# Is This Some Weird British Thing about Pizza? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2019, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114 "2019-06-26T17:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 27, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/41 "2019-06-27T16:27:23Z")
On the other hand, Hungarians did have _melegszendvics_ (“hot sandwich”) and the Poles have their _zapiekanka_, both of which are open-faced hot sandwiches a la “French bread pizza,” and in both countries it was normal to put ketchup on either. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/42 "2019-06-27T16:49:56Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I wonder if we have a disconnect here between US style pizza and Italian. US style pizza tends to be way more overloaded with cheese and other toppings, so perhaps olive oil seems excessive . Whereas italian style is altogether less loaded - a little tomato sauce and mozzarella, then perhaps two other topics, lightly scattered. Oddly enough, I was first exposed to true Italian pizza in Moscow in the '90s, at a place called Il Patio. I didn’t realize it at the time, and it wasn’t until I went to Venice in 2000 that I saw I’d been served the real thing in Russia. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/43 "2019-06-27T17:08:47Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > . . . In one of these episodes, the show recorded a large couple eating at a pizzeria. When they got their pizza, they both poured olive oil on the slices! > > Whaaaaaa??? Who pours olive oil on their pizza? . . . It could be worse. I know at least one person who dips their pizza in ranch dressing. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/44 "2019-06-27T17:16:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’ve seen Russians heat entire 12" supermarket pizzas in frying pans. Why they don’t just stick them in the oven, I don’t know. Reheating cold pizza slices in a dry, hot skillet is a terrific way of getting them crisp again. I started doing this after seeing them recommend it on America’s Test Kitchen. It takes less than five minutes and it makes the pizza taste like it just came out of the pizza oven at the restaurant. I lightly tent the skillet with a sheet of foil to keep the heat in, which re-melts the cheese nicely. As far as olive oil on pizzas, I see the pizziolas drizzle some on a pizza _before_ they put it in the oven, but I’ve never seen oil applied at the table. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/45 "2019-06-27T17:17:40Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > It could be worse. I know at least one person who dips their pizza in ranch dressing. Don’t one of the fast food chains even provide you with ranch dressing for dipping? I swear, I feel like I’ve seen this before as being a normalized thing. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/46 "2019-06-27T17:23:28Z")
Apparently, the ranch thing is popular enough that [Hidden Valley Ranch](https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Valley-Blasted-Dipping-Ranch-Dipped-Pizza/dp/B07LCC3S3K) even has a ranch-dipped pizza sauce. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/47 "2019-06-27T17:39:37Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Reheating cold pizza slices in a dry, hot skillet is a terrific way of getting them crisp again. _Re_heating them, yes. But heating them fresh out of the wrapping? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2019, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/48 "2019-06-27T23:00:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There actually is such a thing a pizza fritta, and it is a [Neapolitan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7PbY5PYvv4) thing, as well, so the Scots weren’t the first to do this. Interesting. Though it seems to be missing the “dunk it in batter” step familiar from my younger days, so I feel like the Scots chip shop version might be an independent invention. A little googling also shows me some “pizza fritta” recipes that look more or less like what I’d call a calzone (with toppings, wrapped like a pie) except fried not baked ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/49 "2019-06-28T00:09:00Z")
I guess it depends on chance. Almost every really good pizzeria I’ve been in had a cruet of olive oil, readily available if not on the table with the crushed pepper and other condiments. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/50 "2019-06-28T00:16:11Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Interesting. Though it seems to be missing the “dunk it in batter” step familiar from my younger days, so I feel like the Scots chip shop version might be an independent invention. > > A little googling also shows me some “pizza fritta” recipes that look more or less like what I’d call a calzone (with toppings, wrapped like a pie) except fried not baked That’s correct. It’s not battered, and it’s like a deep-fried calzone, or what we call a pizza puff here. But the idea of deep frying pizza did not originate with the Scots. It does sound like an independent offshoot, but my post is more to remark about the deep frying part, and that it’s not that crazy an idea. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/51 "2019-06-28T08:49:49Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I find this far more offensive, speaking as a Chicagoan Chicagoans don’t have any legal or social standing to complain about how others eat their pizza, based on what _they’ve_ [done](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza) to the dish. