Hawaiian pizza
Hawaiian pizza with pineapple chunks
TypePizza
Place of originCanada
Main ingredientsPizza dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella, pineapple, ham or bacon

Hawaiian pizza is a pizza originating in Canada,[1][2] traditionally topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, and either ham or bacon.

History

Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, in 1962. Inspired in part by his experience preparing Chinese dishes which commonly mix sweet and savory flavours, Panopoulos experimented with adding pineapple, ham, bacon, and other toppings. These additions were not initially very popular.[3][4][5][6][7]

The addition of pineapple to the traditional mix of tomato sauce and cheese, along with either ham or bacon, later became popular locally and eventually became a staple offering of pizzerias on a global scale.[8] The name of this creation was not directly inspired by the U.S. state of Hawaii at all; Panopoulos chose the name Hawaiian after the brand of canned pineapple they were using at the time.[9]

In Germany, Hawaiian pizza is thought to be a variation of the ham, pineapple and cheese-topped Toast Hawaii, originally introduced by Germany's first TV cook Clemens Wilmenrod in 1955.[10][11][12] In 1957, a "Hawaiian Pizza" containing pineapple, papaya, and chopped green pepper, but not ham or bacon, appeared in Portland, Oregon.[13][14] A 1960 episode of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends contained a reference to "Pineapple Pizza".[15]

A blend of cheeses, usually consisting of mozzarella cheese, is a popular topping on Hawaiian pizza.[16] In the United States, some restaurants use barbecue sauce and pulled pork with pineapple and cheese as an alternative to the more traditional combination featuring tomato sauce and either ham or bacon.[citation needed]

In popular media

In 2014, Time listed Hawaiian pizza first on its list of "The 13 Most Influential Pizzas of All Time".[17][18] Opinions towards Hawaiian pizza are generally divisive and polarizing. Although many enjoy the taste, others vehemently dislike it, possibly due to the sweetness of pineapple paired with "salty pizza ingredients".[19][20]

In 2017, Icelandic president Guðni Th. Jóhannesson reportedly told a group of high school students during a Q&A that he was fundamentally opposed to putting pineapple on pizza. He jokingly added that he would ban pineapple as a pizza topping if he could, as long as he received 30% of the under 21 vote. His off-the-cuff remark generated a flurry of media coverage and inspired many, regardless of their taste for Hawaiian pizza, to express their opinions on social media. Celebrities shared their liking or distaste for Hawaiian pizza,[21][22][23][24] including Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who expressed support for it by tweeting: "I have a pineapple. I have a pizza. And I stand behind this delicious Southwestern Ontario creation."[25][26] Panopoulos, at that point retired from the restaurant business, was called upon by some media outlets to defend his creation.[6][27]

Guðni later clarified that he was only joking, and that he did not have the power to ban particular toppings on pizza; he added that even he would not like to live in a country where the leader could ban anything that they did not like.[28]

American author John Green reflected on the dish's cosmopolitan origins and reach, noting its Canadian invention by a Greek immigrant, inspired by Chinese cuisine to put a South American fruit on an Italian dish, which has gained its greatest popularity in Australia.[29]

Surveys

Hawaiian was the most popular pizza in Australia in 1999, accounting for 15% of pizza sales.[30]

A 2015 review of independent UK takeaways operating through Just Eat found the Hawaiian pizza to be the most commonly available.[31] A 2016 The Harris Poll survey of US adults had pineapple in the top three least-favorite pizza toppings, ahead of anchovies and mushrooms.[32]

