We’ve never understood why folks fight so much over whether you should put pineapple on pizza. If you search around the Internet, you’ll find some rather deep debates and disagreements over this topic. Perhaps it just goes to show how serious people take their pizza (which we can understand).
We’d like to weigh in on the pineapple pizza discussion with a look at the history of pineapple on pizza, and why some either enjoy or despise it. Then, we’ll showcase one of our special New York style pizzas featuring it.
Most Americans think pineapple is the sole domain of Hawaii. Although that area has a rich heritage of pineapple production, much of the current crop comes from places like Latin America.
The idea of putting pineapple on pizza goes back to the early 1960s, when a Greek entrepreneur, Sam Panopoulos, decided to try it at his Canadian restaurant. He took simple canned pineapple (nothing premium or fancy) and mixed it with the ham pizzas he made. That’s why, to this day, people choose to combine it with either ham or Canadian bacon.
Especially when you mix it with sweeter meats (especially pork), you can draw out a terrific blend of tastes from pineapple. Most pizza toppings pair well with one or more complimentary items, but there are some things that don’t mix very well.
Then again, many patrons enjoy pineapple because they simply like its taste. It doesn’t require a lengthy proof set.
Other pizza fans cannot tolerate pineapple on their pizza. For some, it just doesn’t make sense to mix such a sweet fruit with cheese, tomato sauce, meat, or other common pizza components.
There are even some anti-pineapple partisans, so vehement in their opposition to its inclusion with pizza, who insist that the government outlaw it. We hope the opposition never goes quite that far.
Perhaps, if you’re not crazy about pineapple pizza, you’ve just never had the right kind. You might change your mind, however, after a couple bites of Russo’s Hawaiian Pizza.
Our version incorporates just the right blend of pineapple, Canadian bacon, Wisconsin mozzarella, and other key ingredients for an almost perfect pizza. Plus, if you’re after a lighter option, this one has fewer calories than other varieties.
Russo’s New York Pizzeria makes dozens of authentic specialty pizzas, including some with sweet pineapple. We hope you’ll consider trying ours sometime when you visit one of our many franchise locations. In the meantime, contact us anytime to learn more about pizza ingredients, catering options, or anything else you’d like to know.
It's the perfect time to franchise Russo's New York Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen and we know the pizza business and what it take to fire up your first restaurant. With 50+ locations and growing, our franchisees have created success built on our flexible design starting 1,500 sq ft. We produce a higher average store volume (AUV $1.134M) than industry average by serving authentic New York-style pizza and unique menu items. Ask about available territories!
