The Pizza Shop Red Flag That Should Send You Running

If you want to upset me first thing in the morning, wax lyrical about how good leftover, cold pizza tastes for breakfast. I may be in a grumpy minority for that particular dish, but I'm definitely not the only one who cannot abide a dodgy pizza. My family's topping of choice is, of course, pepperoni — who doesn't love those salty, spicy slices? Sadly, those meaty circles can be a clue that your food is not as fresh as it seems, according to a professional.

Angelo Competiello, owner of New York's Alta Irpinia, spoke exclusively to our sister site Chowhound about how to identify poor pizzas, and revealed that spotting curling pepperoni sitting atop a pie would send him running in the opposite direction. If you're thinking: "Sir, all pepperoni curls up on cooked pizzas," that's not exactly true.

What you might have seen is cup and char pepperoni, which was created in Buffalo, New York, and is supposed to curl up into a cup shape. Traditional pepperoni, when it's freshly sliced as a pizza topping, should lay flat.

The key is in the casings. Pepperoni is made with a non-edible wrapping that gives a little when the meat is packed inside. Cup and char 'roni, on the other hand, has a natural casing that we can eat, but doesn't stretch as much. When it's exposed to heat, it shrinks, causing the pepperoni to curl and allowing the edges of each slice — which, thanks to the oil in the meat, slip free of the casing — and caramelize in that delicious, distinctive way during the cooking process.

While traditional pepperoni that's curled up indicates a pizza is older than it looks, its cup and char counterpart isn't immune from cheeky vendors trying to sell far-from-fresh pies, either. According to Angelo Competiello, "oil congealing or turning solid" on cup and char pepperoni is also a significant red flag. 

If the pepperoni looks questionable, that pie has probably been sitting out far too long. Time to hot-foot it to the grocery store for a frozen pie from this brand, which doesn't skimp on the toppings, or order a well-done Costco pizza.

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