Lunch meats—also known as cold cuts, luncheon meats, cooked meats, sliced meats, cold meats, sandwich meats, and deli meats—are precooked or
cured meats that are sliced and served cold or hot. They are typically served in
sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
es or on a
tray
A tray is a shallow platform designed for the carrying of items. It can be fashioned from numerous materials, including silver, brass, sheet iron, paperboard, wood, melamine, and molded pulp. Trays range in cost from inexpensive molded pulp tray ...
.
They can be purchased pre-sliced, usually in
vacuum packs, or they can be sliced to order.
Types
*
Bresaola
Bresaola ( , , , ) is air-dried, salted beef (but it can also be made of horse, venison and pork) that has been aged two or three months until it becomes hard and turns a dark red, almost purple color. It is made from top (inside) round, and ...
*
Chicken breast
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have beco ...
* Chicken loaf (also known as chicken roll)
*
Corned beef
*
Cotechino
The ''cotechino'' (, ) is an Italian large pork sausage requiring slow cooking; usually it is simmered at low heat for several hours. Its name comes from ''cotica'' (rind), but it may take different names depending on its various locations of pr ...
*
Dutch loaf
Dutch loaf (also called old-fashioned loaf, spiced luncheon loaf, and spiced lunch meat) is a luncheon meat made from coarse-ground lean pork and beef mixed or coated with spices, formed into a loaf shape and then smoked over a hardwood fire. It is ...
*
Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...
** Baked
** Boiled
**
Chipped chopped
** Cooked
**
''Éisleker''
** ''
Jamón
''Jamón'' (, pl. ''jamones'') is a kind of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas.
Most ''jamón'' is commonly called ''jamón serrano ...
'':
''serrano'' or
''ibérico''
**
Prosciutto
''Prosciutto crudo'', in English often shortened to prosciutto ( , ), is Italian uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-cured ham. ''Prosciutto crudo'' is usually served thinly sliced.
Several regions in Italy have their own variations of ''prosciutto crud ...
** Smoked
*
Head cheese
Head cheese (Dutch: ''hoofdkaas'') or brawn is a cold cut terrine or meat jelly that originated in Europe. It is made with flesh from the head of a calf or pig (less commonly a sheep or cow), typically set in aspic, and usually eaten cold, ...
**
Salceson
Salceson is a type of meat found in Polish cuisine and other Central and Eastern European cuisines. There are several varieties of salceson which depend on the ingredients.
Varieties
* Black 'Salceson' which contains blood
* White 'Salceson' ma ...
*
Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that has been combined with other ingredients and formed into the shape of a loaf, then baked or smoked. The final shape is either hand-formed on a baking tray, or pan-formed by cooking it in a loaf pan. ...
** Ham and cheese loaf
**
Olive loaf
The term olive loaf can refer to two different food products.
It can be a type of meatloaf or cold cut embedded with pimento-stuffed green olives.
The other food is also known as olive bread, a bread laced with whole olives.
See also
* List ...
** Pepper loaf
**
Pimento loaf
Pimiento loaf, more commonly pimento loaf, also called pickle and pimiento loaf, pickle and pimento loaf, or P&P loaf, is a loaf-type luncheon meat containing finely chopped beef and pork, as well as chopped pickles and pimientos. After being f ...
**
Spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
d luncheon loaf
**
Veal loaf
*
Mortadella
*
Pork roll
Pork roll is a processed meat commonly available in New Jersey and neighboring states.
It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Trenton, and sold as "Taylor's Prepared Ham" until 1906.
Though since then food labeling regulations require Tay ...
*
Roast beef
Roast beef is a dish of beef that is roasted, generally served as the main dish of a meal. In the Anglosphere, roast beef is one of the meats often served at Sunday lunch or dinner. Yorkshire pudding is a standard side dish. Sliced roast beef ...
* Roast
lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
* Roast
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
*
Sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
s
**''
Bierwurst
''Bierwurst'' is a German cooked, smoked '' Brühwurst'' sausage originally from Bavaria, with a garlicky flavor and dark red color. It is seasoned with black peppercorns, paprika and mustard seeds for flavor.
The meat is partially cured and th ...
'' or ''beerwurst''
**
Blood tongue (''Zungenwurst'')
**
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
,
Polony
Bologna sausage, informally baloney ( ), is a sausage derived from the Italian mortadella, a similar-looking, finely ground pork sausage, originally from the city of Bologna (). Typical seasonings for bologna include black pepper, nutmeg, a ...
***
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
**
Braunschweiger
*** ''
Brühwurst
Brühwurst ("scalded sausage" or "parboiled sausage") is the collective name for several types of sausages according to the German classification. They are a cooked sausage that are scalded ( parboiled), as opposed to being raw. They are typica ...
''
*** ''
Mettwurst
Mettwurst () is a strongly flavored German sausage made from raw minced pork preserved by curing and smoking, often with garlic. The southern German variety is soft and similar to Teewurst. Braunschweiger mettwurst is partially smoked but stil ...
''
**
Chorizo
**
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
** ''
Extrawurst
Extrawurst can be either a type of cold cut or part of a German idiomatic expression.
Sausage type
Extrawurst is a type of Austrian scalded cold cut. It is moist, light-coloured, fine-textured, and made from a well-spiced mixture of beef, pork ...
''
** ''
Gelbwurst
''Gelbwurst'', meaning “yellow sausage”, is a traditional sausage and deli meat from Bavaria, Germany.
Description
Gelbwurst was invented in 1905 and is made from pork, veal, and a combination of spices such as ginger and nutmeg. Traditio ...
''
** ''
Jagdwurst
''Jagdwurst'' (literally ''hunting sausage'') is a German cooked sausage made with finely ground pork sausage meat and coarse chunks of lean pork or pork belly. Some recipes also include beef. The meat is usually seasoned with salt and flavoured ...
