Pepperoni rolls are often associated with the state of West Virginia and its surrounding areas. They are important to the history of the state and the people who live here. It is such a unique food that when you travel across the country, many people you talk to have never heard of a pepperoni roll. Here in West Virginia, the food can be found in just about any grocery or convenience store. One can argue that it’s the most popular snack in the state.
In order to truly appreciate the history behind the pepperoni roll, you must have a basic understanding of what it is. The simplest pepperoni roll “is a yeast bread roll made of soft, white flour with pepperoni baked into the middle of it. While the roll is baking, fat from the pepperoni melts into the bread, giving it a spicy oil infusion” (“The Pepperoni Roll”). This recipe has been handed down through generations, though each family puts their own twist or secret ingredient into it. I have seen and eaten pepperoni rolls with everything from hot cheeses to ramps baked into them—what you include in the snack depends entirely on your taste.
In 1927, Giuseppe “Joseph” Argiro first offered the pepperoni roll as a lunch for local coal miners. He eventually started to sell them at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, West Virginia. These rolls were a perfect meal for the miners because they had protein and fat to keep them energized. Since the pepperoni rolls didn’t need to be refrigerated, they made for a quick lunch to take with them into the mines. Pepperoni rolls took on many forms, from having cheese, shredded or ground meat, and ramp fillings to single-stacked and multi-stacked varieties. Argiro started to sell them until they became so popular that he couldn’t keep up with the demand.
The pepperoni roll became very popular just as Italian and other cuisines were becoming more widespread in West Virginia. Since the railroad operations were centered there, an abundance of immigrant families settled into the area. With them they brought new styles of food and recipes, adding their own unique Appalachian twist to pepperoni rolls.
The popularity of the food caught the attention of the government, and they soon started getting involved in 1987. The U.S. Department of Agriculture sought to reclassify pepperoni roll bakeries as meat processing plants, which would in turn add more regulations the bakeries would have to follow. The people fought back, saying they would go out of business because they couldn’t afford to keep up. Eventually U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller stood up for the people and derailed the USDA’s plans (“In 1987”).
If you haven’t tried this fan-favorite snack, then go ahead and write it on your bucket list. You know that when you pick one up in the nearest gas station or supermarket that someone’s grandma somewhere has perfected that recipe. You are officially eating a piece of history!
Written by: Maddie Wymer
Bio: My name is Madison Wymer, but I go by Maddie. I am pursuing an English major with a Business minor at Davis and Elkins College and will graduate in 2023. I work a full-time job in retail management while also being a full-time student. When I have downtime, I enjoy reading, baking, and gardening.
“In 1987 Senator Jay Rockefeller of WV ‘Saved the Pepperoni Roll.’” http://www.pepperoni-rolls.com/news2.cfm. Accessed 16 March 2021.
“The Pepperoni Roll and Its Origins.” Ancestral Findings, https://ancestralfindings.com/historical-foods-pepperoni-roll-origins/. Accessed 16 March 2021.
Maddie, I love that you wrote about the pepperoni rolls and did a deep dive into the history and why they are so crucial to most West Virginians. I have lived in different states and a few countries and met many people from many other places. However, the only person I’ve met who knew what a pepperoni roll was came from Washington, and we concluded a West Virginian transplant introduced it there!
Your content was terrific and made me realize I have never tried a pepperoni roll with ramps. Now I feel like my life is incomplete and will rectify it next month when the ramps litter the mountains with their lily green leaves.
I did a speech about the pepperoni roll for public speaking a few years back and knew about the history of where and why it was made. I didn’t know about the USDA trying to change the bakeries into meat processing plants. That is exciting content and makes me appreciate the bakers’ fighting spirit and glad the senator stepped in because I couldn’t imagine WV without pepperoni rolls at every gas station, let alone a bakery.
Thanks for sharing!
Maddie, I love that you wrote about the pepperoni rolls and did a deep dive into the history and why they are so crucial to most West Virginians. I have lived in different states and a few countries and met many people from many other places. However, the only person I’ve met who knew what a pepperoni roll was came from Washington, and we concluded a West Virginian transplant introduced it there!
Your content was terrific and made me realize I have never tried a pepperoni roll with ramps. Now I feel like my life is incomplete and will rectify it next month when the ramps litter the mountains with their lily green leaves.
I did a speech about the pepperoni roll for public speaking a few years back and knew about the history of where and why it was made. I didn’t know about the USDA trying to change the bakeries into meat processing plants. That is exciting content and makes me appreciate the bakers’ fighting spirit and glad the senator stepped in because I couldn’t imagine WV without pepperoni rolls at every gas station, let alone a bakery.