It is easy to mistake mortadella for bologna, though you wouldn't want to in Italy. It is said that some Italian mortadella makers view American bologna "the way French champagne producers view Ripple — with disgusted pity," per the Tenement Museum.
Despite sharing its name with the famous Italian city, the bologna we're all familiar with is a far cry from the traditional, much-loved mortadella of Emilia-Romagna. While the two may have a shared, albeit strained, heritage, mortadella is far more refined and specified than the cold cut you peel out of a plastic bag.
