How Did the Taylor Ham Vs. Pork Roll Debate ACTUALLY Start?

New Jersey is famous for its pork roll or Taylor Ham. The debate has raged on for years, but WHY do we actually have two names for the popular meat?

What is the proper name for this popular breakfast meat of New Jersey? This all depends on who you ask.

Those who call it Taylor ham are referring to the late state senator, John Taylor. John Taylor grew up in Hamilton Square and served as senator for 13 years in the 1880's.  We have him to thank for creating our ultimate breakfast hangover cure.

His work in the food provisional industry led him to create his innovative recipe, which is made from smoked minced pork. Taylor was an entrepreneur and kept his secret recipe under wraps, eventually creating his own product and business, the Taylor Provisions Company.

So, why are we still confused about what to call it?

When Taylor first released the product it was marketed as, "Taylor Ham,"  but the Food and Drug act of 1906 changed that quickly.  His pork product did not keep up with the FDA regulations to label a product as "ham".

Thus, the name pork roll was born. John Taylor re-marketed the product as "Taylor Pork Roll,"  by 1910.

Those who still refer to Pork roll as Taylor Ham are simply referencing the original name, before our friends at the FDA intervened.

If we are being technical, the proper way to refer to the product is Taylor Pork Roll, as labeled below:

By the way, no matter where you are: you can have the popular food shipped anywhere across the country from a site aptly named jerseyporkroll.com.