# Do you put salt on your pizza? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282 "2014-07-28T22:40:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/41 "2014-07-29T21:03:07Z")
There is no such thing as too much salt, too much garlic, or too many onions. That said, I think some people crave salt because their bodies can’t hang on to it, particularly when it’s hot. I once had a coworker note that I was the only person she had ever seen put salt on ham. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/42 "2014-07-29T21:25:21Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Guilty. > > And pepper too. And pepper flakes and parmesan and Franks and whatever else I feel like at the time. I probably have pizza what, 2 or 3 times a year so I’m not really concerned. Red pepper flakes and Parmesan are normal. Salt I’ve never tried and don’t plan to. Black pepper could be ok but I’ve also never tried it. Franks… are you talking about the hot sauce or Hot Dogs? One would be fine, the other not so much. But what I’m having a hard time comprehending is having pizza only 2 or 3 times per year. I’m sure I average at least one per week over the course of a year and probably more. And I’m not considered a huge pizza eater. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/43 "2014-07-29T21:32:53Z")
I take it as virtually axiomatic that all pizza needs salt. And usually, crushed red pepper as well. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/44 "2014-07-29T22:16:39Z")
Didn’t Terry Pratchett coin the term “autocondimentor” for people who add without tasting, and that they had been accommodated by food makers \*underusing \*condiments? And no, I can’t conceive of adding salt to pizza. Especially the “cheese on the top” variety where it wouldn’t stick. I could see it working on Chicago sauce on the top style. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/45 "2014-07-29T22:19:14Z")
I’m not sure I’ve ever had a pizza I’ve ever felt needed more salt. At least not any commercial or restaurant pizzas I’ve had. I’ve _heard_ of people salting pizza, but I can’t say I’ve seen it in the wild. I’ll use hot pepper flakes, but it really depends on the pizza. On an Italian sausage or pepperoni pizza? Sure. On an Italian pizza margherita or some other pizza with very basic, clean flavors, no. It just doesn’t feel right. I’m a chile-head, but I don’t find pepper flakes appropriate with every kind of pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/46 "2014-07-29T22:24:14Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I bought a jar of “pizza seasoning” from Penzey’s (a chain of spice stores) last year. I think it’s for making homemade pizza but it also seems to improve the taste of frozen pizza. The first ingredient is salt, but there’s other stuff as well (cracked and ground Indian fennel seed, Turkish oregano leaf and powder, sugar, garlic, Tellicherry black pepper, sweet California basil, white onion, crushed red pepper and cayenne red pepper powder). Wow, I never looked. We have both their original pizza seasoning and a jar of their new ‘frozen pizza’ seasoning (they sent it free as a promotion). I’m pretty sure we checked to see what the difference was (but maybe we just wanted to), but I don’t remember seeing salt there. I’ll go check later. On another note, no, adding salt to most pizzas is absurd (see exceptions above), _but_ this thread has given me a craving for **a thick crust pizza with pretzel salt on the edge**. Not sure how to implement; regular pizza dough might not work, but now I’m salivating. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/47 "2014-07-29T22:48:06Z")
Heh, I stopped at the store on the way home tonight and they had California Kitchen pizzas on sale so I bought a few. Things I’ll likely put on them: oregano, sliced tomatoes and fresh basil from my garden, red pepper flakes, cream cheese chunks (don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!) but certainly not salt. To those people who are saying that “of course, pizza needs salt” - well, yes, if you’re making it from scratch, it well may. But commercially produced or prepared pizza IMHO already has a ton of salt added before you get it. Both added and in the ingredients - cheese, preserved meat, anchovies, the sauce, etc. Now don’t get me started on people who add salt to fast-food burgers, holy hell. I had an Arby’s junior beef & cheddar and a small curly fries for lunch and probably drank a gallon of water (I am not kidding) between then and 5 pm today as a result. So maybe there’s some individual metabolism factor in play. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/48 "2014-07-29T23:52:28Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Red pepper flakes and Parmesan are normal. Salt I’ve never tried and don’t plan to. Black pepper could be ok but I’ve also never tried it. Franks… are you talking about the hot sauce or Hot Dogs? One would be fine, the other not so much. > > But what I’m having a hard time comprehending is having pizza only 2 or 3 times per year. I’m sure I average at least one per week over the course of a year and probably more. And I’m not considered a huge pizza eater. Yes, Frank’s hot sauce. Not really hot, but very nice on a number of things. I don’t eat fast food. Not because of snobbery, but for a number of reasons. - I live in a rural neighbourhood and fast food is not immediately available. - I have a long commute to work and back daily and just want to get home. - I enjoy cooking a batch of something once or twice a week and subsiding on that. - I’m separated and frankly can’t afford to eat out after alimony and child support payments. I don’t think I’ve had any fast food this year. Perhaps a hot dog or two at Costco or a small fry from the chip truck. Really, that’s about it. I can’t afford anything more. I really gotta sell this house… ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/49 "2014-07-30T04:17:26Z")
