It’s the most popular pizza topping in the U.S. A 2021 YouGov poll revealed that of the three billion pizzas consumed annually by Americans, pepperoni accounts for a whopping 53 percent. Despite its Italian-sounding name, it 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.) Pepperoni is essentially an American version of salami, something close to what Italians might call salame piccante, a generic term that means “spicy salami.” It’s made from beef and cured pork mixed together and then seasoned with a blend that usually includes paprika, garlic, black pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, mustard seed, and fennel seed. Every pepperoni producer uses a different mix and ratio of ingredients, but paprika is always present: it’s what gives pepperoni its color.
NCPA
