I made the mistake of not looking up which Holidays fall this week and today being March 3rd National Cold Cuts Day #NationalColdCutsDay. I wish David wasn’t working a double today or Charlie was here instead f being at the Park with his friends. I would have sent one of them to Subway to get me the American Club on Flat Bread which is Oven Roasted Turkey Breast, Bacon, Black Forest Ham and Grated Cheese for dinner this evening. Instead were having Quesadilla’s which are also good but not what I wanted.
National Cold Cuts Day falls on March 3rd each year, when the Nation unites in a common love for Meat items that have been stored and processed in various methods. Call these meats what you will including cold cuts, lunch meats, deli meats, or sandwich meats. We know you have a favorite so come on and share the cold cut love. It’s time to celebrate Cold Cuts ie Lunch Meat because it’s time for National Cold Cuts Day!
HISTORY OF NATIONAL COLD CUTS DAY
Stack those Cold Cuts up or eat them slice by slice or put Cold Cuts on your sandwiches or cut Cold Cuts up and add them to your Pasta dish. However you choose to eat cold cuts, there is no denying cold cuts popularity. According to various websites, Americans alone consume around $2 billion worth of cold cuts per year,. Did you know Bologna is the most popular type of Cold Cut eaten.
In the early ages, back when refrigerators were a part of Science fiction tales, people still wanted to enjoy meat. Unfortunately, meat would spoil too quickly before people could relax and enjoy the giant animal they were planning to eat. People began sun-drying meats. This process originated in the Paleolithic age, say historians, and went on for quite a while.
The cold cut made an appearance much later, around 500 B.C. The Ancient Romans and Etruscan population would salt and smoke meat to keep it around and edible longer. Romans regularly feasted on Ham or Prosciutto. These cold cuts often were a part of their main courses and even became street food. Gradually, as the empires spread, the curing and processing of meat took on aspects of the region. The ways of conserving meat changed from region to region.
By the Renaissance time period, special cured meat recipes abounded, and the seasoning was as different as the people and Countries making them. The deli meat that is so popular today has been attributed to the Earl of Sandwich, who popularized cold cuts, along with his famous creation (the sandwich) in the 1700s. In turn, meats like Pastrami, Corned Beef, among others, are the invention of Jewish delis from Eastern Europe. Their emigration to the U.S. and other places led to the deli meat craze in other parts of the world.
By the 1800s, cold cuts were an everyday item. Specialized stores that sold such meats populated places in the U.S., Italy, and other regions. To this, we add the ancient popular art of ‘charcuterie’. Derived from French, this describes the preservation of meat through curing, smoking, and salting. Charcuteries has been around for more than 6000 years, and the ancient Romans are likely the very first people who tried to regulate the trade of charcuterie. They wrote laws regulating the ‘right’ production of Pork Joints.. The French contributed greatly to charcuterie production, even building guilds, and regulating the production of such meats. The classic culinary reference book, Larousse Gastronomique, also contains references to charcuterie.
Today, cold cuts are extremely common all over the world, and the industry shows no signs of stopping its upward march.
NATIONAL COLD CUTS DAY ACTIVITIES
- Visit the local deli to check out different cold cuts: including Chicken, Corned Beef, Ham, Mortadella, and more.
- Host a cold cuts party by setting out a charcuterie board, pair the tray with Wine.
THE FUNKIEST COLD CUTS EVER
- Head cheese is not cheese; it is the flesh, brain, eyes, and ears of a Calf or Pig, all mixed into a paste.
- Horse Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy, that is thinly sliced pieces of raw horse meat that people eat on special occasions.
WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL COLD CUTS DAY
- People love cold cuts even though they get some flak, we can’t help but love these delicious slices and cuts of meat in moderation..
- Cold cuts can be healthy too when eaten smartly, of course.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
