It used to be the case that people had very strong opinions for and against anchovies on pizza. But as the range of pizza toppings has greatly expanded over time, anchovies have faded into the background and the big divider now seems to be over the merits of pineapple.
I myself love pineapple as a fruit but revolt at the thought of putting it on a pizza, maybe because I do not like mixing sweet and savory tastes.
Many years ago, in Japan, I had tinned tuna and sweet corn on a pizza.
Many years before that, in Fiji, I watched some of the locals put ketchup on pizza.
I don’t judge.
I put zucchini on pizzas a lot, mandarin oranges on pizza occasionally. Also I made a cabbage, dill weed, and onion pizza once, and also had a curry pizza made in a restaurant one time.
My mother really loves sunflower seeds on pizza, and has put apple on it a few times, and butternut squash at least once.
Pizza is really versatile, and tastes vary considerably.
People also like chicken cooked in barbecue sauce on pizza--to me, that’s wretched, with a constant cloying overbearing sweetness, much moreso than pineapple with its occasional bursts of sweet.
Some of my favourite dishes combine sweet and savoury. Sweet and sour chicken, various meat dishes with maple glazes, etc. Not a huge fan of pineapple on pizza, but I can certainly eat it (I prefer green pepper and tomato, which are kinda sweet).
I am in the no-pineapple group, thank you very much. It’s not because it’s sweet but because of the horrible texture halfway between gloopy and grainy and the fact it’s too acidic. I don’t actually find pineapple anywhere near sweet enough for my tastes. Most pizzas are too savoury for me -- when I make my own I replace the tomato sauce with sweet barbecue, and finish off with a selection of bacon, sausage and chicken. When I make pasta with passata I have to put many spoons of sugar in to take away the bitterness.
Indeed, I’ve heard people tell of this strange idea that something can be “too sweet”. I’ve never even been able to fathom what that could be like. As far as I’m concerned sweetness has no upper limit.
I think you can put almost anything edible on pizza. You can put sauerkraut on pizza. You can put Nutella on pizza. Hell, you can even put both on the same pizza and I would not be bothered at all (I may even try it). I have no idea why there is so much controversy about food combinations.
Me either. I leave most sugar (and honey) out of savoury recipes. I’m not a fan of Thai or Vietnamese cooking as you might imagine. I’ll drink dry, medium, or dessert wines, but not sweet (not dessert) ones.
I don’t like mixing sweet with salt (like salted caramel) either. I love sweet things, but not when mixed with salt or savoury.
I love pineapple on pizza, but generally balk at ham (not a ham person I guess). I have found pepperoni and pineapple to be a solid foundation for a pizza, being not just sweet and savoury, but also a bit of spice from the meat. And if I’m making it myself, I’ll typically add about half a white onion and a full red bell pepper, plus a bunch of extremely thin slices of jalapeño (I like it thin because of the high surface area to volume ratio, enabling me to get more bang for my buck). That’s my go-to pizza, and it is wonderful. But it does require a solid foundation -- cramming that many toppings on a thin crust New York style pizza is a recipe for disaster. I generally do it grandma-style, using a big steel half-sheet pan, and a fairly large amount of dough (I have calibrated my dough recipe to make two large sheet pan pizzas, each with about 800 grams of dough…and coincidentally, 1.6 kilos of dough is about the max my KitchenAid mixer can handle at once). And like the great Ragusea (internet chef extraordinaire), I cold-proof that dough in the fridge for 3 to 4 days to maximize its flavour.
I’m very liberal. I’m happy to allow anyone their preferences in pizza toppings, pronouns, and just about anything else without judgement. That said, I will fight anyone I see putting ketchup on a hotdog. I mean, I’d probably lose the fight, but that’s different issue.
kenbakermn @9: For me, it’s ketchup, mustard and cheddar cheese on a hotdog, then grilled. Onions too, if I can be bothered. Won’t fight over it though. I reserve fighting for people who mix good brandy with cola.
If I’m getting just a single pizza, I would never get ham and pineapple or barbecue sauce and chicken, but if it’s a pizza party where several varieties are on offer I do like them as sort of a palette cleanser since most pizzas are very salty and greasy.
One thing I have never seen is a pizza made with blue cheese. I have made blue cheese quiche from Julia Child’s Mastering cookbook and it is delicious. Also, I often see Black and Blue salads at restaurants (grilled steak pieces with blue cheese, also delicious) but not on pizza.
I’ve seen arguments started because one mate had pineapple on his pizza and the other was a ‘purist’, and I can’t understand that approach. Feel free to keep if off the pizza you’re ordering, and maybe have a good natured poke at your mates for being heathens or whatever, but …arguments? Very dumb.
For the record, the perfect pizza has pineapple, anchovies, and pepperoni. It also has other things on them, but those are the holy trinity.
One of the best pizzas I’ve had, has in addition to tomato sauce and mozzarella, pine nuts, chevre (goat cheese), fresh strawberries and arugula as toppings. The latter two are added after baking.
You may have anything you want on your pizza, if I don’t have to eat it.
When I lived in Santa Fe I would sometimes get the New Mexico pizza from a local pizza place, with refried beans, corn, and green chile.
@ Holms
Okay, you had me at pineapple. Obviously ham and pineapple is one of the greatest pizza toppings of all time.
Anchovies? Anchovies, Holmes?!!? Burn, heretic burn!!!
https://today.yougov.com/consumer/articles/45715-americans-favorite-pizza-topping-pepperoni-poll
Some people just want to be gatekeepers, eh?
I love pineapple on pizza, but the chunks have to be the right size. Too big and it’s too much, just as it would be with any other topping. And honestly, I don’t understand how so many people get worked up over what others eat. Don’t like pineapple on pizza? No problem! Don’t eat it!
Same with ketchup on a hot dog. Are we eating it Lady & the Tramp style? No? Then let me enjoy Heinz on my wiener sub sandwich without commentary.
I eat to end hunger, not to seek out taste. Bring on the pineapple it is just “ingesting fuel”. Some fuel taste better than other kinds, but if you have anhedonia the difference is rarely major.
As for south and east asian spices they are way too strong even for me.
If the pizza receipes were connected to gang identities I could understand the passion about pizza toppings. West Coast anchovis eaters gunning down East Coast pineapple eaters with their Tech-9s. And admist the carnage, an evil clown from north Sweden imposing fermented herring on Gotham City.
All believers will cover their pizzas with appropriate ingredients!