Taylor Swift is the “Anti-Hero” of this age-old New Jersey food fight.
Gov. Phil Murphy declared the “Taylor Swift ham, egg and cheese” as the official state sandwich — in honor of the pop star taking the stage at MetLife Stadium Friday for her Eras tour.
Food fans are saying he’s settled the decades-old debate of what to call the humble cut of pork — Taylor ham or pork roll.
“In New Jersey, we have a reputation for a great war between Taylor ham and pork roll,” Murphy said in a video message on Twitter.
“Usually, we let you call it what you want, but since we have a superstar coming to town, we know ‘All Too Well’ that we should commemorate the occasion,” the Swiftie-leaning politician tweeted.
Taylor ham, or pork roll, is a processed pork breakfast meat made with spices, salt, a sugar cure and preservatives that is smoked before it’s packaged. The ham dates back to the battlefields of the Civil War during the Battle of Trenton, reports suggest.
In 1856, John Taylor, a state senator and business man from Hamilton Square, New Jersey, began producing a meat product he called Taylor’s peppered ham, which was hickory smoked and made with spices. But in 1906, the government decided it did not comply with the true definition of ham. So, he changed the name to Taylor pork roll.
Northern New Jersey natives continued to call it Taylor ham, while those in the southern part of the state called it pork roll. Today, the meat is sold sliced or unsliced and is typically fried or grilled.
The line in the breakfast sandwich meat war is clear to this day.
“Let’s put it this way: It’s a very fine line in Jersey where the pork roll/Taylor ham (demilitarized zone) is, and it almost divides our state perfectly in half,” John Yarusi, owner of Johnny’s Pork Roll and Coffee Too in Red Bank, told the Asbury Park Press.
“If I had to peg that line, it’s the southern border of Middlesex County and the northern border of Mercer County,” he explained.
People were quick to comment on Murphy’s tweet.
One unwavering foodie bluntly replied: “Pork roll.”
Commenters continued to echo: “It’s pork roll. Stop embarrassing us.”
Another scoffed: “She’s from Pennsylvania, don’t do this.”
The light-hearted legislation fell flat in a different way with some Garden State natives.
“K Murph — thanks for this gem. Meanwhile … roads are horrible, property taxes too high, unreliable train service into Manhattan.”
