Difference Between Salami and Bologna

Salami and bologna are both sausages, usually pork, that originated in Italy. However, they are made in different ways and utilize different ingredients. The American version of bologna is also very different from the Italian; depending on where you buy your meat, your bologna may be more like the Italian or more like the American version.

Salami spread

Description

Salami is the plural for salame in Italian, and refers to the whole class of salt-cured, fermented meats. Bologna is the American name for a sausage made in Bologna, Italy, called Mortadella. After being stuffed into sausage casings, bologna is not cured but cooked by weight.

Mortadella vs. American Bologna

American bologna may be based on the Italian Mortadella, but the two are not exactly the same. Italy's Mortadella di Bologna has a stringent standard that requires it be made without preservatives and with a proportion of meat to fat equal to 7 to 3. American bologna, on the other hand, is more loosely defined, and has regulations on how many preservatives and extenders can be used. Bologna with preservatives is often found in grocery stores, while bologna approximating Italian Mortadella is often found at deli counters.

Ingredients

Salamis usually combine pork or beef with garlic, salt, black and white peppercorns, wine and fat. Mortadella always utilizes peppercorns, fat and wine, and adds coriander, anise and pieces of pistachio. American bologna often (though not always) integrates these ingredients; you may also find "olive loaf," a bologna that is prepared similarly to the Italian but with olives or pimentos.

Appearance

Hard salami is unmistakable: thick, red, tough. Cooked salami, on the other hand, can be much softer and slightly lighter in color, and may look a lot like pink, soft bologna. Bologna also often has specks of the ingredients you don't find in salami, like green pistachios or olives.

Slicing

Salami is often sold as one uncut sausage. When sliced for sandwiches it will be thin, but for appetizers, it will often be cut in thick pieces. Mortadella and American bologna are both cut in thin slices whether being used in sandwiches or as an appetizer.

References

• Mortadella: Life in Italy