Taylor Swift ham, egg and cheese named NJ’s state sandwich
Taylor Swift is the “anti-hero” of this age-old New Jersey food fight.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday declared the Taylor Swift ham, egg and cheese as the official state sandwich — an ode to the pop star taking the stage at MetLife Stadium Friday for her Eras tour.
But food fans are saying he’s settled the decades-old debate of what to call the humble cut of pork — Taylor ham, not pork roll.
“In New Jersey, we have a reputation for a great war between Taylor ham and pork roll,” Murphy said in a video message on Twitter.
“Usually, we let you call it what you want, but since we have a superstar coming to town, we know all too well that we should commemorate the occasion,” the Swiftie-leaning politician tweeted.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday declared the Taylor Swift ham, egg and cheese as the official state sandwich.Shutterstock
Murphy welcomed the pop star to New Jersey where she’ll continue her Eras tour Friday at MetLife Stadium.Twitter/@GovMurphy
Taylor Ham, or pork roll, is a processed pork breakfast meat made with spices, salt, a sugar cure and preservatives that is smoked before it’s packaged. Tthe ham dates back to the battlefields of the Civil War during the Battle of Trenton, reports suggest.
In 1856, John Taylor, a state senator and business man from Hamilton Square, NJ, began producing a meat product he called Taylor’s peppered ham, which was hickory smoked and made with spices. But in 1906, the government decided it did not comply with the true definition of ham. So, he changed the name to Taylor pork roll.
Northern New Jersey natives continued to call it Taylor ham while those in the south part of the state called it pork roll. Today, the meat is sold sliced or unsliced and typically fried or grilled.
Some food fans argued that since Swift is a Pennsylvania native, the breakfast meat should be called pork roll.Getty Images for TAS Rights…..