Around the World In Pizza Time

Posted by Jill on July 14th, 2008 filed in Interesting

Americans definitely love pizza (eating 350 slices of it per second) and although it originated in Italy, we have certainly taken it and ran with it. If we could bastardize the Italian tradition by adding things like pineapple and barbecue sauce, then what have other cultures done to further alter the face of pizza as we know it?

Amsterdam -These brilliant smokers have cross-bred pizza with hot dogs. A popular pizza order here is called the “Double Dutch.” It includes double cheese, double onions and double beef.

Australia -Throw another shrimp on the barbie pizza, mate. And maybe some pineapple too.

Brazil -Hard boiled eggs and peas on your pie? Why not?

China -Many pizzas here have a thousand island dressing base. Also, if you like eel sushi, maybe you’ll like eel pizza. Maybe…

Costa Rica -They love coconut. If pineapple is great on pizza, why not coconut?

France -A popular combination is known as the Flambee and has bacon, onions and fresh cream.

Germany -Breakfast and pizza at once is a good idea. A sunny side up egg on your pizza is a great way to wake up. Also popular are asparagus pizzas.

India -Pickled ginger and lamb seems a little strange on pizza, but I do love me some lamb. Chicken tikka pizza is also popular, and it sounds amazing.

Korea -I think having a sweet potato pizza here would be fantastic. I don’t know about the whole shrimp cheese bite though.

Japan -They love squid and Mayo Jaga (a combination of mayonnaise, potatoes and bacon). The “Mega Pizza” is loaded with toppings and is served with maple syrup and ketchup on top.

Pakistan -Curry is such a popular dish here, of course it’s on pizza.

Russia -Mockba (a blend of sardines, tuna, salmon, mackerel and onions) is a popular pizza topper…sorry, but I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Also, red herring is quite a popular topping.

Sweden -Their “Hawaiian” pizza has bananas, ham and curry powder -it’s quite good actually. Also, all of their pies are very thin and come with a free “pizza salad” that is a non-creamy variation of coleslaw.

Venezuela -Corn and goat cheese are a suprising variation on pizza that most Americans could probably dig.

Heard of any other weird toppings, let me know!

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41 Comments to “Around the World In Pizza Time”

  1. qris Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    In Iceland I had a pepperoni pizza with banana which apparently is quite popular. DELICIOUS. The banana sort of melts and turns into just sorta sweet bites.

  2. admin Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    I love banana on pizza, I’ve had that Swedish one, with the curry, and it’s amazing.
    I wonder why it hasn’t caught on in the US yet.

  3. Noah Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 4:05 pm

    In Bosnia - pizza sauce is usually replaced with special ketchup (sweeter than normal), and often you can get a pizza with an egg on top

  4. liltrix Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:18 pm

    here in New Zealand we have a Meat Pie Pizza (on rotation at Dominos).. i guess you have to understand what a meat pie is, its basically a sloppy joe (but with peas, and corn, and cheese) in a pastry pie and so the pizza is basically a sloppy joe pizza (with corn and peas, and carrots) topped with a square of pastry with a tomato sauce swirl…

  5. liltrix Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

    also we have a chain called HELL pizza, (which recently bought a soul off a local online trading site, kinda like ebay)
    http://www.hell.co.nz they have hursts for deliveries, and the boxes can be transformed to a little coffin shape for leftovers… and there are some pretty wacky toppings… but they have a curry pasta that is really very yummy…

  6. Kris Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

    I enjoy a Mexican twist with beans, salsa, corn chips and avocado.

  7. alejandro Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

    you can find a pizza with chicken and mole in puebla, mexico

  8. Beirti Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    I give you…. The FULL IRISH PIZZA

    Margherita base, sausage, bacon, black & white pudding, mushroom, onion, an egg in the middle. If you’re feeling brave and adventurous, pour some beans over as well.

    Oh, and a cup of tea. Of course.

  9. Eric Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

    When I was in Iran, I went to a cafe which served “ham” and pineapple pizza. When I asked how “ham” was could be on the menu in the “Islamic Republic” I was told that it was “cow ham.” Then they put ketchup all over it.
    Gross.

