>>21411602Pepperoni is an American invention. Italian immigrants adapted Italian cured meats to appeal to locals and be cheaper / faster to make. Most italian cured meats are dry aged and firm. Some types are a little spicy, but most aren’t. They’re not usually that fatty- the fat there is renders out / solidifies during curing.
Pepperoni is spicy, fatty, soft and cheap. You can make it fast, from cheap fatty meat (usually a mix of beef and pork, which isn’t very common in Italy), and it isn’t aged very long (storing / aging meat costs money), so stays pretty soft.