Mortadella#Italy

The origin of the name {{lang|it|mortadella}} is debated. One theory derives the name from the Latin word {{lang|la|mortarium}} ('mortar'), traditionally used in pounding the meat to produce the sausage.{{cite book |last= Hazan|first= Marcella |date= 2012|title= The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=IciBQN-0VS4C&pg=PP17|publisher= Pan Macmillan|page= 17|isbn= 9780752228044}}{{cite book |last= Davidson|first= Alan |date= 2014|title= The Oxford Companion to Food|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA533|location= Oxford|publisher= OUP Oxford|page= 533|isbn= 9780191040726}} This theory, proposed by Giancarlo Susini, professor of ancient history in the University of Bologna, relies on two funerary steles kept in the Archaeological Civic Museum of Bologna, believed to pertain to the same monument, one showing a herd of piglets and the other a mortar and pestle.{{cite book|url= https://mortadellabologna.com/blog/etruschi-galli-bol-o-romani-chi-e-stato-l-inventore/|title= La Mortadella Bologna IGP. Storia di un mito|last= Roversi|first= Giancarlo|date= 2013|location= Bologna|publisher= Consorzio mortadella Bologna|language=IT}}

Another theory, introduced by Ovidio Montalbani in the 17th century, derives the name from a Roman sausage flavoured with myrtle berries that Romans called {{lang|la|farcimen myrtatum}} or {{lang|la|farcimen murtatum}} (myrtle sausage).{{cite book|url= https://mortadellabologna.com/blog/mirto-o-mortella-al-posto-del-pepe-troppo-pregato-e-costo/|title= La Mortadella Bologna IGP. Storia di un mito|last= Roversi|first= Giancarlo|date= 2013|location= Bologna|publisher= Consorzio mortadella Bologna|language= IT}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Myrtle was in fact a popular spice before pepper became available to European markets.

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• {{lang|it|Mortadella Bologna}} has protected geographical indication (PGI) status under European Union law and is the best known worldwide. The zone of production is extensive; as well as Emilia-Romagna and the neighbouring regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Marche, and Tuscany, it includes Lazio and Trentino.
• The American product called "bologna sausage" is an imitation of {{lang|it|mortadella Bologna}} PGI. Other imitations from around the world include "parizer", "polony", and "devon".
• {{lang|it|Mortadella di Campotosto}}, high in the Apennines of northern Lazio, is lightly smoked.
• {{lang|it|Mortadella di cavallo}} is made from horse meat in Albano Laziale, Lazio.{{Cite web |date=2011-07-20 |title=home > lista dei prodotti > scheda: Mortadella di cavallo |url=https://www.arsial.it/portalearsial/prd_tipici/scheda_prodotto.asp?tip=0&id=103&bio=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720003110/https://www.arsial.it/portalearsial/prd_tipici/scheda_prodotto.asp?tip=0&id=103&bio=0 |archive-date=2011-07-20 |access-date=2022-11-30 |website=arsial.it}}
• {{lang|it|Mortadella di Prato}}, produced in Tuscany (Prato), is also defined by an PGI. It is flavoured with pounded garlic and coloured with alchermes.

A famous mortadella sandwich is sold at the Municipal Market of São Paulo in the city of São Paulo.{{Cite news |last=Farrell-Fuchsloch |first=Megan |date=23 March 2017 |title=São Paulo: Insider Travel Guide |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/insider-guide-sao-paulo/index.html |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=CNN Travel}}

In several countries, such as Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, halal or kosher mortadella 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.{{Cite web|title = Farmer Jack — a Siniora Sons Inc. Company|url = http://farmerjack.ps/en/|website = farmerjack.ps|access-date = 11 February 2016|archive-date = 31 March 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160331170201/http://farmerjack.ps/en/|url-status = dead}} Lebanese {{transliteration|apc|Al-Taghziah}} is a brand that is sold around the world.{{cite web|title=Al-Taghziah|url=http://altaghziah.com/newweb/|access-date=16 December 2012|archive-date=25 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625142731/http://altaghziah.com/newweb/|url-status=dead}}

