Ham sandwich

Next month will mark 100 years since Harry Stevens, "Caterer of the Sport World," spoke to The New York Times for an uncredited column titled "Ball Fans Must Eat."

Stevens, caterer of the Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, and both Boston teams of the day, began his work in 1894. For 15 years, the menu would be limited to ham and cheese sandwiches until frankfurters hit the scene.

In the sandwich world, ham has long fallen out of favor for turkey. There's something a little wrong about eating a ham sandwich. Why? There's the notion that pork is the most similar meat to human, but that's not it.

There's the fact that deli ham is heavily "processed," both in the literal sense and the "unhealthy" sense. Is turkey any different? Yes, apparently. The degree of "processing" varies from butcher to butcher, of course, but turkey has notably more protein and significantly fewer carbs than the pink stuff. The bird has more trans fat but less fat overall. It also has twice the cholesterol of ham and seven proteins to the mammal's three. Blah, blah, blah — yes, turkey is ultimately a healthy alternative to ham.

Let's not forget the religious aspect — pork is haram, treif.

There’s also a class dynamic at play: yes, the lifestyle connotations of a relative “health” product, but turkey is cheaper than ham. Boar’s Head Sliced Smoked Ham, as peddled by Target, is $0.87 per ounce to the same brand’s Sliced Roasted Turkey Breast, $1,00 per ounce. Boar’s Head — this is a house that ham built, even though “cheap pork” is not one of their four brand pillars.

Yankees fans in the 19th century were munching ham sandwiches and washing them down with $0.05 beers. Today’s fans pay $6 for the beverage. And in 2016, turkey took pride of place at the deli counter, accounting for 34.6% of bulk deli meat sales to ham’s 30.9%.

Two weeks ago, I broke a probable three-year hiatus from purchasing sliced ham.

I don't buy Boar or pre-sliced; I buy from a local Eastern European deli, where various hams and other meats sit behind the glass priced by the pound. I'll convert to per-ounce to go head-to-head with Boar's. I bought half a pound of Romanian ham this week: $0.49 per ounce. Last week: the same weight of Virginia ham, $0.56 per ounce. I've yet to buy their turkey, wincing at the comparatively high price per pound — but per ounce, it comes out to a reasonable (next to Boar's Head) $0.75.

There are many reasons to love this particular deli besides the meats. For example, their weekly delivery of Taşkin Bakery bread. A large pride bread—like a less oiled focaccia—sets me for the week. And this is how I've eaten ham sandwiches every workday lunch for the last two weeks.

Ham sandwich, February 2024, from the bottom up:

• Pride bread, halved and warmed.

• Kewpie mayonnaise

• Cabot New York Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese

• Green onion

• Dill

• Two pieces of Romanian ham

• Pickled red onions

• Arugula

• Larrupin’