Hawaiian Pizza

The content below is from Episode 95 of the Who’d a Thunk It? Podcast

Click the link above to go to the audio podcast version.

RECOMMENDATION SEGMENT

• I recommend you check out The Book of Boba Fett currently available on Disney +
  • The show is about he famous Bounty Hunter from the original Star Wars trilogy and it picks up right after Boba Fett’s fall in to the Sarlac pitt.
  • The reason I wanted to recommend this show is because the first episode isn’t great. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t impress. I almost gave up on the show and I think a lot of other people did too.
    • But episode 2 and 3 were a BLAST!
  • Check out The Book of Boba Fett on Disney + and you will be a Tusken Raider fan in no time lol.

NOW FOR THE MAIN EVENT

• The topic for this week is Hawaiian Pizza, but it is important we break down that term before jumping right in. Let us examine Pizza a bit.
  • You see, pizza isn’t what you think it is.
  • If I asked you: “where does pizza come from? where did it originate?” – You would most likely reply “Italy.” But like most things I find worth talking about: IT’S COMPLICATED (one of my favorite phrases). Here’s a brief history of Pizza:
    • In the 6th century BC, Persian soldiers serving under Darius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields.
    • In Ancient Greece, citizens made a flat bread called plakous (πλακοῦς, gen. πλακοῦντος – plakountos) which was flavored with toppings like herbs, onion, cheese and garlic.
      • Sounds like my favorite kind of pizza (white pizza) since I’m not real big on tomatoes.
    • Another precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flatbread known to the Romans as panis focacius, to which toppings were then added.
    • The word pizza was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta^[3] and successively in different parts of Central and Southern Italy. Pizza was mainly eaten in Italy and by emigrants from there.
    • Modern pizza evolved from flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century
    • Pizza being something that was only consumed in Italy changed after World War II when Allied troops stationed in Italy came to enjoy pizza along with other Italian foods. WW2 helped spread pizza to America where it met with America’s multitude of diverse cultures.
    • SalernosPizza.com writes about the origin of the Modern Day Pizza: Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn’t gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.
    • Pizza is one of the first International dishes. The Pizza is a symbol that unites us all. Here’s how
  • Who doesn’t like pizza?
    • Ok, I should admit, Pizza is not my first choice. If I’m with a group of ppl and they all decide to order Pizza I usually abstain and just order a sub for myself. That being said, I don’t dislike pizza… I just think sandwiches/hoagies are much better.
      • I might have to do an episode on sandwiches at one point. I really think they are the best form of food on this planet.
      • BUT I DIGRESS!
    • Nobody dislikes pizza. There are so many different kinds of pizza that it is virtually impossible for someone to dislike all variations of pizza.
      • You have your classic cheese, pepperoni, meatlovers, veggie, Chicago style, thin crust, stuffed crust, pan pizza, dessert pizza… the list goes on and on. With all the countless toppings possible there are about infinite variations of the pizza
  • The world’s cultures created pizza.
    • Yes, we established the guy who thought up Modern pizza was in Italy, but the ingredients were from all over the world.
      • People don’t usually think about this but Before 1492, tomatoes, potatoes, wild rice, salmon, pumpkins, peanuts, bison, chocolate, vanilla, blueberries and corn, among other foods, were unknown in Europe, Africa and Asia.
      • Without Christopher Columbus crossing the ocean blue there would be no pizza… just just that cheesey shield baked bread the persians made.
    • Think about all the different types of pizza I mentioned earlier like Chicago style pizza. It isn’t for everyone with its exceedingly deep dishness and bizarre order of ingredients. If the guy who invented pizza in Naples saw Chicago Pizza he wouldn’t recognize it.
      • But that is the beauty of it. When you say pizza, most people automatically picture the original pizza. But that isn’t all there is. NO, the world’s cultures took the framework of the original pizza and made it in to whatever they wanted.
  • The Pizza is a beautiful representation of humanity and how wonderfully diverse we are as a species.

• HAWAIIAN PIZZA
  • One of the most controversial versions of pizza is the Hawaiian pizza.
  • Some memes on the internet would suggest this dish a monstrosity.
    • I, however, find it to be not that bad. It isn’t my first choice, but I’ve tried it and like it.
  • Why is Hawaiian Pizza so controversial? Well, it incorporates a certain topping seen on no other verion of pizza.
    • Here’s a definition: Hawaiian pizza is a pizza topped with tomato sauce, cheese, pineapple, and back bacon or ham. Some versions may include peppers, mushrooms, bacon or pepperoni.
    • Yeah, the pineapple part is usually what people freak out about. Many say pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. But I disagree. I say ANYthing belongs on a pizza. If it suits just 1 person, than it is a pizza topping… I mean… anchovies on pizza is a thing for crying out loud lol.

• Chonday.com writes
  • Pineapple as a pizza topping divides public opinion: Hawaiian was the most popular pizza in Australia in 2012, accounting for 15% of pizza sales, and a 2015 review of independent UK takeaways operating through Just Eat found the Hawaiian pizza to be the most commonly available. However, a 2016 survey of US adults had pineapple in the top three least favorite pizza toppings, ahead of anchovies and mushrooms.
    • Here is how this bizzare pizza variant came to be:
  • Greek-Canadian Sam Panopoulos created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1962. Inspired in part by his experience preparing Chinese dishes which commonly mix sweet and savory flavors, Panopoulos experimented with adding pineapple, ham, bacon and other toppings which were not initially very popular. The addition of pineapple to the traditional mix of tomato sauce and cheese, sometimes with ham or sometimes with bacon, soon became popular locally and eventually became a staple offering of pizzerias around the world.
• Whichever side of the fence you fall on when it comes to the taste of Pineapple Pizza, I’m hoping you will see why I love it for what it represents.
  • I’ve said how Pizza is a shared love by the world over and we as humans have shaped it in to so many different and wonderful things. But Hawaiian Pizza is the epitome of that idea. It is an international connection that spans the globe.
  • Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada by a Greek immigrant, who was inspired by Chinese food to put a South American ingredient on an Italian dish, that went on to be most popular in Australia.

• So if you are one of those people who find the idea of pineapple on pizza disgusting to your palate, I don’t blame you. We like what we like and the opposite is just as true.
  • But don’t knock it until you try it.
  • Don’t shame those who do enjoy it (because shaming someone for harmlessly liking something is selfish and childish).
  • And perhaps now I hope you can appreciate what Hawaiian Pizza represents: the result of an international cullinary phenonema that spread out across the globe indoctrinating different cultures unique spin on Pizza until it reached its height: the Hawaiian Pizza.

THANKS FOR LISTENING WHO’D A THUNKERS!

CREDIT

• SalernosPizza.com
• Chonday.com
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pizza