Pepperoni

Pepperoni is an American-style cured sausage that has become one of the most popular pizza toppings worldwide. It’s made from a blend of beef and pork, seasoned with paprika and chilli, giving it a characteristic reddish colour and a mild to moderate heat.

In Australia, pepperoni is most commonly bought pre-sliced for pizza making, though it also appears on charcuterie boards, in pasta bakes, and stuffed into bread rolls. Its slightly smoky, spicy flavour and firm texture mean it crisps up beautifully when baked, developing those signature curled, oil-filled cups on top of a pizza.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Lean beef and pork are finely ground and mixed with salt, curing agents (sodium nitrate), paprika, chilli, garlic, and other spices. The seasoned mixture is stuffed into casings and left to ferment and air-dry over several weeks. The curing and fermentation process develops the characteristic tangy flavour and firm, sliceable texture. It is then sliced thinly for retail sale.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 504kcal
Protein 19.2g
Carbs 1.2g
Fat 46.3g
Fibre 0g Sugar 0g
Mass Distribution

1 piece is about 2 g — roughly 10 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈86.14kg
Freshwater ≈644.71L
Land ≈466.14m²

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

cured pizza topping

Classic dishes
  • Pepperoni Pizza
  • Calzone
  • Antipasto Platter

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

USDA

How it was calculated

SR Legacy

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromCattle And Pig, product goes well withmozzarella goes well withtomato goes well witholive goes well withmushroom goes well withbell pepper shares a sourceMixed Beef and Pork Products
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