Pizza-consumption idiosyncrasies

[judiu]

Another shameful confession. I don't like pineapple on pizza but pizza that has had the pineapple removed is okay. The faint hint of pineapple is actually kinda nice as long as there is something spicy or salty to balance it. This wouldn't be so bad except I'm many times four-years-old and haven't outgrown it.

Hmmm...I see a new technique here emerging to add subtle hints of flavor to things, like spritzing a pizza with pineapple juice, or rendering pepperoni for the oil and brushing it on the crust before adding the other toppings.

Now THAT has potential...

[LindaK]

I hate pizza that's overloaded with toppings. Often I pick much of it off. When ordering pizza where I know from experience that they pile on toppings, I often request less--less cheese, less whatever. It usually gets a laugh from the waitstaff, who are accustomed to requests for more.

Here's a habit that I see and just don't understand--folding a pizza slice before eating it. What's that about?? I've never had the bad manners to ask--until now.

[ambra]

You fold a limp pizza to keep it straight. This is of course, if you are against eating pizza with a knife and fork- which you will see going on all over Italy when one is served a limp pizza.

[haresfur]

... then it makes sense that you wouldn't eat the part of the slice that has only crust. I suppose if this is your outlook and you've ordered an entire large pizza for yourself, there's no reason to eat anything but the center of the pizza.

I think that's part of the idea behind ordering a large pizza - larger ratio of area to circumference.

Eating habits of many on this board would probably be seen as idiosyncratic by most of the population. Personally, I'm all in favour of idiosyncracies as long as they aren't too onerous on the cooks.

My technique is to eat with a knife and fork until the remainder has enough structural integrity to be picked up with the fingers. Then eat by hand until I reach the crust. Eat the crust if it is really good, otherwise slip it to the dog.

[raybeezbabee]

Sorry to say that I think you are all weird but I might also be weird. I like every part of a pizza slice and my primary way of eating is to balance my bites from front-of-slice to back-of-slice; i.e.: on my first bite from the front of the slice, I also take a bite from the crust in order to achieve a balance of crustiness, cheese and sauce.

These sorts of things change DRASTICALLY when you consider that much of the country (like the midwest, etc) has nothing even slightly comparable to either ny/nj pizza or italian style pizza. The types of "pizza" in those regions is probably more properly eaten in other ways.

[GlorifiedRice]

I eat mine like a normal person lol

Tip to crust, done...

None of this anal retentive BS or George Costanza Snickers bar crap, JUST EAT IT!

J/K

[Rodi]

When I lived in New Haven (man do I miss Sallys), people would get Dominoes. To me, that is way worse than inner/outer ring It is plain sick. There are good very good and great pizza places all around and all you could do wuz call up the D?

[Chris Hennes]

Timeout. There is something wrong with dipping pizza in ranch dressing? Crap.

[gfweb]

Would you put ketchup on a ribeye?

Ranch on pizza is a crime of bad taste even if its applied to dominos or shakeys or papa Johns or pizza hut. If one doesn't like pizza then just don't order it. Get a nice salad and put the ranch on that.

Seriously... if the pizza is so bad it needs ranch then why buy it?

Edited September 5, 2011 by gfweb (log)

[gfweb]

Ranch is needed for stuff that is bland and boring. Like veg. Not pizza.

[Chris Hennes]

Ranch dressing tastes good. What is the problem with dipping pizza in it?

[dcarch]

dcarch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSQNVO3STF4

[Tri2Cook]

Ranch dressing tastes good. What is the problem with dipping pizza in it?

I see no problem with dipping pizza in ranch if a person enjoys it. I just don't particularly love ranch dressing in any setting or I might try it myself.

Of course I have put ketchup on a good ribeye (homemade mushroom ketchup) and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. The ribeye didn't need it but it was good with it. Since when is most of what we do with food about need anyway?

[gfweb]

This is America. You are an adult. You are free to do whatever makes sense to you.

[gfweb]

Even if it insults the cook and degrades the palate.

[Jaymes]

I have a feeling that there are a few reasons any someone might eat only the center of a pizza and leave the cornicione (aka "end crust") -- although the guy Steven describes is certainly on the extreme end of this practice:

The second reason, and perhaps more important here, is that Americans tend to view pizza crust as being a vehicle for the toppings (toppings on a crust) whereas Italians view pizza toppings as being condiments for the crust (crust with some toppings). So, if your idea of pepperoni pizza is that pepperoni is the most important, cheese is the second most important, sauce is the third most important and crust is the least important... then it makes sense that you wouldn't eat the part of the slice that has only crust. I suppose if this is your outlook and you've ordered an entire large pizza for yourself, there's no reason to eat anything but the center of the pizza.

