KOMPAS.com – A Canadian chef’s decision in the 1960s to add canned pineapple to pizza became one of the most controversial moments in culinary history.
At that time, Sam Panapoulos and his brother created the “Hawaiian” pizza, and it was considered a violation of Italian culinary protocol that still sparks debate to this day.
Six decades later, the debate about whether pineapple belongs on pizza still divides communities, even families.
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Now, a pizza restaurant in Norwich, England, is making a splash by including pineapple on the delivery menu on line them—at a fantastic price of around IDR 1.8 million).
This price is much more expensive than the price of ordinary canned pineapple, which is only around IDR 15,000 in British supermarkets.
This pineapple pizza sits among classic menus such as Napoli, Meatball and Pepperoni which are all sold for less than IDR 260,000.
Lupa Pizza’s head chef, Quin Jianoran, emphasized that he strongly rejects pizza with pineapple
According to him, the combination of the sweet and sour taste of pineapple with traditional Italian pizza is a controversial topic.
“People really love him or hate him,” explained Jianoran as quoted from the page CNN Travel.
Until now, no customer has ordered the pineapple pizza for IDR 1.8 million. Nevertheless, the reaction on line This menu is very large.
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The restaurant plans to add pineapple pizza to its list of monthly specials if a poll in the Norwich Evening News supports the fruit’s existence. Currently, pineapple is leading with 62 percent of the votes in the survey.
History of the pineapple pizza controversy
Although pineapple is often rejected by traditional Italian pizza makers, innovation persists. In 2024, Neapolitan pizza maestro Gino Sorbillo introduced pineapple pizza on Via dei Tribunali, Naples, to combat food prejudice.
The debate about pineapple on pizza once sparked a political furor. In 2017, Icelandic President Guðni Th. Jóhannesson had to clarify that he has no intention of banning pineapple pizza in his country, even though he doesn’t like the combination.
Jianoran himself prefers New York-style pizza, which he says has no limits in choice toppings.
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In fact, the New York pizza at Una Pizza Napoletana was named the best in the world in 2024 by the 50 Top Pizza Awards.
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