Pepperoni in Italian Is Not the Same as in English

Pepperoni in Italian Is Not the Same as in English Its one of the most common mistakes Americans make when referring to food in Italy. The New York Times article, Savoring Tuscany a Glass at a Time, opens with this (un)appetizing line: If the idea of wandering through a village dating back to Etruscan times before stopping off at a family-run restaurant for a plate of pollo con pepperoni (chicken with peppers) and a glass of Chianti sounds good to you. Heres the Twist Well, no, in fact, that doesnt sound right at all! Pepperoni is a spicy Italian-American variety of dry salami usually made of pork and beef and is frequently used as a pizza topping in American pizzerias. Peperoni, on the other hand, is what Americans recognize as peppers, and what the recipe calls for. Chicken surrounded by those large circles of pepperoni one normally associates with take-out pizza on a Friday night? No thanks! The plate should read pollo  con peperoni, with one P. The Best Advice For those traveling to Italy who want to sample authentic pepperoni, ask for salame piccante, salamino piccante (spicy salami, generally typical of Calabria), or salsiccia Napoletana piccante, a spicy dry sausage from Naples.