  10. gabo Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    in chile they put palta(aguacate), and corn …they put palta on everything :|

  11. Seth Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    Don’t forget Cambodian special herb pizza.

  12. urgh Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    In the US they served something called “pizza”, but it was more like soup, because the brim was about 2 inches high and the interior was filled with some kind of red sauce - no tomatoes included. a lot of cheese did the rest to the poor thing to eliminate the last trace of tastiness. i think, the place was called “pizza hut”, i’ve found one here in germany - it was better, not so soup-like.. well, every country gets what it deserves.. btw: my favorite right now is Joey’s “Pizza Gourmet”: green asparagus, cow steak and sauce hollandaise. delicious!

  13. Nouhad Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 12:01 am

    I think the most disastrous type of Pizza is the one that Pizza Huts in Sri Lanka serve. It’s called a Birizza (Biriyani + Pizza) and is a form of rice with chicken on a pizza. What were they thinking

  14. Claudia Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 1:53 am

    Thank you for this very funny and interesting post. In Germany there ist really a pizza with asparagus. But they put on “Sauce Hollandaise” (a sauce composed of a lot of eggs, butter) an and ham, too. Also there are Pizza with Tuna, broccoli, bacon and boiled eggs. And because the “döner” (doner kebap) is so favoured in Germany, there is also a turkish pizza with lamb or calf and garlic sauce.

  15. Matt Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 4:12 am

    In Australia. Its a PRAWN. the saying is. Throw another PRAWN on the Barbie.

  16. MidwayHaven Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 4:41 am

    We have a specialty in the Philippines called “Sisig Pizza” where sisig (diced pig skin deep fried with chili and onions) is spreinkled liberally on the pan.

  17. kackels Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 6:16 am

    The chain Kotipizza in Finland sells a pizza called Berlusconi. It contains smoked reindeer, chanterelle mushrooms and red onions on a whole grain base. Nom nom nom.

  18. Padraig Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 7:41 am

    On a small island in Scotland I tried the “William Wallace”. It included various sausage types, as well as haggis. Was pretty tasty actually.

    Oh, and a detail: the “tarte flambee” (orig. Alsatian “Flammekueche”), similar to the South German “Hitzplatz,” is NOT a pizza and has been around for quite a while (possibly as long as the pizza itself, if not longer).

  19. admin Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 8:57 am

    @liltrix -I’ve heard of Hell pizza and how they bought the guys soul. It’s an interesting marketing practice. I’m glad to hear their food is good, I was kind of wondering about that.

    @alejandro -I would have never thought of mole pizza, that’s crazy, but I could see how it would be good.

    @Beirti -seriously, pudding?

    @Eric -what the hell is cow ham?

    @urgh -Don’t think all American pizza is like that. There are so many variations here it’s insane. And Pizza Huts are sickening to the locals here too -or at least this one.

    @Nouhad -Well, Biriyani is delicious..though I agree, it doesn’t seem like a great pizza topping.

    @Claudia -I read about it when I was doing research for this, but since you say it’s not there, I’ll assume it’s a rarity. Personally, I love asparagus pizza sounds awesome, particularly paired with hollandaise. The Turkish pizza sounds good too. I’ll have to try that next time I visit.

    @Matt -I’m sorry, I’ll keep that in mind. It’s a Yank stereotype of Australians to say that anyway, I kinda figured you didn’t run around saying that all the time.

    @MidwayHaven -I think that sounds heavenly, I love pork rinds (not sure if you call them that there, but that’s our name for them.)

    @kackels -That’s one of the best sounding pizzas I’ve heard of for this list…mmm.

    @Padraig -Thanks for the clarification. It sounded like Dominos or one of the chains had sort of “bastardized” it into a pizza form from the description.

  20. Bah... Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:03 am

    18 - Padraig> Yeah, true.
    I am from Lorraine, not very far from Alsace. Just call their Flammekueche Pizza, and you are dead !
    However, to be honest, you should tell that you can very often find these “flambée” in Pizzeria, in the same shape as Pizzas.

