What Is Gabagool? Tony Soprano’s Favorite Snack Has a Hidden Meaning Fans May Have Missed (& It’s Devastating)

In The Sopranos, fans remember many iconic scenes featuring Tony Soprano with a piece of cured pork in his hand. Most kitchen scenes began with Tony going to the fridge to grab some “gabagool” as a snack. It is without a doubt the most famous detail of the character and has gone on to inspire audiences to try the character’s favorite snack.

The term “gabagool” alone has become more iconic than some of the most memorable scenes from the hit HBO series. However, for those who do not have an Italian-American background or, furthermore, a Northeast/East Coast background, they might not know what gabagool actually is. It is definitely delicious, but it was also used in such an intentional way in The Sopranos and has a hidden meaning that many fans might’ve missed.

Gabagool Is Actually Just a Type of Salami

A lot of pork-based products are all about the cutting and preparation of the meat. Most salami meats come from the same area of the pig but become slightly different when it’s either dried, cured or sliced a certain way. Gabagool is made from the muscle that runs from the neck to the ribs and is dry-cured. It is actually similar to prosciutto and its cousin soppressata, where it is sliced very thinly. The biggest difference with gabagool is that it is not brined like ham or prosciutto. People will notice how much thinner prosciutto appears in comparison to gabagool, which is a little thicker and looks a lot like regular salami.

The taste is where it differentiates itself, because gabagool is more fatty and, therefore, has a more tender flavor than salami. Soppressata is another kind of salami that fans of gabagool should also try. Unlike gabagool, soppressata is thinner and looks more like regular salami. It is more of sausage salami in terms of its preparation but has a taste similar to gabagool. Its slang term is “supersad” in most Northeast and East Coast communities with an Italian background. That’s the thing about “gabagool” that some may not know: the term is slang.

The actual name for “gabagool” is “capocollo,” with the shorter variation “coppa” in some instances. Italian-Americans from the East Coast had a tendency to shorten and change the longer, correct terms from their native tongue. The list goes on and on, but there are many words such as mozzarella, ricotta and prosciutto that get shorter variations to become “mozzarel,” “rigot” and “prosciut.” This even goes further with words and expressions that either heighten or describe things. An obscure one would be “mushad,” which derives from the Sicilian word muscia, which can mean sick, sad, lazy or, in some cases, unintelligent. Therefore, “gabagool” derives from Italian-Americans shortening capocollo to “capacol,” which became “gabagol.”

The more pronounced pronunciation of gabagool comes from Tony Soprano pronouncing it that way and the term catching on with audiences. Honestly, there is no “gool.” The correct way to pronounce the slang would be “gabagol.” However, it might be most encouraging for the average American to use the correct pronunciation of capocollo. Regardless of how it’s said, there’s no denying its place in The Sopranos as Tony Soprano’s favorite snack. What some fans might not remember is just how big a psychological impact “gabagool” actually has on their favorite New Jersey mob boss.

Tony’s Meat-Snacking Reflex Actually Derives From a Horrible Place

One of the best Sopranos episodes is Season 3’s “Fortunate Son,” which has a lot of paralleling themes for specific characters surrounding the season’s main conflict. Tony, Christopher and Jackie Jr. have a lot going on, and the writers make a point of emphasizing the burden young heirs to mob legacies have, whether it’s Christopher having a big moment in his mafia career and finally becoming a made man or Jackie Jr. representing the opposite effect. For Jackie, he feels like he’s on a similar path to Christopher but is going about it all the wrong way.

The biggest difference between Christopher and Jackie seems to be the fortunate and unfortunate circumstances surrounding them. Christopher has Tony in his corner. As a mentor, Tony was able to guide Christopher to this point. For Jackie Jr., he has lost that guiding presence as his father is gone and Tony can’t fill the void. The caveat to these themes is the overshadowing negativity that surrounds the life they lead. Christopher feels the weight of his new title, but under the guise of an evil omen, he believes, and can’t shake it. Everything going on is heightened by what Tony re-discovers from his own formative years.

While in a session with Dr. Melfi, Tony reminisces back to his first panic attack. Melfi has him recollect all the things surrounding and leading up to the moment. A repressed memory comes to the forefront as Tony discusses how, during the day prior to his attack, he witnessed a brutal moment that no child should see. He’s driving with his father, and they pull up to Satriale’s. His father tells him to wait in the car while he takes care of something. Being a kid, Tony follows his father inside to see what he’s up to. While there, Tony witnesses his father and Uncle Junior beating up Mr. Satriale over a debt. Then, Tony witnesses Uncle Junior holding Mr. Satriale’s hand down while his father chops off the man’s fingers with a meat-clever.

This would naturally traumatize any child, but it also provides a connection to why Tony has panic attacks. Satriale’s is the source of meat and Mr. Satriale was surrounded by meat when he lost his fingers. This is devastating enough for Tony, but when it is capped off by his father bringing meat from Satriale’s home for his mother to cook, it becomes too much for him. Once his mother starts slicing the meat, he has his first panic attack. Of all the minuscule things Tony discovers during therapy, this is easily the biggest thing he learns. It suddenly makes sense why many of Tony’s panic attacks are caused by a prior moment with meat. Tony Soprano probably passed out most in his own kitchen, and he was usually holding a piece of gabagool in his hand when it happened.

There’s a Connection Between Tony’s Mother, Meat, and His Line of Work

One theme The Sopranos focused most on was the idea that gangsters like Tony Soprano could never benefit from therapy. This proves to be more and more true as the series goes on, but in the early seasons, many fans believed there was a chance for Tony. “Fortunate Son” has one of Tony’s greatest breakthroughs and yet it changes nothing.

Tony would never actually implement change into his life if it meant he had to give up being a gangster. His revelation with Dr. Melfi proved that meat symbolized his and his father’s line of work providing for their families, and furthermore, putting food (meat) in the his and his family’s mouths. As his mother would cook the meat his father provided, she became the conduit for Tony’s trauma once again, condoning the life his father led.

If Tony Soprano really wanted to get better, he would have realized the real problem was the violence and criminality that is generationally accepted in his family. For the sake of his children and himself, he would have found a way to live a different and better life. However, Tony Soprano liked being a gangster and was never going to stop. With that being said, there was also no way he was going to stop eating his favorite deli snack.

Not even the threat of panic attacks was enough to keep Tony away from the refrigerator in the middle of the afternoon. Gabagool remained a staple of Tony Soprano’s life and in many ways, Tony was a product of gabagool throughout his entire life. In no other show could food have that kind of impact. This is just another way The Sopranos separates itself from other shows on television and redefined it forever.