Place of origin | United States | ||||||
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Main ingredients | Pork and beef | ||||||
Ingredients generally used | Spices | ||||||
460 kcal (1926 kJ) | |||||||
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Pepperoni is a variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika and chili peppers.
Prior to 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 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. [1] In Italian, the word peperoncino refers to hot and spicy chili peppers.
In 1919, Italian immigrants in New York City created pepperoni. [2] 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), is usually softer in texture, and is usually produced with the use of an artificial casing.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||
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Energy | 1,940 kJ (460 kcal) | ||||
4 g | |||||
40.2 g | |||||
20.35 g | |||||
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†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [3] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [4] |
Pepperoni is made from pork or from a mixture of pork and beef. [5] 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]
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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 million pounds (114.2 million kilograms) 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]
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. [14]
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. [15] This resulted in a pepperoni that does not curl. [15] 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. [15]
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. [14] [16] [17] [18] It is more expensive to produce. [19]
The paprika or bell pepper is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, chocolate, candy cane striped, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent chili varieties as "sweet peppers". While they are botanically fruits—classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish. Other varieties of the genus Capsicum are categorized as chili peppers when they are cultivated for their pungency, including some varieties of Capsicum annuum.
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders.
Hungarian or Magyar cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary, and its primary ethnic group, the Magyars. Hungarian cuisine has been described as being the spiciest cuisine in Europe. This can largely be attributed to the use of their piquant native spice, Hungarian paprika, in many of their dishes. A mild version of the spice, Hungarian sweet paprika, is commonly used as an alternative. Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, bread, and dairy products.
Salami is a salume consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days once cut, supplementing a potentially meager or inconsistent supply of fresh meat. Countries and regions across Europe make their own traditional varieties of salami.
A blood sausage also known as a blutwurst sausage, is a sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Most commonly, the blood of pigs, sheep, lamb, cow, chicken, or goose is used.
Chorizo is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite different from each other, occasionally leading to confusion or disagreements over the names and identities of the products in question.
Meze is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in eastern Mediterranean cuisines: Syria, Iraq, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iran, Armenia. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A meze may be served as a part of a multi-course meal or form a meal in itself. Meze are often served with spirits such as arak, rakia, raki, oghi, ouzo, or grappa at meyhane and ouzeri or at regular restaurants.
Linguiça is a Portuguese sausage made from pork and seasoned with onion, garlic, paprika and other spices. It can be used fresh in cooked preparations or undergo a curing and preservation process through smoking.
Different areas of the world have local variations on the hot dog, in the type of meat used, the condiments added, and its means of preparation.
'Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from the Calabria region of Italy. It is a salume that comes from the area around of Spilinga.
Pizza Pops are a Canadian calzone-type snack produced by Pillsbury. Pizza Pops are sold both pre-cooked and frozen. Typically, they can be reheated in a microwave oven. However, they may also be cooked in a conventional oven.
Longaniza is a Spanish sausage (embutido) similar to a chorizo and also closely associated with the Portuguese linguiça. Its defining characteristics are interpreted differently from region to region. It is popular in the cuisines of several regions of Spain, Argentina, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Chile. In the Philippines, it is called longganisa and has hundreds of variants with different vernacular tastes and forms due to the 144 ethno-linguistic groups of the archipelago. Longaniza essentially tracks the spread of Latin culture around the world. Longaniza derives from Lucanica, a sausage from Lucania in Southern Italy that was adopted by the Latins of Ancient Rome through military contact. From there it spread to Spain, and from Spain, centuries later, to every place in the world with modern "Latin" culture.
Hungarian sausages are sausages found in the cuisine of Hungary. Hungary produces a vast number of sui sausage types. They may be boiled, fresh or dried, and smoked, with different spices and flavors, "hot" or "mild". Many were influenced by their neighbors and brethren.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.
Regional street food is street food that has commonalities within a region or culture.
The traditional cuisine of Abruzzo is eclectic, drawing on pastoral, mountain, and coastal cuisine. Staples of Abruzzo cuisine include bread, pasta, meat, fish, cheese, and wine. The isolation which has characterized the region for centuries has ensured the independence of its culinary tradition from those of nearby regions. Local cuisine was widely appreciated in a 2013 survey among foreign tourists.
Naem is a pork sausage in Lao and Thai cuisine. It is a fermented food that has a sour flavor. It has a short shelf life, and is often eaten in raw form after the fermentation process has occurred. It is a popular Southeast Asian food, and different regions of Southeast Asia have various preferred flavors, including variations of sour and spicy. Naem is used as an ingredient in various dishes and is also served as a side dish.
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.
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.