Pizza Toppings and Their Controversies

People put all kinds of toppings on their pizzas, from the basic cheese and pepperoni to sardines and bananas. 

Some of the most popular and common pizza toppings are cheese, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and vegetables. It is also favored for people to like multiple toppings on their pizza, such as mixing different types of meats or cheeses. Some have strict go-to pizza toppings, while some are fine with anything. 

Numerous pizza toppings are remarkably controversial, and as such there have been many debates. In a poll by YouGov, 61% of people voted anchovies the worst pizza topping, with eggplant, artichokes, broccoli, and pineapple just a few points behind. 

Pineapple on pizza is one of the most widely argued pizza toppings. While many people don’t have an opinion and agree that people can eat what they like, some have a strong opinion of not having an opinion. Still, many individuals do care to weigh in on the matter. Numerous people still have extremely strong opinions, even though most of the hate is solely for comedic purposes. 

For example, user Kingoflint282 responded very extremely to a Reddit post about pineapple on pizza, remarking, “sometimes mankind’s arrogance just blows me away. You think you can sin against nature by putting pineapple on pizza and just get away with it? No sir, there will be a reckoning, and all of you pineapple-loving bastards will burn in hell for what you’ve done.”

Arguing the other side, user Mrxcman92 wrote “I think it’s fine. I had a Hawaiian pizza last night actually. I can understand it not being great with every pizza topping, but it works well with Canadian bacon. I don’t get the absolute hate it gets sometimes”.

In addition to being controversial among different people, pizza toppings can be widely loved or hated in different parts of the world. In the U.S., namely, we would consider banana, peanuts, mushroom, surrey powder, and sometimes pineapple as a monstrosity to the delicious pizza, but in Sweden, it is one of the most beloved pizzas. Countless Swedes vouch for the ‘Afikana’ pizza, but most of the people who try it agree that it is mediocre at best.

However, the disputes don’t end at toppings. A good deal of people have debated about thick crust versus thin crust, New York’s hand-tossed pizza versus Chicago’s deep-dish pizza, and even the different types of tomato sauces. Pizzas seem to be the controversy of the century, and will most likely be debated about forever.