Is Pineapple on Pizza Heresy?
Or would you eat French fries with mustard, because why not?
Pizza.
A simple food with tons of variations beloved or hated in many countries all over the world.
Originating from Italy, where it has kind of strict rules on how it should be prepared (and eaten!), pizza is now sold in many places as a main dinner dish or quick street food. It could be sold in fancy and expensive restaurants as well as in doubtful stalls along the river
Some people are able to eat it daily, some reserve it only for special occasions, and there are even some who have never tasted it but will say they do not like it.
Yet, there are some ingredients that, according to some people, should never be used there, but others will say that it is fine.
Yes, I am speaking about pineapple on a pizza, infamous Hawaii pizza that have nothing in common with Hawaii after all.
Do you like it or hate it? What are your reasons for it?
And if you hate pineapple on a pizza as a topping, is it simply because someone told you that it should not be used because it is disgusting, or because you do not like it yourself?
Pineapple on the pizza is something that really does not bother me at all.
Everyone has their own personal preferences and tastes, so if someone likes it, why not?
But I wanted to use this “phenomenon” as a little pointer to not so traditional combinations of food that one could like and others will think that eating the food that way is nothing but crazy.
If you want another example of misunderstood foods, especially in our place on the planet, it is using mustard as a dip for French fries.
And yes, this combination sounds a little bit off even for me, as I was used to, from the days of my childhood, that French fries should be served with ketchup, mayo, or tartar sauce.
And you can order it anywhere in these combinations — plus lately more fancy (like chili or garlic) sauces are more common, but you will nowhere around see it served with mustard.
Yet, I know several persons who do not eat it any other way.
And another example — but this time even more of a local one — is eating specific side dish for “deep-fried steak” also known as “schnitzel”.
Traditionally, you can get it with stuff like potatoes (in various types as mashed, boiled, baked, French fries, salad, etc.), sometimes it could be served with rice or noodles (especially in “Asian food” type of restaurants) but what is totally weird is that in some places it is served with Czech bread dumplings.
Well, many of you will not know what these are, but you can imagine it as a food meant to be a side dish for vegetable-based or cream-based sauces (tomato soup, dill sauce, etc.) in combination with boiled eggs and some steak-like meat.
But using it as a side dish for meat coated and deep-fried in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs sounds really off for some reason.
Well, I fully understand that different cultures have different cuisines and also the taste is fully individual.
Someone could eat extra-hot chili peppers every day and some will not touch them with a five-meter-long rod.
Some people even like extremely smelly Surströmming — and it is everyone’s choice.
But what makes us methodically judge some specific foods or food combinations that someone may like but for us seems crazy?
Is it our experience with food tastes that tells us how we expect some food should taste? Or are we (internally) somehow afraid that our knowledge could be so limited that we (or our subconscious) tell ourselves that the food will taste badly that way?
I really don’t know what is behind it, and what can be behind the whole issue with pineapple on the pizza.
Sure, I know that it is more about a funny meme than anything else (especially when even pizza dough is in most countries totally wrong and anyone calling it pizza dough should be punished by serving them French fries with mustard) but hey, what is all the big deal around it?
I know, pineapple is sweet and some will say that combination of sweet fruit and salted dough could not be good, but I even like pizza with blueberries or apricots!
And what about you, do you have your own favorite food combinations that others say are not edible?
Have you ever heard the “how can you eat it like that” sentence when you were enjoying your favorite dish?
Or are you a purist and whenever you see pineapple on the pizza you start to search for an exorcist?
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