Pickelfleisch, Pastirma, and Beyond: An Overview of the Myths of the Origin of Pastrami

This paper investigates the assertion by Claudia Roden that pastrami is an invention of New York City delicatessens, a claim that refutes the accepted etymology of the word “pastrami” as being linked to a seasoned air-dried meat, sometimes referred to as basturma/pastirma, from Romania or Turkey. The probability that the roots of this iconic American delicatessen favourite can originally be found in two similar meats, pickelfleisch and homen, both originating from the areas today known as Alsace, France and the southeastern section of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate will also be explored. Ashkenazi food culture is predominantly identified as having originated in a wide swathe of territory, encompassing Northern, Central and Eastern Europe but regularly overlooks the fact that the Jews across this expansive area had migrated from the Ashkenaz Valley in the thirteenth century. They brought their food traditions with them, including the methods of preparing these meats. Many other styles of meat preservation existed or subsequently emerged, but pastrami is distinct in that the meat (beef) is brined, cured, smoked and then steamed. These methods were used in Alsace/Rhineland before being transported to Central and Eastern Europe and then onward to the United States and Canada, where the now famous delicatessen version of pastrami was essentially born.