In May I wrote a blog about NJ’s ICONIC Hot Dog Joints in our great State and enjoyed receiving emails shouting out your favorite locations. NJ is dubbed the hot dog capital of America, but I believe Taylor Ham is our meat of choice.
Pork Roll (regionally known as Taylor Ham) is a pork-based processed meat originating and commonly available in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, New Jersey, and sold as “Taylor Ham“.
John Taylor is credited with creating his secret recipe for the product in 1856. George Washington Case, a farmer and butcher from nearby Belle Mead, New Jersey, later created his own recipe for pork roll in 1870. Case’s was reportedly packaged in corn husks.
Taylor originally called his product “Taylor’s Prepared Ham”, but was forced to change the name after it failed to meet the new legal definition of “ham” established by the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Marketed as both “Taylor’s Pork Roll” and “Trenton Pork Roll”, it saw competition from products with similar names like “Rolled Pork” and “Trenton style Pork Roll”. When their makers were sued by Taylor a 1910 legal case ruled that the words “Pork Roll” could not be trademarked.
The processed meat is a local treasure and adored up and down the Turnpike and Parkway, but as is the case with many other beliefs and customs in our State, North Jersey and South Jersey are clearly divided.
In North Jersey, residents continue to use the term Taylor Ham, while South Jersey residents generally use the term Pork Roll, with Central Jersey residents using a mix of the two.
Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll Voting Results
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com conducted a pole and analyzed the voting data three ways. First, the popular vote is a simple count of votes. The geographical vote is a percentage of the municipalities won by either side. Finally, the pure population vote is a measure of the percent of the vote each side received in a town pitted against the actual population of that town.
Taylor Ham
Check out the entire NJ Advance Media for NJ.com article… It’s fantastic!
Even Rutgers University had created a pole and had a debate on Taylor Ham vs. Pork Roll
I am writing this blog post and I am from North Jersey and must insist —- It is TAYLOR HAM!
Regardless of what you call it, we can all agree that a traditional Taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich—is ingrained in New Jersey culture in a way almost nothing else is. We are Taylor Ham aficionados. How do you prefer yours? On a bagel or a hard roll? With or without salt, pepper, ketchup? Regardless, it is nice that NJ has something we can call our own.
Scott Miller, founded the New Jersey Pork Roll Festival in 2014. The 4th annual festival will take place on May 26, 2018 —- check it out! Perhaps I will see you there! http://www.trentonporkrollfestival.com/
This winter I will write about French Fries around our great State —- Disco fries, Whiz fries or French fries with brown gravy…. Which is your sinful preference? Stay tuned for the debate!
Which is your favorite place to get Taylor Ham in NJ? Your friends at TeamPAR would love to know!
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