercial sausage product that omits the cubes of pork fat, called "Bologna", is popular in Canada and the United States. A variety that includes olives and pimentos is calledolive loaf.
Mortadella was banned from import into the United States from 1967 to 2000 due to an outbreak of African swine fever in Italy.This ban was a pivotal part of the plot of the 1971 filmLa mortadellastarringSophia Loren. The title for the United States release wasLady Liberty.
The ban in the United States was lifted due to aveterinary equivalencyagreement that allowed countries to export products that had been shown to be disease-free as part of an overall agreement that would allow products deemed safe in the United States to be exported to the European Union.
In Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet states, a very similar product is calleddoktorskaya kolbasa(Russian:Докторская колбаса,lit.'doctor's sausage'). However, this product is usually made from a mixture of beef and pork (sometimes beef and lamb or chicken forreligiousreasons) and does not include pieces of fat or myrtle; mortadella-style sausages with bits of fat are calledlubitelskayaandstolichnaya. Instead, it is flavoured with justcardamom, sometimescorianderandnutmeg, and also traditionally contains eggs and milk, which are usually absent in traditional mortadella. Unlike mortadella,doktorskaya kolbasacontains lower amounts of fat and is high in proteins.
The name "doctor's sausage" was coined in the Soviet Union in the 1930s to refer to sausages and meat products recommended by doctors to help with undernourishment and stomach problems. During the Soviet era, it was commonly advertised as being nutritious (due to its low-fat content) and remains popular throughout former Soviet states to the present day.
Chả lụaor Vietnamese mortadella is sometimes used as an accompaniment to the Vietnamese dishbánh cuốn.