According to a 2019 YouGov Omnibus survey, 12% of Americans who eat pizza say that pineapple is one of their top three favorite pizza toppings, and 24% say that pineapple is one of their least favorite toppings. It was not the most disliked topping, however, as other ingredients were even more widely unpopular in the survey: anchovies and eggplant.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Canadian inventor of Hawaiian pizza defends pineapple after Iceland's president disses fruit topping". CBC. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. ^ Hawthorn, Tom (26 June 2017). "Canadian Sam Panopoulos created the Hawaiian pizza". The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  3. ^ Nosowitz, Dan (4 June 2015). "Meet the 81-Year-Old Greek-Canadian Inventor of the Hawaiian Pizza". Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. ^ Boughner, Bob (26 June 2010). "Aloha! Hawaiian pizza born in Chatham?". The Chatham Daily News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  5. ^ Turner, Geoff (14 July 2010). "Canadian invented the Hawaiian pizza". Toronto Sun/Sun Media. Archived from the original on February 24, 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  6. ^ a b Mann, Helen (February 21, 2017). "Canadian inventor of Hawaiian pizza defends pineapple after Iceland's president disses fruit topping". CBC As It Happens. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  7. ^ Helen Mann (February 21, 2017), Canadian inventor of the Hawaiian defends pineapple after Iceland president sneers at fruit on pizza, CBC Radio Interview As It Happens. Accessed 19 May 2017
  8. ^ Scoble, Devon (April 5, 2016). "The History of Hawaiian Pizza". FoodNetwork.ca. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021.
  9. ^ Gajanan, Mahita (June 11, 2017). "The Man Who Invented Hawaiian Pizza Has Died". Time. Time USA, LLC. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  10. ^ Driesner, Heidi (24 January 2015). ""Toast Hawaii" wird 60" (in German). n-tv. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  11. ^ Foede, Petra (4 February 2011). "Es gibt keinen Toast auf Hawaii" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  12. ^ Ganz, Rabea (5 August 2013). "Herrn Paulsens Deutschstunde: Toast Hawaii" (in German). Effilee. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  13. ^ Singer, Matthew (September 13, 2020). "What the Hell Was Going on With This Portland Pizzeria From the 1950s?". Willamette Week.
  14. ^ "The Oregonian. Guide to Good Eating: Restaurants and Dining Rooms". February 7, 1957. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  15. ^ Bullwinkle Makes a Hit (Television production). Jay Ward Productions. February 11, 1960. Event occurs at 2:06. Retrieved February 16, 2023. Poi Burgers, Pineapple Pizza, Shrimp Cheesecake!
  16. ^ Gulzar, Nabila (2021-09-01). "Influence of mozzarella and cheddar cheese mixing on biochemical characteristics of pizza cheese blends" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences. 58 (4): 1359–1365. doi:10.21162/PAKJAS/21.50. S2CID 243541311.
  17. ^ Begley, Sarah (May 5, 2014). "The 13 Most Influential Pizzas of All Time". Time. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05.
  18. ^ Carman, Tim (April 23, 2019). "Pineapple on pizza is easy to hate — at least in theory". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  19. ^ Dowling, Stephen; Gray, Richard (August 20, 2022). "A pizza topping that divides the world". BBC. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Ballard, Jamie (February 5, 2019). "Pineapple remains a controversial pizza topping". YouGov America. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  21. ^ Jimmy Kimmel (Mar 8, 2017). Jimmy Kimmel Settles the Pineapple Pizza Debate. Jimmy Kimmel Live – via YouTube.
  22. ^ Larimer, Sarah (4 March 2017). "The pizza guy's at the door. And he looks a lot like Alexander Ovechkin". The Washington Post.
  23. ^ Larimer, Sarah (3 March 2017). "Capitals' Ovechkin delivers pizza, says his favorite kind is Hawaiian". The Washington Post.
  24. ^ Fecteau, Jessica (8 May 2017). "Is Pineapple Acceptable on Pizza? Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton and More Celebs Weigh In". PEOPLE. Archived from the original on Aug 25, 2018.
  25. ^ Trudeau, Justin (Feb 24, 2017). "I have a pineapple. I have a pizza. And I stand behind this delicious Southwestern Ontario creation. #TeamPineapple @Canada". Twitter. Retrieved Jan 12, 2020.
  26. ^ Pant, Priyanka (26 February 2017). "When It Comes To Pizza Toppings, Canada's PM Justin Trudeau Is #TeamPineapple". NDTV. Archived from the original on Apr 22, 2023.
  27. ^ Shreve, Ellwood (February 24, 2017). "Hawaiian pizza just part of story". Chatham Daily News. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  28. ^ Jon Henley (21 February 2017). "Iceland's president forced to clarify views on pineapple pizza ban". The Guardian.
  29. ^ Green, John. "Hawaiian Pizza and Viral Meningitis". The Anthropocene Reviewed. WNYC Studios. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  30. ^ Steve Green (1999). PMQ Goes to Australia, Pizza Marketing Quarterly, Last accessed 7 February 2017
  31. ^ Scott, Patrick (17 September 2015). "Top ten most popular pizzas in the UK revealed – is your favourite on the list?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  32. ^ Birth, Allyssa (23 February 2016). "Pepperoni Tops Americans' List of Favorite Pizza Toppings". The Harris Poll. Harris Interactive. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.

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