3w ago

TIL The 'Hawaiian Pizza' or 'Pineapple Pizza' was invented by a Greek immigrant in Canada and called Hawaiian due to the can of pineapples he used.

us.gozney.com Pineapple Pizza - History of the controversial Hawaiian Pizza

The most controversial pizza topping around - why are we so passionate for or against Pineapple on Pizza? Click here to learn about the history of the Hawaiian Pizza and more!

So, a Greek guy in Canada made an Italian staple into something that he thought would represent a Hawaiian cuisine (even though it was just the can, many people naively believe it truly is a Hawaiian dish)

Once someone told me they thought that's how they ate their pizza over there. Lol.

Nevertheless, if I were in Canada at that time, I would have visited his restaurant and ordered one of the originals. It's not the best pizza topping but it is also not the worst. (I hate anchovies, fish of any kind or mushrooms on my pizza. Mushrooms are good in other dishes.)

113 comments

You know, if it had been invented by a Hawaiian, it would probably have Spam on it.
Hawaiians love them some Spam.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-hawaiians-are-utterly-obsessed-with-spam/
- Ham and pineapple are an awesome combo. Not quite spam, but fairly close.
- I like fried spam. I really never had it otherwise.
- I have not had Spam, but I have heard it is similar to pork roll (more salty, maybe?), and as someone who grew up on pork roll, that shit is fucking amazing.
  
  I haven't either, to be honest. But I don't eat meat anymore and haven't in some time, so I guess I'll never know what it tastes like.

And it's delicious.

The Greeks are expert at trolling the Italians.
- Who got the last laugh?
  
  Canada, I guess? 🤷

I first tried pineapple on pizza earlier this year, and discovered I actually like it, it adds a little bit of a different flavour profile to the pizza.
- It's my favorite topping. I doubt most people who hate it have even tried it
  
  I haven't tried it, but I have had warm/hot pineapple in other situations and I know I don't like it.
  Similarly, I don't have to have a banana split to know I won't like it since I already hate bananas.
  Also, the traditional Hawaiian pizza also has ham on it, which I also don't like. You don't necessarily have to try a dish to know you won't like it.
  
  I haven't tried poutine or broccoli on pizza.
  It would be like putting salsa on Cajun food. There's a conflict there that's readily apparent.
  You could just sweeten the sauce and increase the acidity to get a similar result as pineapple.
- I ordered pineapple on pizza as a joke at a party. My buddy said to order 10 pizzas for the party and only gave me a list of 7 toppings. The other three he probably assumed would just be plain. Wrong. Pineapple! I had never tried it before that or after. It was a prank that went wrong though because we liked it a bit more than we should have. I ended up eating a whole pizza. he had his own and the other was eaten by some of the other guests. He now likes it and gets it a lot. Never had the actual Hawaiian with ham. I don't eat ham, but I eat other pork products like bacon and pepperoni.
  
  I'm kind of curious about the logic behind eating pepperoni (super processed pork) but not eating ham (unprocessed pork)...

That would explain why pineapple pizza included Canadian bacon.
- 🤔
- I wonder if the just call it bacon up there.
  
  It's called back bacon, 🥓 is still just bacon.

Pineapple gets an outsized amount of attention as a pizza topping for how mid it is. I don't hate or love it, I'm simply okay with it.
- Hawaiian pizza is mid but Jalapeño and Pineapple pizza is S-tier. Spicy and sweet.
  
  I'm not personally a fan of jalapenos, but pineapple and banana pepper is also a really good combo for sweet/tangy.
  
  I put anchovies on too.
  Its like someone put $20 worth of "sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami" nickels in a sock and then hit you in the mouth with it.
  
  Add tomato slices and chicken.
- While people hate on it for flavor something, idk, I warn people that pineapple retains heat and to make sure that it cools before eating. Pineapple stays burn the roof of your mouth hot longer than the cheese and sauce!
- I agree with this sentiment. I feel weird for not having strong feelings about it either way.
  I love me some pineapple, and I am not sure if I would say that the combo is greater than the sum of its parts.

Pineapple pizza aint bad like people say. It a little weird feeling sweet fruit on my pizza yes,But its pretty good.
- In Greece, eating watermelon or melon with feta cheese is pretty common. Sweet(fruit) goes nicely with salty(feta).
  
  We actually do that aswell even tho am not Greek.
  
  I would not call it pretty common, but it happens, yes.
- Yep, surprised me lol, after I got it as a joke.
- That's because pineapple is the king of fruits, and it makes everything better.
  
  Real 🗣🗣🗣

I love Hawaiian pizza, not my absolute favorite but I order it quite often
Me and my wife remember that when we were kids Hawaiian pizza usually had cherry as well as pineapple but it suddenly disappeared, was that common previously it was that something from our hometown?
- In Germany, the traditional Toast Hawaii has a cherry on top. It was invented 7 years before the Pizza Hawaii, so it could likely be that the pizzerias back in the day were orienting their recipe more on the original than today.
- When and where was that? I have never seen cherry on pizza before, nor do I remember reading about it.
- Since pineapple already is in dishes like ham because it degrades meat and adds flavor I can understand the logic but cherry!?!?. That fruit should not go on it.
  Reminds me of Chicken apple walnut salad. I ended up picking out the apple slices.

And on that day, pizza crimes were born.
Meanwhile, OP, please pass me those mushrooms. Nom nom!
- I had pineapple on pizza once. It wasn't as bad as I thought but not on my top ten. I like mushrooms with steak, cheese steak and other dishes and casseroles. I had an anchovy and not a fan. Tried to eat a sardine, was horrible. Fish on pizza is a crime if fruit is.
  
