Pepperoni is a spicy Italian-American salami made from cured pork and beef, seasoned with paprika and other chili peppers
. It is essentially an American version of salami, similar to what Italians might call salame piccante, which means "spicy salami"
. The main ingredients of pepperoni include:
- Pork and beef: These are the primary ingredients, with varying degrees of each meat used in the mixture
- Salt: It is added to cure the meat and prevent the growth of unwanted microorganisms
- Spices: These include paprika, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard seed, and fennel seed
- Sodium nitrate: This ingredient activates the color in pepperoni
- Lactic acid: It is used as a starter culture in the fermentation process
- Water: It is an essential component of the mixture
Pepperoni is typically made from a mixture of beef and pork, but there are also mixed varieties that consist of pork and beef being ground and encased together
. The Italian immigrants in the United States began combining their Southern European flavor traditions with American ingredients in the early 20th century, and pepperoni was first mentioned in Italian-American delis of Lower Manhattan in 1919
. Pepperoni has since become a popular pizza topping and is also used in other dishes like pizza rolls and Italian hoagies
