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Food · The great divider · Take No. 010

Does pineapple belong on pizza?

Invented in Canada by a Greek immigrant, named after a Hawaiian brand of canned fruit, banned by the president of Iceland (as a joke). No topping has made more enemies.

The case for each side, then the verdict. Then the floor is yours.
The case for

Yes, and stop being precious

The case for sweet and salty

  • 1962Sam Panopoulos puts canned pineapple on a pizza in Chatham, Ontario. The Hawaiian is born and never leaves.
  • 3Flavour notes in one bite: sweet fruit, salty ham, acidic sauce. That's the same balance as sweet-and-sour pork.
  • Top 10The Hawaiian is consistently among the best-selling pizzas in Canada, Australia and the UK. The people have spoken.
vs
The case for

No, and never again

The case for tradition

  • 0Pineapples in Naples. The people who invented pizza have a word for this, and it isn't a kind one.
  • 1Texture problem: hot wet fruit on bread. Even defenders admit the sog.
  • 2017The president of Iceland says he'd ban it if he could. Heads of state don't weigh in on mushrooms.

Cast your take

——
The verdict

It's Yes. Sweet and salty has been a thing since before pizza existed.

The purists have tradition, and tradition matters: Naples didn't do this. The sog is also real, and a bad Hawaiian is a very bad pizza.

But "the people who invented it wouldn't" is a losing argument in food. Naples also didn't do pepperoni. Pineapple works for the same reason prosciutto and melon work, and a good one, with real ham and the fruit drained, is a great pizza. Yes.

Disagree? That's what the buttons are for.

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