Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

and beef seasoned with paprika and

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

s. Before cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Sliced pepperoni is one of the most popular pizza toppings in American pizzerias. Traditionally made pepperonis curl into "cups" in the pizza oven's intense heat; commercialization of the production of pepperoni created slices that would lie flat on the pizza. The curled "cup and char" style of pepperoni remained popular in pockets of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Etymology

The term ''pepperoni'' is a borrowing of ''peperoni'', the plural of ''peperone'', the Italian word for

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper, paprika, pepper, capsicum or, in some parts of the US midwest, mango) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in diff ...

. The first use of ''pepperoni'' to refer to a sausage dates to 1916 at the latest. In Italian, the word '' peperoncino'' refers to

History

In 1919, Italian immigrants in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

created pepperoni. It is a cured dry sausage, with similarities to the spicy salamis of southern Italy on which it is based, such as '' salsiccia'' or '' soppressata''. The main differences are that pepperoni is less spicy, has a finer grain (akin to spiceless salami from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

), is usually softer in texture, and is usually produced with the use of an artificial casing.

Production

Pepperoni is made from pork or from a mixture of pork and beef. Turkey meat is also commonly used as a substitute, but the use of poultry in pepperoni must be appropriately labeled in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It is typically seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper. Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Curing with nitrates or nitrites (usually used in modern curing agents to protect against

botulism Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by botulinum toxin, which is produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum''. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, Fatigue (medical), feeling tired, and trouble speaking. ...

and other forms of microbiological decay) also contributes to pepperoni's reddish color, by reacting with

heme Heme (American English), or haem (Commonwealth English, both pronounced /Help:IPA/English, hi:m/ ), is a ring-shaped iron-containing molecule that commonly serves as a Ligand (biochemistry), ligand of various proteins, more notably as a Prostheti ...

in the

myoglobin Myoglobin (symbol Mb or MB) is an iron- and oxygen-binding protein found in the cardiac and skeletal muscle, skeletal Muscle, muscle tissue of vertebrates in general and in almost all mammals. Myoglobin is distantly related to hemoglobin. Compar ...

of the

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

aceous components of the meat.

Serving

Sliced pepperoni is one of the most popular pizza toppings in American pizzerias. According to ''Convenience Store Decisions'', in 2009 Americans consumed of pepperoni annually, on 36% of all pizzas produced nationally. Pepperoni is also used as the filling of the pepperoni roll, a popular regional snack in West Virginia and neighboring areas. In the Canadian province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, deep fried pepperoni served on its own (usually with a honey mustard dipping sauce) is common pub food.

Cup and char

Pepperoni has a tendency to curl up from the edges in the heat of a pizza oven; historically all pepperonis showed at least some of this tendency to curl in the oven because of their natural casings. As commercial suppliers became the main suppliers to pizza shops, they developed a fibrous synthetic casing which is intended to be stripped from the pepperoni before it is sliced. This resulted in a pepperoni that does not curl. An additional benefit of non-curling pepperoni is that it eliminates the small deposits of hot grease that formed in the cupped pepperoni, therefore also eliminating any possible liability for customers who burn themselves on it. The original style became known as "cup and char" pepperoni and remains popular in parts of the

and

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

areas, particularly around

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, and regained popularity in other areas in the 2010s. It is more expensive to produce.

Etymology

History

Production

Serving

Cup and char

See also

References

Further reading