By Aiden Richmond | LTVN Managing Editor
Pineapple on pizza is an argument that seems to never come to an end. Even the local Shorty’s waiters can’t seem to agree when I asked two of them their thoughts the other night.
But before this gets too opinionated, let’s get to the science.
A majority of people will say they’ll order pineapple as a topping for it’s sweet taste; which is true. Pineapple is a very naturally sweet fruit, with the USDA nutrition sheet citing a normal serving of pineapple having about 16 grams of sugar.
The natural sweet-fruit lovers are left wanting to take another bite without the feeling of the fake sugar film coating and stomach knotting that a handful of gummy bears would leave behind. However, why not just eat it by itself?
Tomato sauce is already sweet on its own.
We add sugar to the sauce to knock down the natural acidity of tomatoes. In an era when many are prioritizing clean eating, there’s no need to add additional sugar to a pie.
Coming to the crust. Most people want their crust a little crispy, maybe not crunchy, but they for sure don’t want a soggy piece of pie. A floppy piece of pizza is simply a turnoff.
The hydration content of a normal pizza crust is between 55% and 60%. Chewier doughs fall in the 65% to 70% range. Referring back to our USDA sheet, water makes up 85% of a pineapple and when it gets baked, some of that water releases into the crust, making your dough more soggy and making it harder to get that crunchy bite.
For a properly baked pizza to have pineapple and a non soggy dough, you’d need to properly dry your pineapple well in advance. You can’t simply dump it out of the can, but rather you’d need to pat it dry and let it sit out for some time.
That’s a lot of work to just add some fruit to your pie.
If you’re sitting here thinking that I’m unqualified to sit here and yammer on about pineapple and its place on pizza, would you say that about Gordon Ramsay?
A chef who has spent his life becoming popular through his numerous TV shows and his world-class restaurants around the world. I found that he is quite fond of standing on the same hill.
Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza, according to Ramsay. Ramsay posted a TikTok of him yelling at YouTuber PrestonPlayz that, “pineapple does not belong on pizza.”
I can sit back and understand why some choose to weirdly put pineapple on their pizza, but if you asked me. I’m keeping it in my fridge and in the fruit bowl.
