Multiple surveys have shown pepperoni to be the favorite pizza
topping of Americans, and more than a third of the pizzas in the
country are topped with it. So it comes as no surprise that there
is a National Pepperoni Pizza Day. Pepperoni takes its name
from "peperoni" — an Italian name for a pepper. In Italy, what
Americans call pepperoni is known as "salame piccante" —
spicy salami. Pepperoni is a dried sausage made of a mixture
of pork, beef, and spices, often including peppers. The name
pepperoni began being used following World War I, primarily
in Italian-American communities. At this time, pepperoni was
primarily used as an appetizer, eaten on cured meat plates.
The first evidence of pepperoni on pizza dates to 1950.