As the contentious debate continues, people want an objective answer: should pineapple be on pizza? Let’s go to the charts! 

It appears that popularity-wise, at least for people in America, the anti-pineapple side comes out on top with about 54% of people saying pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza (Balius).

To truly understand this horrifyingly powerful topic, we’ll have to go to its history. According to the BBC, in 1962, a Greek immigrant named Sam Panopoulos, along with his brothers, served pineapple on pizza in their restaurant in Ontario. Although they usually served hamburgers and pancakes, Panopoulos decided to try something new, and added regular old cheese pizza to his menu. But later, he would awaken a demon of debate, that would dominate culture and family dinner topics in the near future. He decided to take the risk of adding, you guessed it, pineapples. The dish was a hit among his customers. They named it Hawaiian pizza to honor where the ingredients came from (Murphy). From simple beginnings it has spread across the world, generating a growing controversy. A major argument that leads the anti-pineapple side is the view that, excluding tomatoes, fruit doesn’t belong on pizza. Many believe that putting things like pineapple on pizza is breaking a beloved tradition. In their eyes, this tropical fruit is the pinnacle of sacrilege upon the cherished Italian dish. But in the view of others, these people’s hatred is fueled by madness, hyperbole, and blind rage.

On the flipside, a minor incident once occurred when the president of Iceland, while visiting a high school in Akureyri, joked to students that he would ban pineapple on pizza if given the chance. As a prank, Hawaiian pizzas were sent to the Iceland embassy. The prime minister of Canada even tweeted, “I have a pineapple. I have a pizza. And I stand behind this delicious southwestern Ontario creation. #TeamPineapple”, defending the Canadian dish.

Ultimately we will never get one true answer to this topic; it will forever remain a mystery. But we can all agree that pineapple on pizza has gone from humble beginnings to a massive culinary debate across the world. So what do you think, does it belong?

Works Cited:

Balius, Quincy. “Save a Pineapple, Eat a Pizza.” Montana State Exponent, 19 Sept. 2019, www.msuexponent.com/opinion/save-a-pineapple-eat-a-pizza/article_43118ac6-daa3-11e9-8bd7-2baa73a6ab91.html. 

Murphy, Jessica. “Aloha! Meet the Ontario Man Who Created Pineapple Pizza.” BBC News, 24 Feb. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39072331.