''
** ''
Krakowska'' (
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
-style pork sausage)
** ''
Kabanos''
** ''
Myśliwska''
**
Liverwurst
Liverwurst, leberwurst, or liver sausage is a kind of sausage made from liver. It is eaten in many parts of Europe, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Polan ...
** ''
Prasky Prasky, sometimes spelled praski, is a type of coarse-ground summer sausage or salami related to a German Thuringer sausage, or Plockwurst (not to be confused with a Thuringer-style bratwurst). It is also very closely related to several Hungarian s ...
''
**
Morcilla
A blood sausage is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used.
In Europe and the A ...
**
Salami
Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...
*** Alpino
***
Capicola
Capocollo () or coppa () is a traditional Italian and Corsican pork cold cut ('' salume'') made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pork shoulder or neck. It is a whole-muscle salume, dry cured, an ...
***
Finocchiona
***
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
-style
***
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish-style
***
Pepperoni
Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper.
Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...
*** ''
Soppressata
Soppressata is an Italian dry salami. Although there are many variations, two principal types are made: a cured dry sausage typical of Basilicata, Apulia, and Calabria, and a very different uncured salame, made in Tuscany and Liguria.
It ...
''
**
Salchichón
Salchichón is a Spanish summer sausage that is made by smoking, drying, cooking or some combination.[Saucisson sec
Saucisson () or saucisson sec is a family of thick, dry-cured sausages in French cuisine. Typically made of pork, or a mixture of pork and other meats, saucisson are a type of charcuterie similar to salami or summer sausage.
Origin
Sauciss ...]
'' (dry, maturing, salty, savoury-tasting French salami)
**
Sausagemeat stuffing
Stuffing, filling, or dressing is an edible mixture, often composed of herbs and a starch such as bread, used to fill a cavity in the preparation of another food item. Many foods may be stuffed, including poultry, seafood, and vegetables. A ...
**
Summer sausage
Summer sausage is an American term for any sausage that can be kept without refrigeration until opened. Summer sausage is usually a mixture of pork, but may be made of or contain other meats such as beef or venison. Summer sausage is fermente ...
** ''
Teewurst
Teewurst () is a German sausage made from two parts raw pork (and sometimes beef) and one part bacon; they are minced, seasoned and packed in casings (mostly porous artificial casings) before being smoked over beech wood. The sausage then has t ...
''
*
Smoked meat
Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...
**
Montreal-style smoked meat
Montreal-style smoked meat, Montreal smoked meat or simply smoked meat in Quebec (French: ''smoked-meat''; sometimes ''viande fumée'' or even ''bœuf mariné'': Literally “marinated beef”) is a type of kosher-style deli meat product made ...
**
Pastrami
Pastrami (Romanian: '' pastramă'') is a food originating from Romania usually made from beef brisket, lamb, pork, chicken sometimes from turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. ...
*
Tongue
The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...
*
Turkey breast
*
Spam
Spam may refer to:
* Spam (food), a canned pork meat product
* Spamming, unsolicited or undesired electronic messages
** Email spam, unsolicited, undesired, or illegal email messages
** Messaging spam, spam targeting users of instant messaging ( ...
and
Treet
Treet (Armour Star Treet) is a canned meat product similar to Spam first introduced in 1939 by Armour and Company in the United States. Sold as "spiced luncheon loaf", it is made with chicken and pork and has a more finely ground texture than S ...
Health
Most pre-sliced lunch meats are higher in
fat
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...
,
nitrates, and
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable iso ...
than those that are sliced to order, as a larger exposed surface requires stronger preservatives.
As a result, processed meats may significantly contribute to incidence of
heart disease and
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
, even more so than
red meat
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw and a dark color after it is cooked, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before and after cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl (not fish) is classified as ...
.
A prospective study following 448,568 people across Europe, showed a positive association between processed
meat consumption
Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chick ...
and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease and cancer. Similarly, a prospective study in the US following half a million people flagged a similar association between death and increased processed meat consumption. The
World Cancer Research Fund International
World Cancer Research Fund International is a not-for-profit association related to cancer prevention research related to diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the del ...
guidelines on
cancer prevention
Cancer prevention is the practice of taking active measures to decrease the incidence of cancer and mortality. The practice of prevention is dependent upon both individual efforts to improve lifestyle and seek preventive screening, and socioeconomi ...
recommend avoiding all
processed meat
Processed meat is considered to be any meat which has been modified in order to either improve its taste or to extend its shelf life. Methods of meat processing include salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, and/or the addition of chemical pr ...
s.
Safety
In 2011, the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
advises that those over age 50 reheat lunch meats to "steaming hot" and use them within four days.
See also
*
Smallgoods
Smallgoods is a term used in New Zealand and Australia to refer to small meat products such as ham, bacon, sausages or salami.The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth edition; 2002) Volume 2, p. 2884.
Many companies, such as Primo Smal ...
*
Delicatessen
Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...
*
Charcuterie
Charcuterie ( , also ; ; from french: chair, , flesh, label=none, and french: cuit, , cooked, label=none) is a French term for a branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, such as bacon, ham, sausage, terrines, ''galantines'', ''ballo ...
*
List of dried foods
This is a list of dried foods. Food drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of bacteria and has been practiced worldwide since ancient times to preserve food. Where or when d ...
*
List of sandwiches
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
*
Dagwood sandwich
A Dagwood sandwich is a tall, multilayered sandwich made with a variety of meats, cheeses, and condiments. It is named after Dagwood Bumstead, a central character in the comic strip '' Blondie'', who is frequently illustrated making enormous sand ...
References
External links
*
{{Sausage
Dried meat
Meat
Sandwiches
World cuisine
Lunch
Types of food
Sliced foods