I’ve NEVER Had Pork Roll/Taylor Ham – Am I Missing Out?

I get a lot of strange looks when I tell people that I've never tried this iconic NJ food.

All of my friends are OBSESSED with Pork Roll (or Taylor Ham if you prefer). They say it's one of their favorite go-to breakfast foods. But I wouldn't know, because I've never tried it. And I will most likely never be able to. Why, you ask? Because I'm a vegetarian and have been for almost 14 years. Now your next question is "well why didn't you just try it before?" I guess I never really had the urge.

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Pork roll is defined from Wikipedia as:

is a pork-based processed meat commonly available in New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was developed in 1856 by John Taylor of Hamilton Square, New Jersey, and sold as "Taylor's Prepared Ham".^[3] Other producers entered the market, and subsequent food labeling regulations required Taylor to designate it as a "pork roll" alongside its competitors. While "Taylor" is technically a brand of pork roll, in regions of North and Central Jersey, all brands of pork roll may be referred to colloquially as "Taylor Ham" due to John Taylor branding his original pork roll as Taylor's Prepared Ham.

Now, here's my question for you. Am I missing out on something? "Pork based processed meat" doesn't really sound too appetizing to me. Is Pork Roll (or Taylor Ham) really the best thing ever? I've had Canadian Bacon before, doesn't it just taste like that (my friends insist NO IT DOES NOT).

If I ever do decide to eat meat again for some reason, should I give Pork Roll (or Taylor Ham) a try? Should my NJ card be removed because I have never had it before? Let me know.

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