Pepperoni
CountryUnited States
Main ingredientPork, beef
Minor ingredientSpices
Calories460
Protein23
Fat40.2
Carbohydrate4

Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika and chili peppers.

Before cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Sliced pepperoni is one of the most popular pizza toppings in American pizzerias.

Traditional pepperoni with natural casing curls into "cups" in the pizza oven's intense heat. Commercialization of the production of pepperoni with the casing removed created slices that lay flat on the pizza. The curled "cup and char" style of pepperoni remains popular in some cities.[1]

Etymology

The term pepperoni is a borrowing of peperoni, the plural of peperone, the Italian word for bell pepper. The first use of pepperoni to refer to a sausage dates to 1916 at the latest.[2] In Italian, the word peperoncino refers to a chili pepper.[3]

History

The first printed mention of pepperoni was in 1888 in the Times of London.[4][dubious – discuss] In 1919 it was mentioned as being available in New York City.[5] 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.[citation needed] The main differences are that pepperoni is less spicy, has a finer grain (akin to spiceless salami from Milan), is usually softer in texture, and is usually produced with the use of an artificial casing.[citation needed]

Production

Pepperoni, pork
Kj1940
Protein20.35 g
Fat40.2 g
Carbs4 g
Source usda1

Pepperoni is made from pork or from a mixture of pork and beef.[4] Turkey meat is also commonly used as a substitute, but the use of poultry in pepperoni must be appropriately labeled in the United States.[6] It is typically seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper.[7]

Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red.[7] Curing with nitrates or nitrites (usually used in modern curing agents to protect against botulism and other forms of microbiological decay) also contributes to pepperoni's reddish color, by reacting with heme in the myoglobin of the proteinaceous components of the meat.[8]

Serving

Sliced pepperoni is one of the most popular pizza toppings in American pizzerias.[9] According to Convenience Store Decisions, in 2009 Americans consumed 251.7 e6lb of pepperoni annually, on 36% of all pizzas produced nationally.[10]

Pepperoni is also used as the filling of the pepperoni roll, a popular regional snack in West Virginia and neighboring areas.[11]

In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, deep fried pepperoni served on its own (usually with a honey mustard dipping sauce) is common pub food.[12][13]

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.[1]

As commercial suppliers became the main suppliers to pizza shops, they developed a sausage stuffing technique that resulted in a pepperoni that does not curl.[14] 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.[14]

The original style became known as "cup and char" pepperoni and remains popular in parts of the Midwest and Great Lakes areas, particularly around Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York, and regained popularity in other areas in the 2010s.[1][15][16][17] It is more expensive to produce.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lukas, Paul (2019-03-12). "The Great Pepperoni Debate: Should It Lie Flat on Your Pizza Or Curl Up?". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  2. ^ "Fresh from the Smokehouse". Anchorage Times. October 28, 1916. p. 7. Archived May 27, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 27, 2024. – via Newspapers.com
  3. ^ Riley, Gillian (2007). The Oxford Companion to Italian Food. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 124–125. ISBN 9780198606178. Retrieved 2026-04-08.
  4. ^ Hui, Yiu H. & Culbertson, J. D. (2006). Handbook of Food Science, Technology, and Engineering. CRC Press. p. 72–68. ISBN 978-0-8493-9848-3. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  5. ^ Kuestenmacher, Simon (2023). Marvellous Maps: Our changing world in 40 amazing maps. Welbeck Publishing Group. p. 78. ISBN 9781803380247. Archived August 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Food Standards and Labelling Policy Book, USDA, pp. 133–134.
  7. ^ Moskin, Julia (February 1, 2011). "Pepperoni: America's Favorite Topping". The New York Times. Archived August 14, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  8. ^ Flippone, Peggy Trowbridge. "A Recipe to Make Authentic Homemade Pepperoni". The Spruce. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  9. ^ "America's Most Popular Pizza Toppings". Huffington Post. October 5, 2011. Archived December 9, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 22, 2013. According to a survey done by Technomic’s MenuMonitor from July to September 2011 based on 235 different pizza places in America pepperoni and plain cheese were the #1 and #2 most popular pizzas ordered.
  10. ^ "Pizza Palates Changing". CStore Decisions. May 31, 2009. Archived September 28, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 25, 2013. Pepperoni is by far America's favorite topping, (36% of all pizza orders). Approximately 251.7 million pounds of pepperoni are consumed on pizzas annually.
  11. ^ Edge, John T. (September 29, 2009). "United Tastes - Pepperoni Rolls, a Piece of West Virginia Culinary History: Fast Food Even Before Fast Food". The New York Times. Style Section: Dining & Wine. Archived May 17, 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
  12. ^ Eat This Town (February 1, 2016). "Nova Scotia Food Profiles: Pepperoni". Eat This Town. Archived April 26, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Brown, Lola (April 2, 2013). "You Must Try: Delicious Deep Fried Pepperoni in Halifax, Nova Scotia". Travel Mindset. Archived January 7, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  14. ^ López-Alt, J. Kenji (December 2012). "The Food Lab: Why Does Pepperoni Curl?". Serious Eats. Archived from the original on October 22, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  15. ^ Brooke, Eliza (2019-02-08). "How Tiny, Curly Pepperonis Took Over NYC's Pizza Market". Eater NY. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  16. ^ Tsujimoto, Ben (2020-11-13). "Cup-and-char crunch: Buffalo's beloved pepperoni in short supply". Buffalo News. Archived September 13, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  17. ^ Dave, Large (2022-08-05). "Like Roni Cup Pizza? You Should Thank Brewster's Ace Endico". i95 ROCK. Archived June 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
  18. ^ Peng, Jen (2022-04-08). "Why Does Some Pepperoni Curl When Cooked?". Tasting Table. Archived June 6, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-09-12.

Further reading