Lunch meats, cold cuts, deli meats—no matter what you call them, these precooked meats are ready to enjoy straight from the package.
But what exactly sets deli meat apart, and what else can you use it for?
Keep reading to dive into the wide world of deli meats, including the variety of beef and ham deli meat options available from Wellshire.
What Are Deli Meats?
The term “deli meat” originally referred to the type of meat sold at a delicatessen. Today, it’s most common to find deli meat at the deli counter in a grocery store or at a sandwich shop.
A lunchtime staple, deli meat is usually sold in slices, making it easy to add to a sandwich. These meats can also be called cold cuts, since they come precooked, don’t need to be heated before eating, and are safely stored in the fridge.
Cured Vs. Uncured
In addition to their shared characteristics, there are two ways to prepare deli meat: cured or uncured. What’s the difference?
Curing is a meat preservation process that uses sodium or potassium nitrate. It helps increase shelf life, promote food safety, and enhance flavor. Yet natural ingredients such as celery powder, swiss chard, and sea salt can achieve curing at the same safety level. At Wellshire, all our deli meats are uncured, meaning we use these alternative curing ingredients to promote the same benefits of curing without using nitrates.
Discover a Variety of Deli Ham
From a sub sandwich to a snack tray, deli ham is a tasty and high-protein cold cut option. At Wellshire, we offer four delicious cooked and cured deli hams.
- Black Forest Boneless Uncured Seasoned Deli Ham – Featuring a light and smoky flavor, this ham contains only natural ingredients, including cane sugar, sea salt, and vinegar. It’s the perfect addition to any sandwich or charcuterie platter.
- Slow Cooked Uncured Ham – Slow cooked for maximum flavor and shelf life, this deli ham also boasts 11g of protein, 9mg of calcium, and 499mg of potassium. It’s great to have on hand for brown bag lunches or at-home ham and cheese rollups.
- Smoked Uncured Maple Ham – Both savory and sweet, this deli ham features sea salt, maple sugar, honey granules, and celery powder to maximize both flavor and preservation. Serve it as a special holiday ham, or use it to elevate everyday lunches.
- Virginia Brand Uncured Seasoned Deli Ham – Naturally smoked and generously seasoned, this deli ham contains 12g of protein. Grill it in a panini, add it to a snack platter, or eat it cold right out of the package.
No matter which type of Wellshire ham you choose, you’ll enjoy humanely raised and chemical-free deli meat.
Try Other Deli Meats
While ham is a classic, there are lots of other ways to enjoy cold cuts. As long as it’s precooked and sliced, it’s deli meat!
Check out these flavorful Wellshire options.
- Uncured Beef Bologna – This classic deli meat is both savory and sweet. Our bologna features 7g of protein and 10mg of calcium, with natural flavors and preservatives like sea salt, lemon juice, and paprika.
- Uncured Cooked Corned Beef – Enjoy the deliciousness of a deli counter from the comfort of your own home. Our corned beef, which contains 16g of protein, serves as a tasty addition to sandwiches or wraps.
- Uncured Pastrami – Robustly seasoned with dried garlic, coriander, and black pepper, our fully cooked pastrami is ideal for your favorite sandwich.
Not only are these four deli meats excellent ham alternatives, but they also come with the Wellshire guarantee of natural, MSG-free flavoring.
The Wellshire Difference: All Natural Deli Meats
Why choose Wellshire for your kitchen? We pride ourselves on providing all-natural products. That means you can rest assured our meats are:
- Humanely raised – Our animals roam in stress-free environments on our farms.
- Vegetarian fed – Our animals eat a clean vegetarian diet with no animal products.
- Antibiotic- and hormone-free – Raised without antibiotics, with no added growth hormones, or other unnatural injections.
- Nitrate-free – Our uncured meats achieve preservation and flavor from natural ingredients, not chemicals.
- Allergy-friendly – Most of our products are free of major allergens, and all packages are carefully labeled with allergen information.
What’s more, our high standards never compromise on flavor, resulting in savory deli meats you’ll feel good about feeding to your family.
Shop Wellshire at Whole Foods Today
Find your favorite Wellshire meats at any Whole Foods location and on Amazon Fresh. Weekday lunches, holiday gatherings, backyard BBQs—we’ve got you covered for any occasion. In addition to deli meats, you can try products like maple bourbon glazed ham, black forest uncured bacon, uncured beef franks, and more.
Find your local Whole Foods Market on our website, or add Wellshire products to your Amazon Fresh cart and have them delivered straight to your door.
Sources:
Better Homes & Gardens. What Makes Deli Meat “Deli,” Exactly? Dietitians Dish.
https://www.bhg.com/what-is-deli-meat-8703368.
USDA. Cured Meat and Poultry Product Operations.
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-03/fplic-5a-cured-meat-and-poultry-operations.pdf.
