PastramÃÂ is a popular delicatessen meat traditionally in Romania made from lamb and also from pork and mutton.
PastramÃÂ was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration. For pastrami, the raw meat is brined, partly dried, seasoned with various herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed. In the beginning, pastramÃÂ was a specialty from Wallachia made from young ram's meat.
The word pastramÃÂ is etymologically rooted in the Romanian a pÃÂstra, which means "to keep" or "to preserve".
PastramÃÂ was introduced by Romans to the city of Caesarea Mazaca in Anatolia, known as pastron.
A wave of Romanian Jewish immigration to the United States in the second half of the 19th century, introduced the Yiddish pastrame, becoming pastrami. The modified "pastrami" spelling likely was introduced to sound related to the Italian salami.