Another great NJ food debate: What do you call the ends of a loaf of bread?

Pork roll vs. Taylor ham. Wawa vs. Quick Chek. Sauce vs. gravy. Sub vs. hoagie vs. hero vs. grinder.

Here in New Jersey, we take our food very seriously. And we love to fight about it.

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Here's the setup: My mother-in-law made a beautiful Italian dinner on Saturday for the whole family. 7 adults, 8 kids, and a dog. Spaghetti, sauce, meatballs, and sausage. And, of course, two crusty loaves of bread.

Then the friendly argument began. What are the ends of a loaf of bread called? Specifically Italian bread. But I suppose the debate could extend to French bread, white, whole wheat, rye, etc.

I figured it was an excellent opportunity to ask my Facebook friends and fans for their opinion.

Wow, that exploded — it seems everyone has an opinion on this one. When this little debate began, I never imagined I would write an entire article about bread. But here we are.

Full disclosure: I don't have a drop of Italian blood. (Confirmed by 23 and Me.) But I literally can not eat pasta without some fresh bread. And the ends of the Italian loaf are, by far, my favorite part. (Although lately, I've had to concede the ends to my children lately, to stave off a bread-induced temper tantrum.)

This is obviously not an "only in Jersey" question. But I believe it's still worthy of discussion and debate. Are our collective bread differences because of upbringing or heritage or geography?

Here is a list of the most popular answers gleaned from the Facebook and Twitter universes. Maybe you and your family will have a new favorite term. Or maybe I just made you hungry for a nice, warm, crusty-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside, carb-o-licious, soppable, shareable hunk of bread?

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. And just like Oprah, he loves bread.. Follow Dan on Facebook or Twitter for your latest weather forecast updates.