And, like those two very American ideas, it permeates our culture. In fact, pepperoni remains the most popular topping for pizzas in America, being served on more than 35% of all pizza orders.
Most people, and rightly so, would have thought pepperoni was born in Italy. Although it is hard to say exactly when it was created, it probably popped up in the early 1900s when Italian butcher shops and pizzerias began to flourish on the streets of a burgeoning Italian-American society.
Notes food writer and historian John Mariani, who wrote a book titled How Italian Food Conquered the World, “Pepperoni is purely an Italian-American creation, like Chicken Parmesan.”
While we may not know its exact origins, we know it when we see it: This air-dried somewhat spicy sausage has a few very distinctive characteristics: fine-grained, lightly smoky, bright red and relatively soft.
Traditionally, made by mashing pork and beef, pepperoni is a cured meat product often seasoned with peppers, garlic, fennel, or mustard seeds and stuffed into a casing.
And, it has a taste that can only be described, well, by eating it. It adds a slightly spicy and meaty flavor to pizza that is purely its own.
“Peperoni” is actually the Italian word for large peppers, as in bell peppers, and there is no Italian salami called by that name, though some salamis from Calabria and Apulia are similarly spicy and flushed red with dried chilies.
It might look a bit like its equally tasty cousin, the salami, but it is safe to say that pepperoni has conquered the pizza world and there seems to be no stopping its popularity.
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 1919. In Italian, the word peperoncino refers to hot and spicy chili peppers.
Traditionally, made by mashing pork and beef, pepperoni is a cured meat product often seasoned with peppers, garlic, fennel, or mustard seeds and stuffed into a casing.
And, it has a taste that can only be described, well, by eating it. It adds a slightly spicy and meaty flavor to pizza that is purely its own.
“Peperoni” is actually the Italian word for large peppers, as in bell peppers, and there is no Italian salami called by that name, though some salamis from Calabria and Apulia are similarly spicy and flushed red with dried chilies.
It might look a bit like its equally tasty cousin, the salami, but it is safe to say that pepperoni has conquered the pizza world and there seems to be no stopping its popularity.
Notes food writer and historian John Mariani, who wrote a book titled How Italian Food Conquered the World, “Pepperoni is purely an Italian-American creation, like Chicken Parmesan.”
Well, as it turns out, almost every other topping! Pepperoni, despite its Italian-sounding name, is as American as apple pie. (There is such a thing in Italian as peperoni, but all that translates to is large or bell pepper, and has nothing to do with any kind of meat product.)
In 1919 we see the first mention of pepperoni in the Italian-American delis of Lower Manhattan, though during the First World War the word started being used among Italian-American soldiers as a synonym for sausage. After the war, pepperoni began to appear as a pizza topping, though still primarily in pizzerias in New York City.
Since that time in the 1960s there’s been no looking back. Most Americans hear the word “pizza” and immediately visualize a cheese pie with pepperoni on top. It’s that simple.
Italian immigration into the US increased dramatically in the early 20th century, and these immigrants began combining their southern European flavor traditions with American ingredients.
After the meat is trimmed to achieve the proper fat-to-meat ratio, it’s ground, combined with lactic acid bacteria, and finally fermented, smoked, dried, and stuffed into casing. Ecco!
Why they Call it Pepperoni Pizza
FAQ
Does pepperoni have pepper in it?
Why do Americans say pepperoni?
What does pepperoni mean in Italy?
Where did the meaning of pepperoni come from?
What does pepperoni mean in Italian?
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 1919. In Italian, the word peperoncino refers to hot and spicy chili peppers . In 1919 Italian immigrants in New York City created pepperoni.
Why is peperoni called peperoni?
As Italian communities settled in the U.S., they continued to produce and consume this spicy sausage, often using the Italian term “peperoni” to refer to it. However, as Italian cuisine became increasingly popular in America, particularly in Italian-American communities, the term “peperoni” took on a new meaning.
Where did peperoni come from?
The roots of this word can be traced back to its origins in Italy, where it was first used to describe a type of hot chili pepper. The term “peperoni” in Italian refers to peppers, specifically the bell pepper variety, and it is derived from the Latin word “piper,” meaning pepper.
What is the difference between Peperoni and pepperoni?
Interestingly, in Italian cuisine, the word “peperoni” is used to refer to sweet peppers, while the spicy sausage we know as pepperoni in the United States is referred to as “salsiccia diavola” or “diavolini.” The transition of the word “peperoni” to “pepperoni” occurred as Italian immigrants brought their culinary traditions to the United States.