What’s Your Least Favorite Pizza Topping?

by Kevin Burton

   Pepperoni could be legal tender, really. 

   I mean, that time when Jeannette and I made homemade pizza, my biggest fear (hope?) was that I would eat all the pepperoni before we ever got it onto the pizza. 

  Most people agree with me. So you won’t be surprised to know that pepperoni is America’s favorite topping. 

   Tuesday the 20^th is national pepperoni pizza day.  If you’re like me you’ll be celebrating early, sometime over the weekend.

   Pizza any time is good but Tuesday is more like a day for leftover pizza.  Give me weekend pizza and football on TV!

   Either way though, you’ve been notified.

   The first time I ever had pepperoni it was a blind guy accident. My grandmother asked me if I wanted sausage pizza or pepperoni. I thought I was pointing at the sausage, which I had tried before. But I must have been closer to the pepperoni so that’s what I got.  

   That was the night my love affair with pepperoni began. Think what I would have missed out on all these years had I not made that mistake.

   I could sing the praises of pepperoni for a while, but I’m not into singing with my mouth full, and it’s kind of all been said (sung) before.

   But what about the worst toppings, your least favorite? What toppings will not appear on your weekend pizza?

   Did anchovies just leap to mind? 

     “Anchovy pizza: you either love it or hate it. Turns out, most people hate it,” writes The Slice blog, which bills itself as “all about pizza by people who are all about pizza.” That’s credentials enough for me.

   “In a recent poll, Slice learned that 24 percent of pizza eaters are feeling the fish, but 76 percent want nothing to do with them. Yup, anchovies are one of the least popular pizza toppings out there.”

   Thanks again to a family member, my mother, I have tasted anchovy pizza.  I found it bitter and weird. I didn’t absolutely hate it, but ever after I never spoke up for hey, let’s get anchovies.

   “It only makes sense. Visually, anchovy pizza isn’t all that appealing,” writes Slice.  “Meanwhile, many aren’t accustomed to the combination of fish and cheese. But, those that love anchovies on pizza are all about the saltiness and the pungent aroma.”

   Anchovy pizza does have a day also, Nov. 12.  I won’t be celebrating that one, how about you?

   Next up on the no-thanks list, pineapples.  But as with anchovies, pineapples as a pizza topping also have their defenders.

   “Kids tend to love pineapple on pizza – and some adults do, too – but on the whole, pineapple doesn’t get a lot of love as a pizza topping,” writes Slice.  “You’ll find Hawaiian pies on the menu at a lot of pizzerias, but the fruit + ham combo isn’t all that popular.”

    Until now I have never heard of broccoli as a pizza topping.  Broccoli, really? What is wrong with people?

   If you’re serving pizza and you serve along with it a tray of veggies, carrots, broccoli and celery, that makes sense to me.  Putting broccoli on the actual pizza, makes zero sense, whether the broccoli is hard of soft.

  It’s like saying oh let’s put candy corn or Hershey kisses on the pizza. 

   Two more toppings mentioned by Slice as not popular, beef and olives.  Beef is the only topping my mother will now eat on pizza, but I guess she’s in the minority.

     Olives, I understand why they show up on the least favorite list.  They are salty, soft and squishy. It just seems highly un-pizzalike. 

   Giardano’s Pizza on its website also lists pineapples and anchovies as the least well liked.     They also mention onion and mushrooms.

   They’re in the business, they should know. But then they went on to talk about “controversial” toppings.  I don’t see how somebody else’s dinner can be controversial.  You eat what you want to eat and enjoy it.

   In the Burton household, it’s pepperoni, Italian sausage and mushrooms.  Can’t remember the last time we ordered pizza for ourselves.

    I noticed that Casey’s Pizza, one of our favorite pizzas available locally, has jalapenos and hot sausage as availed toppings. Didn’t know that.  That’s good blog research that could pay off in the future. Jeannette won’t want anything to do with that but I will certainly check it out.

   For those who are not feeling all this pizza talk, Tuesday is also national fried rice day.  That could easily be a part of our weekend menu too. Just don’t put any rice on my pizza.