I've been somewhat obsessed with pizza lately, and I got to thinking last night about pizza toppings. My own personal favorites are onion and pineapple, but I rarely order this because it's too confusing to others. Guy is staunchly devoted to meat toppings, specifically sausage. Other meats will do, but the sausage topping is king in Guy's world.I was reading about pizza in the Joy of Cooking last night, and it mentioned some pizza topping variations from around the world. This inspired me to do some research of my own.
Apparently, Deep Sea Eel Pizza is the most popular item on the menu at the Pizza Huts in China (Shanghai and Xian). That's a photo of it (at left). Surprisingly, it actually looks pretty good! I would try it.
Costa Ricans like coconut on their pizza. Predictably, Indians like curry, chicken tikka, pickled ginger, minced mutton, and paneer. In Sweden, they like banana curry pizza.
How about Russia? Oh, Russia. Land of great literature...but there is a reason you are not known for your food. Russians top their pizza with "mockba" which is "a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon and onions. Red herring is also a topping of choice." Hey! Maybe cats secretly control Russia! That would explain a lot. I bet Tolstoy was actually a cat. That explains why Anna Karenina was always batting at a piece of string.
The Japanese like eel and squid on their pizza, but because they are also strangely obsessed with mayonnaise, they also enjoy something called "Mayo Jago." Apparently, this is mayonnaise, potato, and bacon. Actually, that sounds pretty good to me.
Germans like pizza with a "breakfast-y" flair, topped with eggs sunny side up and sausage links! Wow! That looks amazing to me, although I know my egg-hating friends will find this disgusting. Hmmm, Germans, beer...Something makes me wonder if this pizza topping is a thinly-disguised hangover cure.Finally, the French. Yes, they do everything better than we do, and why should pizza be any exception? Pizza flambée is made with crème fraîche, onions, and smoky bacon lardons. C'est magnifique!
Great post! But now I'm a-hongry.
ReplyDeleteI especially like your weird Tolstoy aside. ;)
Remember how I ordered that Smoked Meat pizza in Montreal? It was good except for the giant pickle wedges--those overpowered it a bit.
heh heh, thanks! That post made me hungry too! :(
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the Montreal pizza!! It sounds good!
I'm trying, but I can't want to eat any of those.
ReplyDeleteNot even the French version?
ReplyDeleteOh wait, I forgot, you don't eat red meat, do you?
ReplyDeleteI bet you would like the Indian pizza. There would be vegetarian options and often the "crust" is really just a large piece of naan.
Go on, vote for the Indian pizza. :)
I just looked--did you vote for the flambee?
ReplyDeleteThanks for voting!
I wouldn't mind chicken tikka on mine ;-D.
ReplyDeleteI voted for "Flambee," before I read the post (d'uh). I thought maybe they'd run a torch over the top LOL.
Oh, thank YOU for voting, D7ana! :) :) I love when people vote in my polls. Anyway, Flambee sounds very good.
ReplyDeleteI voted for the Deep Sea Eel topping...not that it necessarily sounds good. But I would most like to try it because I'm very curious about what it would taste like.
No, I didn't vote. I thought they all sounded bad.
ReplyDelete