Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pepperoni

Okay, in terms of what people know, there are the big questions (political knowledge, do the media inform, why the hell does anyone watch American Idol?) and the small questions.  Here, we address one of the smallest of questions in terms of  what people know -- or rather, what I know -- about pepperoni.

An article in today's New York Times tells me that favorite of pizza toppings, the ever-popular pepperoni, isn't even Italian.

"Purely an Italian-American creation, like chicken Parmesan," says a food historian.

Ack!

I admit I always thought it was Italian, but apparently the word peperoni is Italian for large peppers, as in bell peppers.  Not an Italian salami.  I can't help but feel cheated by all those pizza joints, bad Italian eateries, and Hormel, which it seems is the nation's greatest producer of the tasty little red circles.

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