[Sca-cooks] bologna

[Philip & Susan Troy]

phoenissa at netscape.net wrote:


> I hate to sound stupid, but what on earth is Lebanese bologna??  I have never, ever heard of it, and I know quite a bit about Lebanese cookery (my family is from there, and I've spent a good deal of time there too.)  I know that mortadella is pretty popular, and I always see it at Middle Eastern grocery stores, but it's unquestionably an Italian coldcut.  The only Lebanese coldcut I can think of right now is basturma, which is beef (I think) cured in a "crust" of very strong spices.  It's delicious but worse than garlic for keeping people away from you after you eat it :-)  And it's about as far removed from bologna as you can get ;)
>
> Anyway, I'm rather curious now and I'd like to know more about this "mystery" meat.  I await elucidation... :-)

I think Lebanese bologna may be an American variant originating in
Lebanon, PA. (Essentially a German sausage-making tradition instead of
an Italian one.)

As for why this would still be regarded as bologna, I can only class it
along with German cervelat[to] and cotechino, German salami, kosher or
otherwise, etc.

As Stefan says, Lebanon bologna tends to be coarser in grind, a bit more
like cotto salami or, since we're talking about German salamis, "salami
for beer", and usually comes in a smaller casing, providing in turn a
smaller slice. It is usually sold in the form of "bullets" (fat little
sausages perhaps eight inches by two or three), and in rings, like kielbasa.

Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98