In Poland, {{lang|pl-PL|mortadela}} slices are sometimes dipped in batter, fried and served with potatoes and salads as a quicker (and cheaper) alternative to traditional pork cutlets.{{Cite web |title=What Poles Ate When There Was Nothing to Eat |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/what-poles-ate-when-there-was-nothing-to-eat |access-date=6 May 2021 |website=Culture.pl |language=en}}

In Romania, a similar cold cut is also known as {{lang|ro-RO|parizer}}. In Hungary, a similar product is called {{lang|hu-HU|mortadella}} and a plain variety called {{lang|hu-HU|pariser}}, {{lang|hu-HU|parizer}} or {{lang|hu-HU|párizsi}}. The term {{lang|bs|parizer}} is also often used in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, while {{lang|und-039|parizier}} is 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.{{cite web |date=5 May 2016 |title=Parizer ili pariška salama nema veze s Parizom |url=https://www.volim-meso.hr/parizer-pariska-salama-nema-veze-s-parizom/}}

In Russia and other former Soviet states, a very similar product is called {{transliteration|ru|doktorskaya kolbasa}} ({{langx|ru|link=no|Докторская колбаса}}, {{literally|doctor's sausage}}). However, this product is usually made from a mixture of beef and pork (sometimes beef and lamb or chicken for religious reasons) and does not include pieces of fat or myrtle; mortadella-style sausages with bits of fat are called {{transliteration|ru|lubitelskaya}} and {{transliteration|ru|stolichnaya}}. Instead, it is flavoured with just cardamom, sometimes coriander and nutmeg, and also traditionally contains eggs and milk, which are usually absent in traditional mortadella. Unlike mortadella, {{transliteration|ru|doktorskaya kolbasa}} contains 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.{{cite web |date=3 November 2018 |title=Russian Kitchen – Why the Soviets' favorite bologna was called "doctor's sausage"? |url=https://www.rbth.com/russian-kitchen/329437-doctors-sausage-soviet-russian-kitchen |work=Russia Beyond the Headlines}}

Mortadella was banned from import into the United States from 1967 to 2000 due to an outbreak of African swine fever in Italy.{{cite web |last1=Stanley |first=Alessandra |date=13 February 2000 |title=The Return of Mortadella |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/13/weekinreview/february-6-12-the-return-of-mortadella.html |work=The New York Times}}

The ban in the United States was lifted due to a veterinary equivalency agreement 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.{{cite web |last1=Stanley |first=Alessandra |date=10 February 2000 |title=Bologna Journal; Coming to a Deli Near You: A Long-Taboo Sausage |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/10/world/bologna-journal-coming-to-a-deli-near-you-a-long-taboo-sausage.html |work=The New York Times}}

{{lang|vi|Chả lụa}} or Vietnamese mortadella is sometimes used as an accompaniment to the Vietnamese dish {{lang|vi|bánh cuốn}}.{{cite web|url=http://noodlepie.typepad.com/blog/2004/07/stall_1006_banh.html|title=Stall 1006 – Banh Cuon – noodlepie|work=typepad.com}}

{{Portal|Italy|Food}}

• {{lang|it|Mortadella di Campotosto}}
• Pigs in culture

{{Reflist}}

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{{Commons category|Mortadella sandwiches}}

• [https://mortadellabologna.com/ Consorzio Mortadella Bologna] {{in lang|it}}
• [https://www.salumi-italiani.it/en/salumi/cooked-deli-meats-en/mortadella/ Istituto Valorizzazione Salumi Italiani (IVSI)]: Mortadella
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050325132243/http://www.pubit.it/sunti/psi0102a.html Carlo Cantoni and Patrizia Cattaneo, "La mortadella: aspetti attuali tecnici della sua produzione"] {{in lang|it}}

{{Sausage}}

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Category:Cuisine of Emilia-Romagna

Category:Italian sausages

Category:Cooked sausages

Category:Lunch meat

Category:Olive dishes