Was the Hawaiian Pizza really invented in Germany?

In My Humble Opinion
1

In a trivial discussion today, we pondered the origin of the Hawaiian Pizza. According to wikipedia,

Is that the best they can come up with? Isn’t there a cite or historical document somewhere that provides something more than “is considered to be…”? Sure, Clemens Wilmenrod made the toasted, open-faced ham/pineapple/cheese sandwich popular–but did the pizza naturally follow from that?

Feel free to provide your own theory on the origins of the Hawaiian Pie, and whether you think pineapple and ham even belongs on top of a pizza.

2

FWIW, if you order a Hawaiian pizza in Sweden it comes with ham, banana slices and curry powder.

3

I had never heard of a Hawaiian pizza until I moved to Germany.
Another favorite of the Germans is putting tuna on pizza, but I digress.

The so-called Hawaiian pizza is an acquired taste…after you try it a few times, it isn’t so bad.

Better is the German “Hawaiian toast”.
You take a piece of regular toast bread, lightly toast it.
Then put on a thin slice of ham, next is a ring of pineapple, and then a piece of cheese…put this open-face sandwich in broiler until cheese melts and starts to turn slightly brown. Eat with knife and fork.

Now THAT is good stuff! Have turned quite a few Americans on to this delicious tidbit.

Slightly related story - went to an imbiss in Germany that had “Florida burger” on the menu…it was a regular hamburger with a slice of pineapple…I guess they figured if Hawaii has pineapples, so does Florida.

4

The only place I had Tuna Pizza was at the Vatican in the food court/cafeteria of one of the big Museums there.
I didn’t know what I was ordering and just figured it was ordinary pizza.
But it turned out to be a thin crust Tuna Pizza… so I paid for it and ate it anyways.
And it was DIVINE! Nom nom nom. Now I want me some PopePizza…

5

Not too many pineapples in Florida, although they will grow there. Every now and again my folks will grow a pineapple for fun.

DMark: I’ve been getting an education on Swaebisch food while I’m down here. Anything else you’d recommend that is “German”?

6

Mmmmm Flaedle-suppe…Rhioneland-palatine has a nice regional cuisine and so does Bavaria

7

I just had Spargel mit Schinken und Flaedle for lunch in the canteen.

8

Yeah yeah…just rub it in :smiley: can’t find bloody white asparagus to save my life here in the UK…I wonder they have only taken off in Western Europe? The opnly ones you could find in the US were canned ones :eek:

9

I just checked the archives of the New York Times, hoping to find an answer. There wasn’t one there, although the earliest mention of Hawaiian pizza was in an article from 1971. So the idea is at least fairly old.

10

Maultaschen, Buabaspitzla (Schupfnudeln), Linsen und Spätzle, schwäbischer Kartoffelsalat, Laugenbrezel, Hefezopf, Träubleskuchen…it’s all good.

Three of my four grandparents were Schwaben, and I love the food there. If I smell coffee and Hefezopf I’m instantly transported back to my Uroma’s kitchen where she would dunk the Zopf in some coffee with milk and give it to us on Sunday mornings.

If you want to try German specialties from other regions I can recommend (going roughly from North to South): Labskaus, Kohl und Pinkel, Leipziger Allerlei, Himmel un Ääd, Rippchen mit Kraut, Grie Soos, Handkäs mit Musik, Saumaache, Bamberger Zwiebeln, Krenfleisch, Schweinshaxe, and last but not least: Weißwurst.

That should get you started on your culinary trip through Germany. :slight_smile:

11

When I lived in L.A. and Lancaster those were known as ‘Hawaiian burgers’ – usually with teriyaki sauce.

And to hijack further… I went to the NCO Club at Edwards AFB one day (in the '80s) and asked for avocado on my cheeseburger. The counterwoman said, ‘You’re from California, aren’t you?’ I asked her how she knew, and she said, ‘Only Californians put avocado on their sandwiches!’

Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve had a Hawaiian burger. I might have to go find one. And the Hawaiian toast sounds good too.

12

Not in the pizzerias I’ve been to of late it doesn’t. That pizza certainly exists, but they haven’t been calling it Hawaiian.

Perhaps it is regional?

13

Both are common in the UK and Sweden as well.

Perhaps because pizza seems so, hmm, culturally significant in the US people have been less open to change/experimentation, as opposed to in Europe where it seems they’ll throw anything on one.

14

I like ham, and I like pineapple, I even like pineapple on my ham, but I don’t like ham and pineapple together on my pizza. The ham is too bland to really complement the pineapple. Try pepperoni or bacon with pineapple for some truly delicious stuff!

15

Bacon + Pineapple = Pizza Heaven.

the only bad part is that if you get Papa John’s you can’t use the garlic dipping sauce with pineapple, for obvious reasons.

16

It exists in the UK but it’s rare; you’re unlikely to see it in the supermarket. You may have to get used to being without it! We tend to grow mostly the green stuff. I don’t know why.

17

Did you go to Big Kahuna Burger for it?

18

I know in Ireland I saw sweetcorn (maize, American corn, whatever) on pizza. Even in the US, I’ve seen plenty of odd things on pizza, but we’d never even think of putting corn on it.

19

Never been to Big Kahuna Burger. I don’t see any in California, and only one in Washington. No, the Hawaiian burgers (I’ve just remembered that they’re also called Teriyaki burgers – they do have pineapple) I’ve had were at one-off hamberger joints. It seems that those places usually have them, as opposed to the big chains.

Hm… I think I’ll have an Ohana Burger (from Ohana, just down the hill) for lunch.

20

I was just talking about this with a friend and, oddly, even Germans don’t eat “German” food that much - when I lived there, we would go to Italian, Yugoslavian, Chinese and other ethnic restaurants for the most part.

The usual sauerbraten, schnitzel and rolladen were saved for Sunday dinner or special holidays - and to be honest, most were so rich with sauces and heavy ingredients, it just wasn’t practical to eat that often.

Now regarding everyday food, they were great with simple bread and cheese and sausage, or maybe creamed spinach with a fried egg - fairly simple fare. The local imbiss in Berlin had Currywurst (sausage smothered with ketchup, topped with paprika powder and curry powder and then cut into bite size servings) or bouletten - called frickadellen in other parts of Germany - and are sort of like a mini-meatloaf in a hamburger shape. They even have curry bouletten (same as curry wurst, just substitute boulette with sausage) and of course, the pommes (french fries) with mayonaisse to dip the fries in - which I still like today.

What I miss about German food is the great varieties and textures and tastes of the breads, the huge selection of cheeses and cold cuts, the pastries, beer (hey, it is a food group there!) and chocolates. We have a few German restaurants here in Las Vegas, and my cousin always takes me to one when he is in town, but to be quite honest - once or twice a year with a full German dinner is quite enough.

I would suggest trying regional favorites - and they have zillions of them - one village will have this and the next village will have that. Plus, if you like fish, there are tons of variations of fish dishes, plus every butcher shop will have some specialty wurst (I had a liverwurst with truffles that was out of this world - and another liverwurst with bits of apricot that was also fantastic!)

You won’t go hungry in Germany, but if you eat solid German food every day, you will die of a heart attack at age 25 and weigh about 375 pounds as they cart you off to the morgue.