Salami and Pepperoni--What is the Difference?

Christmas always reminds me of salami and I like it with french bread and butter, and sometimes cheese or a top a ritz cracker.  It was something I remember eating as a child with hot chocolate. 

So today I was wondering what was the difference between salami and pepperoni--because pepperoni is something I could do without.  Here is the answer.

Pepperoni is a corruption of 'peperoni', the Italian plural of peperone, referring to the bell pepper in it.


It is a spicy Italian-American variety of dry salami made of beef, pork and often veal. Pepperoni is a descendant of the spicy salamis of Southern Italy, such as salsiccia Napoletana piccante, a spicy dry sausage from Naples. Pepperoni is frequently used as a pizza topping in American-style pizzerias.

A 'Salame' (plural: Salami) is any cured (fermented, salted and air-dried) sausage made in the Italian tradition. The name comes from the Italian verb 'salare', meaning to salt.

Further, pepperoni is for pizza and salami is for sandwiches.  Since I never had pizza until I was about 24, it is understandable why I love the salami of my childhood more.