While some Italians embrace the tropical fruit as a pizza topping, others reject it as an affront to traditional Italian cuisine.
Hawaiian pizza is a pizza originating in Canada, and is traditionally topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, cheese, and either ham or bacon.
According to recent data from YouGov Omnibus, nearly a quarter of Americans say pineapple is one of their least favourite pizza toppings. Those who live in the Northeast or are older than 55 hate pineapple toppings even more.
Adding pineapple to your pizza will complete the package by adding the fruit. This fruit is packed with vitamin C as well as other minerals. It aids digestion and is a great way to satisfy that sweet tooth. While many people love the savory flavor of pizzas, there are those that love sweet and savory combinations.
No, Italians traditionally do not use fruit for pizza toppings. The Italian Neapolitan style of pizza is typically made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, and a few other savory ingredients, such as mushrooms and olives.
Speaking to food website La Cucina Italiana, Pepe said he thought the reason many were against pineapple was because it clashed too much with the base sauce. “The combinations were probably too risky: the pineapple was combined with tomato!
Some classic Italian ingredients such as Prosciutto San Daniele, Provolone, artichokes, Italian sausage, salami, black olives, anchovies and of course a few strands of fresh basil are the true 'wonder toppings' for an authentic Italian pizza.
In fact, a gentleman by the name of Sam Panopoulos is widely credited with first crafting the pineapple pizza. Panopoulos, who passed away in 2017, was a Greek Canadian immigrant. He owned the Satellite Restaurant in Ontario.
The company found that 57% of the US is all for Hawaiian-style pizza.
The truth about Hawaiian pizza
They found in 2018 alone, some 5.7 million Hawaiian pizzas were ordered, making it in the top 4 of pizza choices in Australia. A massive 2.2 million Aussies requested MORE pineapple toppings be added to their pizza, while only 184,494 people requested they be removed.
Pineapple Pizza in America
In a study conducted in America, 34,000 people were asked about their opinion on pineapple pizza. The results were close, with 54 percent of the people saying no to the pizza.
Our Totally Expert Analysis of Your Top Toppings
Pepperoni, of course. Slightly more than two-thirds (68%) of people said they loved pepperoni on their pizza. That's compared with a score of 47% for sausage. Meats like ham, Canadian bacon, and Italian beef all came in at 20% or less.
There is no denying that the iconic Hawaiian pizza has cemented itself as a favourite within Australian households across the country.
There's a lot of uproar about it—traditionalists and purists hate it, while the rebellious (and evidently the entire populous of the Hawaiian islands) love it.
Primarily regarded as the first pizza ever created, the tried-and-tested margherita pizza was created in 1899 and continues to dominate as Australia's most popular pizza takeaway choice.
Besides, there are many nutritional bonuses to putting pineapple on your pizza. It's an excellent source of fibre and vitamin C along with a compound called bromelain, which aids in digestion. Therefore, you're doing yourself a favour by sprucing up your lunch or dinner with this sweet and juicy pizza-enhancer.
But do you know there is a pizza which costs 77 lakh rupees and people are willing to pay for it? Yes, we are talking about the world's most expensive pizza, Louis XIII, which costs a whopping $12,000! Louis XIII's creator is Renato Viola who makes the pizza for a select crowd in Salerno, a coastal city in Italy.
For what it's worth, we don't call that a plain slice; we call it pizza bianca (white pizza). “To order a slice topped with tomato sauce and cheese in Rome, we say Margherita (if there's basil on it; it's not uncommon to be corrected for ordering a Marg when there is no basil in sight).
No other fruit dares to grace the pizza toppings list, so why should pineapple get a pass? Mixing the acidity of pineapple and tomatoes is too much for some, and opposers complain that the juicy chunks make the crust soggy and disrupt the savory profile of biting into a slice.
The sweetness of pineapple is appealing not only because it's naturally sweet but also because it complements the savory flavor of the cheese and the tomato sauce. While the sweet taste of pineapple on pizza makes it appealing for many people, the salty cheese and the savory tomato sauce make it even more enjoyable.
First of all, it is scientifically proven that pineapple belongs on pizza. There is nothing better than a little bit of sweetness to cut through a salty snack like pizza. Pineapple adds a much needed pop of sweet to the flavor profile. Secondly, pineapple has many health benefits.
Margherita: This classic pizza originates from Naples, Italy and is made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and olive oil. It is the most popular pizza in Italy and is considered the national dish of the country.
The Sauce. Italy offers sauce that many Americans might not be used to. Instead of slow-cooked tomato sauce like we offer here in the US, Italy uses olive oil, pureed fresh tomatoes, garlic, and oregano. This gives their pizza a herby taste that U.S. consumers may not come across often.
Italians do eat chicken, just not on their pizza. The thought of putting chicken on a pizza might be almost as sacrilegious to Italians as adding pineapple. You will find some meats as pizza toppings in Italy, but many of these tend to be preserved meats that come from pork, such as salami and prosciutto.