To this day, there is a debate about what pepperoni is - hot peppers or Italian sausage. The sensational name managed to acquire several meanings that are not inferior to each other in popularity.
There are two versions, one of which flows smoothly from the second. Therefore, in a dispute - what is pepperoni: pepper or sausage? - the adherents of both versions are right.
Pepperoni like pepper
Originally the Italian word peperoncino meant pepper - in this case hot red pepper. Over time, pepperoni (with one letter p) began to be understood as any kind of hot pepper - golden Greek, banana, sweet pods, pickled hot.
Red pepperoni is an essential ingredient in Italian dishes, from appetizers and salads to soups and sauces. It is grown in large quantities and is used generously in kitchens far outside Italy.
The composition of hot red peppers is very diverse: vitamins C, B, PP, protein, carotene, essential oil, sugar, as well as the substance capsaicin, by the amount of which the pungency of the fruit is determined - the more there is, the sharper the pepper, respectively.
Pepperoni like sausage
Americans, on the other hand, proudly call pepperoni 12-centimeter spicy pork sausages, and quite rightly. The recipe of sausages changed from region to region, from year to year, but the zest remained unchanged - that same burning red Italian: pepperoni pepper.
The idea, of course, belongs to the Italians, but the mass production of sausages was brought to life and improved by the culinary masters of the United States. Today, the pepperoni recipe is popular, which includes pork, beef, and chicken meat, as well as several types of hot peppers, garlic and herbs.
As a separate snack, pepperoni is eaten in the form of chips, drying thin pieces of salami on the eve of serving. Spicy sausage is also used in sandwiches and as an independent snack.
Pepperoni as pizza
And there would be no dispute if the sausages in the composition of … the Italian pizza of the same name Pepperoni did not become famous! Surprisingly, this is the most popular pizza among Canadians and Americans. And again, culinary specialists began to improve the recipes, conquering pizza lovers with a variety: from Italian pizza alla diavola to American salame piccante.
Interesting Facts
It is believed that the dry pork pepperoni originated in Ancient Italy. Historians claim that back in the days of the Roman Empire, people turned pork stocks into a kind of sausages - the lack of refrigerators and the inability to use the entire stock of fresh produce forced people to come up with a way to preserve meat - to store it in the form of jerky sausages.
From 1891 to the present day, the best author of pepperoni sausages is George Hormel's Hormel Foods. The culinary specialist owns an unchanging recipe, where the ratio of spices and hot red pepper gives birth to exactly those "correct" medium-cut pepperoni that are so appreciated by gourmets all over the world.
