pepperoni

Pepperoni is a variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper. 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 pie. The curled "cup and char" style of pepperoni remained popular in pockets of the Midwest. 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.