Pepperoni consistently ranks as the most popular pizza topping and it’s hard to imagine anything else coming close. Now pizza lovers think they know everything there is to know about pepperoni but few truly understand just how diverse the pepperoni world is. There are tons of different styles of pepperoni. Sure you have the typical pepperoni you find on most chain pizzas which are flat and about the size of a half dollar coin. Sometimes you see giant rings of deli pepperoni a common choice for sandwiches. But the real crème de la crème the former and future king of the pepperoni kingdom is Old World pepperoni.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cuisinevault | 2018-10-24 03:03:46 |  2,477 Views |
What is Old World Pepperoni? Get the Facts
Old World pepperoni refers to the type of pepperoni that rises when cooked giving the edges a bit of a char and crisp. It tends to be spicier than your standard flat pepperoni and when it rises you get a little puddle of chili oil in the middle. It adds more flavor and texture to pizza than other types of pepperoni. It’s often associated with Detroit-style pizza but it’s an asset to almost any type of pie (except deep dish where it would lose its cupping power). The key to Old World pepperoni’s cupping magic lies in its casing.
The difference between Old World pepperoni and other styles lies in the types of casings they use. Most pepperoni is placed in a synthetic casing made of cellulose or plastic. Neither of these materials are naturally edible so the casing is removed before the pepperoni is sliced and served. Old World pepperoni on the other hand is placed in a natural casing. Natural casings are made from submucosa a layer of collagen that is part of animal intestines. Sheep cows pigs and goats can all be used for natural casings.
Unlike synthetic casings natural casings do not need to be removed before you eat the pepperoni. This means that each slice of Old World pepperoni is surrounded by a ring of natural casing. Most people think that the ring of casing is what makes an Old World pepperoni cup and that is somewhat true but there is more to it than that. J. Kenji López-Alt of Serious Eats discovered that the real reason natural casings make pepperoni cups is because they don’t stretch like synthetic casings do. As a result the meat is packed into an odd “U” shape when the sausage is stuffed the same shape you would see if you cut a slice of cupped pepperoni in half. So the way the meat is stuffed into the casing gives it a cupped shape and you can essentially get the same cupping result if you remove the casing from Old World pepperoni.