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/52 "2019-06-28T10:11:18Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > I find this far more offensive, speaking as a Chicagoan, than ketchup on a hot dog. I find your position interesting, as the first time I encountered a bottle with olive oil and chili flakes was back in '85. At a place somewhere on Addison between Wrigley Field and Lincoln. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/53 "2019-06-28T11:30:21Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Chicagoans don’t have any legal or social standing to complain about how others eat their pizza, based on what _they’ve_ [done](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza) to the dish. I mean, that’s not even pizza. That’s just a massive quiche, surely. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/54 "2019-06-28T11:40:29Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > I find your position interesting, as the first time I encountered a bottle with olive oil and chili flakes was back in '85. At a place somewhere on Addison between Wrigley Field and Lincoln. That must’ve been a phenomenal bottle of olive oil for you to remember it from the exact year of 1985. Are you sure those were just chili flakes? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/55 "2019-06-28T11:55:40Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > That’s just a massive quiche, surely. No, the egg custard is one of the two defining features of a quiche (the other being the pastry shell) ---
**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:** [June 28, 2019, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/56 "2019-06-28T14:55:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Chicagoans don’t have any legal or social standing to complain about how others eat their pizza, based on what _they’ve_ [done](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza) to the dish. Oh, shoosh. It’s weird how parochial people can get about pizza. For Christ’s sake, the Neapolitans – who practically invented it – even deep fry theirs. Then you have the thick pan styles of Italy (al taglio), and stuffed pizzas like [pizza di scarola](https://www.buonissimo.it/lericette/7816_Pizza_di_scarola_alla_napoletana). “Pizza” is a very broad category of foods. Chicago deep-dish fits comfortably within the broad category. It’s weird, as I’ve gotten into arguments here with people who believed that if it didn’t have (red) sauce and metly cheese on it, it wasn’t a pizza (one of the classic pizzas, Pizza Marinara, is cheeseless. And there are plenty of pizzas that are just finished with olive oil, like [pizza con patate](https://www.buttalapasta.it/articolo/ricetta-pizza-con-patate/24477/), a classic potato-and-rosemary pizza.) So let’s be pizza inclusivists! The world is a better place for have so many choices and styles for every mood. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/57 "2019-06-28T15:04:28Z")
I think it’s one of those cases where qualifiers matter. The English word “pizza”, without any qualifiers, includes tomato sauce and cheese. A white pizza, however, does not include tomato sauce. But a white pizza is not what people mean when they just say “pizza”. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/58 "2019-06-28T15:12:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think it’s one of those cases where qualifiers matter. The English word “pizza”, without any qualifiers, includes tomato sauce and cheese. A white pizza, however, does not include tomato sauce. But a white pizza is not what people mean when they just say “pizza”. For me, it doesn’t. A white pizza or pizza marinara is still “pizza” to me without any qualifiers. I wouldn’t look at anyone sideways if they served either of those, or the potato pizza mentioned before, as “pizza,” but, I admit, I have very open-ended ideas about “pizza.” I might ask “what kind of pizza?” if I’m curious. That said, I admit that here in Chicago, when somebody says “wanna go out for a pizza?”, deep-dish is definitely not my first thought, but I will ask “what kind?” for further clarification, as we have many styles available here. In my experience, they’ll say “want to grab a deep-dish” or “want to go to Uno’s/Lou’s for dinner?” (two places famous for their deep dish, though I believe both also serve a thin crust. At least Lou’s definitely does.) Even here in Chicago, deep-dish is not the default idea of a pizza. Deep-dish (and stuffed) is what Chicago is known nationally for, but the vast majority of pizza people eat here is some type of thin crust variety. As I’ve mentioned before, I was born and raised in Chicago, ate many pizzas as a kid, but didn’t even experience my first deep dish until into my teen years. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/59 "2019-06-28T15:29:50Z")
The opposite of what I’ve been known to do with pizza-- take a napkin and blot it. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2019, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114/60 "2019-06-28T15:52:11Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think it’s one of those cases where qualifiers matter. The English word “pizza”, without any qualifiers, includes tomato sauce and cheese. A white pizza, however, does not include tomato sauce. But a white pizza is not what people mean when they just say “pizza”. Who died and made you Dr Johnson? Pizza, firstly, isn’t an English word. And it doesn’t - in my mind - equal cheese and tomato. Heck, my [local independent pizzeria](http://berthas.co.uk/) does a white pizza which doesn’t even have cheese on it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-some-weird-british-thing-about-pizza/836114.md?page=4)