I knew there was a post in this story somewhere. The question was, “What’s the news angle?” Then it came to me: Hormel’s new Ribbon Pepperoni really does solve an annoying problem for pro Pizzaiolos and pie-at-home Margheritas, like me…
The nutty, ‘mostly-harmless’ innovators at Hormel Foods have come up with what may be the most exciting new sausage product to hit the shelves in a very long time…
A light bulb blinked on
The first thing I thought of when I saw the official ‘marketing ‘glam’ shot of Hormel’s new Ribbon Pepperoni was, “Perfect for a ticker tape parade in some other universe,” where the iconic Italian pie actually is ‘king’. But that crazy notion was quickly pushed out my conscious cogitator by the realiza-tion that Hormel may really have something here. Something Big.
The idea behind Ribbon Pepperoni is that the Fettuccine-noodle-shaped little strips are perfect for a huge variety of applications. Not just Pepperoni’s traditional Pizza-dressing role. One reason for that is their logistical and decorative superiority to the legendary coin-shaped sausage slice.
My epiphany
… Was that the photos Hormel supplied with its news release clearly show a product that can curl, bend, roll and spiral in any way you can imagine. And that means it’s probably going to be a natural for ‘scattering’. Which is to distributing evenly across the surface of a Pizza crust with minimum effort and error.
Who can say they’ve ever made even one Pizza which didn’t involve the stultifying frustration of try-ing to un-stick little rounds of conventional Pepperoni from one another to spot around the pie? I thought… “Yes! Ribbon Pepperoni should scatter onto any dish as easily as French’s Crispy Onions do on top of a classic Green Bean Casserole!”
And what a delightful, artistic, twisty, twirly dance they’ll do, with the final layer of grated Mozz and Parm, to give the finished pie a unique look and design appeal!
An appeal to pizza pros
“This ready-to-use, dry-cured product reduces back-of-house workload, while ensuring consistent quality and portion control,” the official news release boasts. “The ribbon-style format allows for quick, even application across menu items, improving efficiency while maintaining the flavour chefs and customers expect from their pepperoni toppings,” the release states. Though not nearly as art-fully and prosaically as I did.
Chefs love a shredded product as it provides more coverage than sliced pepperoni, says Glendinning, Country Manager, Hormel Foodservice Canada.. “It’s a way to provide more coverage for less weight. For example, a large pizza might take 24 to 30 slices of pepperoni that would add up to as much as two ounces of meat. With HORMEL Ribbon Pepperoni, you could potentially [achieve] full coverage with half the ounces and still deliver a great flavour profile with eye-catching appeal.”
A faux pas?
Dan! Was this release meant to be seen by the pizza-ordering public? Were you serious about that estimate of just 2 oz. / 57 g per conventional medium pie as a current reality in the industry?
As an experienced home-pizza crafter, I was shocked. Even doubling that – to 4 oz. / 115 g – works out to no more than the weight of the ground beef in a single McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. And the aver-age 12 in. / 30 cm pizza will feed 4 times as any hungry diners! I say, go for the gusto and stack the Ribbon Pepperoni on there, guys! Earn your pizza parlour (or yourself!) an instant reputation for giv-ing its customers value and style while still staying within the bounds of reality, food-cost wise!
Does it all
Ribbon-format pepperoni also naturally lends itself to artistic cooking effects such as ‘cupping’ and edge ‘charring’, which high-end pizza operations spend a lot of time and effort achieving on their boutique pies.
“If you add in regular sliced pepperoni, you can create double or triple pepperoni [topping] options,” Glendinning suggests. “Or you can crisp it up in a frying pan and use it as a salad topper. There are lots of ways you can use it.”
My take
Glendinning’s comment about, “lots of ways you can use it,” may qualify as the culinary marketing Understatement of the Month!
The more I think about Ribbon Pepperoni, the more applications I come up with. Now… Sit down with a double espresso, get into an Italian frame of mind, and see what your imagination can do with a bag of HORMEL’s new Ribbon Pepperoni!
~ Maggie J.