My mother-in-law salts pizza. Of course, she is a smoker of 40+ years, so I attribute it to loss of her ability to taste. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/50 "2014-07-30T05:59:28Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I also have to add a ton to my pancake batter. That’s the only mix I’ve ever had to do that too, though. I also have to add more water and flour and more sugar than the recipe requires. If you don’t do all of this, it tastes horrible. You do this, and it tastes like pancake batter. _blink blink_ At what point would you consider it a wash and just make pancakes from scratch? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/51 "2014-07-30T10:25:46Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > _blink blink_ > At what point would you consider it a wash and just make pancakes from scratch? Unfortunately, that doesn’t work all that well for gluten free bread products. At least, so far, the homemade stuff hasn’t worked out too well. Part of it might be the inability to find any xanthan gum, something that’s in every mix I find. Plus, when I do all this, it tastes like funnel cakes (without the powdered sugar)! ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/52 "2014-07-30T10:42:08Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Unfortunately, that doesn’t work all that well for gluten free bread products. At least, so far, the homemade stuff hasn’t worked out too well. Part of it might be the inability to find any xanthan gum, something that’s in every mix I find. > > Plus, when I do all this, it tastes like funnel cakes (without the powdered sugar)! What brand of pancake batter are you using? ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/53 "2014-07-30T12:34:57Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > On another note, no, adding salt to most pizzas is absurd (see exceptions above), _but_ this thread has given me a craving for **a thick crust pizza with pretzel salt on the edge**. Not sure how to implement; regular pizza dough might not work, but now I’m salivating. If you mean making a pizza from scratch, sure you can do the salted crust. Just brush the dough edge with a mix of beaten egg and water, and sprinkle coarse salt on it. That sounds really good, actually. I’ve done this with garlic salt, but never just coarse salt. Anyway, I don’t recall ever salting a pizza. I have salted a crappy fast food hamburger occasionally because it tastes like nothing/has no pickles upon it. I salt very little without tasting it first. Baked potatoes is about all I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/54 "2014-07-30T13:05:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Unfortunately, that doesn’t work all that well for gluten free bread products. At least, so far, the homemade stuff hasn’t worked out too well. Part of it might be the inability to find any xanthan gum, something that’s in every mix I find. > > Plus, when I do all this, it tastes like funnel cakes (without the powdered sugar)! Do you have any place that sells the Bob’s Red Mill products by you? They have xantham gum in their product line. Walmart sometimes carries it, as does Whole Foods, and around here my regular local grocery has it. Of course, it’s easy to mail order, too. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/55 "2014-07-30T19:56:46Z")
I’ve been in bars that offered free pizza which had obviously been salted. Pretty clear ulterior motive in those cases. But heck no I would never salt my pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/56 "2014-07-30T20:11:25Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > I bought a jar of “pizza seasoning” from Penzey’s (a chain of spice stores) last year. I think it’s for making homemade pizza but it also seems to improve the taste of frozen pizza. The first ingredient is salt, but there’s other stuff as well (cracked and ground Indian fennel seed, Turkish oregano leaf and powder, sugar, garlic, Tellicherry black pepper, sweet California basil, white onion, crushed red pepper and cayenne red pepper powder). > > Wow, I never looked. We have both their original pizza seasoning and a jar of their new ‘frozen pizza’ seasoning (they sent it free as a promotion). I’m pretty sure we checked to see what the difference was (but maybe we just wanted to), but I don’t remember seeing salt there. I’ll go check later. Does the frozen pizza seasoning improve the taste of frozen pizza? Mostly frozen pizza is awful. The pizza seasoning helps somewhat so I’ll buy the second product if it helps more. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/57 "2014-07-30T20:17:13Z")
Salt? No. And I like salt. I do add some perm cheese and if at home add italian herbs. One of my fave cheap eats is Totinos, all fixed up with perm cheese, garlic and italian herbs. It may not be pizza, but it’s tasty. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/58 "2014-07-30T22:30:38Z")
Different places use different cheeses on pizza. A little salt brings out the flavor of a dull cheese. Red pepper flakes I only sprinkle on before reheating, because some oil and moisture comes out and the flakes partially dissolve and spread the heat. Putting flakes on pizza right before you eat it is kind of useless; you’re more likely to get a flake stuck on the back of your throat than get any flavor out of it. Being afraid of salt is way dumber than putting salt on pizza. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/59 "2014-07-31T07:25:15Z")
I’m under doctors orders to eat with extra salt (low BP) and never would have thought of adding salt to pizza. Pizza is a salt delivery system, it already carries a ton. Specially if your favorites happen to be anchovies-and-mushrooms, BBQ and meat-lovers, as is the case. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282/60 "2014-07-31T07:50:19Z")
Usually just garlic and oregano. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-put-salt-on-your-pizza/694282.md?page=4)