    And don’t forget that you can put some cheese on top. And add mushrooms too.

    Yummy !

  21. c Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:31 am

    in Italy, they put French Fries on top of their pizzas…

    perfect for a healthy diet!

  22. gavs Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:39 am

    The first commenter neglected to mention that Icelanders love cream cheese in their pizza and to my surprise it is delicious!! The mixture with the tomato sauce gives a tomato basil cream soup flavor, or a tomato cream sauce. Make sure to get a Viking beer while you’re at it. =)

  23. admin Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:41 am

    @gavs -that sounds amazing. I <3 cream cheese

  24. Alexis Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 11:16 am

    Hard to choose what to eat?
    In Sweden a very popular night/hangover pizza is the Kebab-pizza: An entire kebab with sauce and pepperoni and all on top of a regular pizza, with the french fries as well.
    Theres even a tribute song written to this delicious mash up:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFrEB5QhojY

    And in the north of Sweden you can have a Calzkrove (Calzone + skrov, meaning lots of food in swedish) wich is an entire hamburger meal INSIDE a Calzone!!!11!!

    Link with instructions how to make it:
    http://www.aftonbladet.se/matvin/article472790.ab

  25. kristi Says:
    July 15th, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    Ten years ago when I was traveling Europe, I had a ninja pizza in Warsaw, Poland. It was like a calzone but it had bananas, ham and pineapple (a variation on a hawaiian pizza) but it was excellent. Yum!

  26. virnupok Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 1:47 am

    there is ONLY one pizza!
    Tomato, mozzarella and basil…
    Green / white / red > like italian flag

  27. raoul Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 5:17 am

    A couple of weeks ago i had a pizza with crumble cherry tomato, buffalo mozzarella semi dried, basil and extra vergin olive oil…..
    the oven wasn’t electric and mirto’s wood burning made the rest….
    simple things are the best…
    happy pizza to everyone

  28. Swedish Tommy Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 6:20 am

    No, no, no!!! The swedish pizza with ham, banana & curry you refer to are usually called “Afrikana” NOT “Hawaiian”! The “Hawaiian” has ham & pineapple on it, nothing else, ok?
    My own favorite “typical swedish” pizza comes with beef & bearnaise-sauce. Yeah…

  29. admin Says:
    July 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am

    @ Tommy, perhaps it depends where you are in Sweden. When I was in Upsala, that was called Hawaiian.
    The Bearnaise sauce one always sounded good, but I never got a chance to try it.

    @raoul & virnupok -That flavor combo is great. As much as I love bananas and pineapple pizza, simple is still fantastic.

    @Alexis -the kebab pizza sounds great. Have you tried kebab on a burger, it’s orgasmic.
    I have to admit though, a hamburger in a calzone sounds like a bit too much for me. Although I’m sure there are plenty of Americans that would love it.

  30. Jet Says:
    July 18th, 2008 at 7:33 am

    The thing about Swedish pizzas isn’t the toppings, but the cheese. Real Swedish pizza is like no other, and one of the few things I miss when away from my birth nation.

  31. Joanna Says:
    July 19th, 2008 at 9:41 am

    I live in Korea and have had the sweet potato pizza. Not so good IMO but one of my teacher friends loves it. They also put corn on ALL their pizzas no matter the chain or pie.

    The picture for the Korean one (with the shrimp/cheese bites) is from a place called “Mr. Pizza” with the tagline “Made for women”. They give women a 10% discount I’ve heard.

  32. elih Says:
    July 19th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

    @admin- pudding is sausage, so it’s not that weird on a pizza

  33. Cream Pie Movies Says:
    July 20th, 2008 at 5:45 am

    Whatz up, what made you want to write on Around the World In Pizza Time? I was wondering, because I have been thinking about this since last Sunday.

  34. kim chiu Says:
    September 16th, 2008 at 4:17 am

    here in the Philippines we have sisig pizza..

  35. Trackbacks Says:
    December 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 pm

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