That's exactly how I feel. Exactly. In fact, if I were by myself, I wouldn't even order the pizza. I'd order lasagna, or spaghetti and meatballs, or cannelloni, or manicotti, or baked ziti, or anything else but pizza. I like the flavorful, gooey part and not the dry bread part. But if you're with a crowd at an Italian restaurant and everybody else wants to share a pizza, you don't really have a choice. You have to share the pizza, my least favorite thing. So I try to eat just the center part of my slice, and then kind of scrape off the toppings as I near the end crust, which is nothing to me but dry bread.

I will say that many years ago, I dated an absolutely gorgeous Italian boy. He loved pizza. And whenever we went out to a pizza joint, he always asked them to bring some butter, too. Then, when he reached the end crust, he spread that butter all over it.

Now THAT was good. Fabulous, in fact.

[Tri2Cook]

Even if it insults the cook and degrades the palate.

If someone offers mushroom ketchup with steak (or ranch with pizza), why should they be insulted if I use it? Degrading the palate is relative. That good steak, unadorned, might degrade the palate, or at least let it become less attentive, by the time you get through the entire thing. Food should be enjoyed by the person eating it without concern as to whether the person at the next table approves.

[Fat Guy]

When I lived in New Haven (man do I miss Sallys)

The incident I reported in the original post occurred at Sally's in New Haven.

[qrn]

He probably had bad teeth and could not stand the harder crispy edges???????????

(just a WAG)...

Bud

[gfweb]

Even if it insults the cook and degrades the palate.

If someone offers mushroom ketchup with steak (or ranch with pizza), why should they be insulted if I use it? Degrading the palate is relative. That good steak, unadorned, might degrade the palate, or at least let it become less attentive, by the time you get through the entire thing. Food should be enjoyed by the person eating it without concern as to whether the person at the next table approves.

Ok fine. No standards. Anything is ok. Right.

[Tri2Cook]

Ok fine. No standards. Anything is ok. Right.

You should absolutely have standards, I just don't feel that mine have to be the same as yours (or yours the same as mine). Standards should be dictated by taste, not the other way around.

[cinghiale]

We topped it with a nice gravy, cut up and cooked some fries and piled them on, threw on some cheese and popped it in an oven.

Pizza topped with french fries, customarily along with cut-up pieces of würstel, or hot dog, is a staple of pizzerie everywhere here. However, I've never seen anyone but children eating it.

Edited September 5, 2011 by cinghiale (log)

[larryroohr]

I made my daughter a hot wing pizza with ranch for the sauce, she loved it, me not so much but I usually don't care for ranch. What I did like was the pastrami pizza with mustard (on thick) for sauce. The dough in both cases was from my sourdough starter, two day slow cold rise.

I think I saw both ideas on pizzamakingforum.

mmmm... time for another round of that. The pastrami really was excellent.

[Chris Hennes]

Ok fine. No standards. Anything is ok. Right.

I have standards. The ranch must be Hidden Valley.

[Jaymes]

I've seen a lot of weird pizza behavior in my day, but I think this was the oddest. Can anybody top it?

Knowing I'm opening myself to ridicule, but in the interest of research, I'll add this:

In the way olden days when I was young and a member of the party crowd, often during raucous evenings of get-togethers involving way too much drinking (and/or smoking), someone would think perhaps food was a good idea, and order pizza. The next morning (or probably closer to the next early afternoon), upon rising, we'd go check our fridge to see if by some miracle there was anything in it to eat, or if we'd have to get ourselves enough together to go out and find something.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one here that has eaten cold pizza 'the morning after' while standing in front of an open fridge.

But judging from this thread, I may be one of the few that would pull off the toppings (which hold together remarkably well when they're cold) in one large piece, and eat just that.

After thinking over this thread, and speaking just for myself, I don't find it weird at all that I don't like the end crust. It is, after all, a piece of dry bread. I don't normally order dry bread in other circumstances, so it's not odd to me that I don't like it even when it comes along automatically, attached to something else that tastes good.

When I have a baguette, I prefer to either smear something on it, like butter or olive oil, or dip it into something, like carbonara sauce or red wine or hot melted cheese.

Now, come on, really. Doesn't that sound better?

Edited September 5, 2011 by Jaymes (log)