Pastrami

Pastramă (internationally better known as pastrami) is a traditional Romanian cured meat, usually made from goose, beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or turkey.

It was created as a form of preservation in which the raw meat is brined, dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, smoked, and finally steamed. Pastramă was introduced to the United States in the second half of the 19th century, with the wave of Romanian Jews who emigrated to the East Coast of the US, mostly to New York City.

There, the word pastramă changed to the more American-sounding pastrami. It is believed to be an imitation of the word salami, which was widely known and beloved among the locals. But the wording was not the only thing that adapted. Since the beef plate was a lot cheaper than the more traditional goose meat, Romanian Jews started to make pastrami with it and then used it to make sandwiches.

That was the origin of pastrami on rye, one of the most iconic New York dishes. Today, the pastrami is made from different cuts of beef (although New Yorkers still mainly use the beef plate) and mostly sold in Jewish delis', piled high onto rye bread or bagels, and topped with mustard and pickles.