  Fun fact: Tomato is considered a fruit.
  
  I would never order it, but I'll eat a "Hawaiin" if someone puts it in front of me (well, would have before my gluten issues). Living in Japan taught me that a lot of things work amazingly well on pizza. Roasted corn is one of my favorites. Bulgogi and kimchi is another one that works really nicely.

Pizza Hawaii is actually based on the idea of a German TV cook called Clemens Willenrod, who invented the famous Toast Hawaii in 1955, 7 years prior to the first Pizza Hawaii.
- Early 1800s gammon and pineapple has entered the chat.

I knew about the origin, but always thought it was called Hawaiian because of the combination of pineapple and ham, both of which are known as staples of modern Hawaiian food. TIL!

There's also a "Canadian" pizza which is usually Pepperoni, Bacon and Mushrooms, sometimes made with a Cheddar Cheese/Mozza blend depending on the place
- Well I have definitely had pepperoni and bacon on my pizza. Those ingredients would work well on a cheesesteak, I would eat mushrooms on a sandwich. There was a place near me with "stereotypical ethnic" pizzas and sandwiches that had Canadian pizza on it if I remember correctly. They had Chinese, Greek, Mexican etc. they also had celebrity/historian sandwiches that were decent.

I have been to the original hawaiin pizza joint in chatham I didn't order the Hawaiian I don't mind hawaiin pizza but it's not my first pick.

Lots of foods have misleading cultural backgrounds. Chicken tikka masala, for instance, was invented in Glasgow.

We also invented hockey and basketball, and 2 out of three ain't bad.
- So many things originate from immigrants who moved to the US and then made it by inventing something. I didn't know that basketball was made by a Canadian in Massachusetts.
  I hope to vacation up in Canada one day. I love mountainous areas and a lot of good bands and influencers I follow live there or are from there.

A can?!?
- Bro, do you know how expensive pineapples used to be? They used to rent them out to rich people so they can have it as a discussion piece at a party.
  This is not a joke.
- Yeah he must've really rationed it, lol

I'll never just order anchovies, but I don't hate them. If someone mentions that they like anchovies but no one is willing to share a pie with them, I'll gladly split a pie with them.
Conversely to your statement, I would totally eat an anchovi, mushroom, pineapple and jerk mahi mahi pizza :)
- Mushrooms always change the texture of the cheese when you take them off. I don't want to notice a mushroom when I eat it. I eat mushrooms in other dishes like a casserole or with steak or beef stew etc. anchovies might be the same way. I tried them plain. But I am rarely picky. If someone serves it, I will eat it.
  
  For what it's worth I believe that mushroom should be sliced thin and thoroughly sauteed before they're put on the pie. They should have a density somewhere around sausage and really shouldn't change the texture of the cheese much if they're done right.
  I know a lot of places that just throw raw sliced mushrooms on a pizza and I think that's horrible.
  And trovise on the other hand should just be salty with a slight umami flavor. I think the only true consistency problem I see with them is if you get a whole anchovy in your mouth right along your molars, when you bite into it they will be a bit chewy which is not great. Realistically nothing on a pizza should be chewy ;)

Is any food named after a place ever actually from that place?
Champagne notwithstanding.
- Russian dressing. French dressing. French fries, toast, German chocolate cake. Are good examples.
  However,
  Cheddar cheese is actually from Cheddar (England).
  Italian dressing originated in Rome with olive oil and vinegar among some other ingredients like seasonings.
  Romaine lettuce came from countries around Mediterranean sea and named "Roman lettuce" from Italian translation. Whoever named it that may have been from Rome or Italian. It was also called that in the other countries, sources say possibly named by someone Greek calling it Roman lettuce.
  Buffalo wings are from Buffalo, NY.
  
  Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo
  
  I had no idea toast was from Toast! You learn something new every day...
  
  French Fries are from Belgium
- Soy beans are named after soy sauce, which isn't what you asked but it's a fact I recently learned that surprised me.
  
  Another TIL for me. Japanese: shōyu.
  
  I didn't know that, so I'll accept it lol
  
  The colour orange didn't exist until they discovered oranges.
  Canaries are named after the Canary islands. The islands were named after dogs (canines).
  Reply "subscribe" if you'd like more word facts.
  
  Isn't it the reverse, since soy sauce uses soy beans?
- No, but I hear Julius Caesar invented a salad.
  Which is weird, because Parmesan cheese didn't exist until the middle ages and I have no idea about croutons.
  
  I couldn't find any info on that. Only that the Caesar salad was named after someone named Caesar.
  
  And Bob Cobb invented the Cobb Salad at the Brown Derby in 1937

Best Hawaiian style pizza is Round Table's Maui Wowie. Ham, bacon, pineapple, green onion with a "Polynesian" style sauce (their name not mine). It's not quite a normal tomato sauce, it's sweeter and slightly spicy. So, so good.

That kinda makes sense bc a Greek guy came up with the sweet Canadian donair sauce too. And pineapple pizza is sweet.

Mr. Worldwide

Everyone in Canada knows this. We try to play it off as American, like Justin Bieber or Celine Dion.
- What's wrong with Celine Dion?

And god bless him for it.

I thought he was in California when he did it. Go figure.

I know America kind of deserves it, but that doesn't really justify Greece and Canada hurting us like this.
- We Americans deserve every bad thing we get. Lol. I hate it here.
  
  I don't know, Hawaiian pizza feels cruel and unusual to me.

113 comments