And the name of the pizza? Cans of canned pineapple, particularly popular at the time, were approximately 80% produced in Hawaii. The widespread diffusion was due to the passion for culture tiki exploded with the return of soldiers from the Pacific Islands during the Second World War. Yet, although pineapple in syrup was among the most popular ingredients of the time, Hawaiian pizza was not appreciated from the first moment.
It was probably the criticism that decreed its success, which pushed the most curious to try it: after the initial uncertainty, everyone went crazy for the sweet-savory combination and the pineapple pizza began to travel to the United States. Panopoulos sold the place in the 1980s and never patented the Hawaiian pizza, which today can be found on the menus of pizzerias around the world.
Pineapple Pizza: Do Foreigners Really Love It?
In Italy we are convinced that Hawaiian pizza is the favorite in the USA, but we are very wrong. As emerged from a 2021 YouGov survey, the toppings most loved by Americans are spicy salami, sausage, mushrooms, extra cheese and onions. On the contrary, in top 5 of the most hated flavors Pizza with pineapple appears, although not before other even less appreciated toppings such as anchovies, aubergines, artichokes and broccoli.
In the United States, therefore, pineapple pizza remains somewhat divisive, as it does in the rest of the world. A couple of examples: in 2017, the president of Iceland said he wanted to ban the use of pineapple on pizza, followed by Gordon Ramsay who confirmed that he despised her in a tweet and on TV.
Italian pizza chefs, however, are less fundamentalist than expected.
Pineapple pizza can be good
In the Bel Paese the meeting between sweet and savory is certainly nothing new, especially when it comes to fruit and cured meats. Ham and melon is a great classic when it comes to Italian appetizers, not to mention the figs and raw ham that we put together on the pizza. So what’s our problem with pineapple? Three great Italian pizza chefs have thought about overturning every prejudice, and over the last few years have proposed their interpretation of the pineapple pizza.
