# What are considered acceptable pizza toppings in Italy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019 "2021-01-20T21:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/81 "2021-01-25T00:37:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I don’t care for runny yolks AT ALL! Slimy, yucky, never the same temperature as the rest of the egg. Yeccch! 🤮 I see my query has generated a lot of interest. I don’t like eggs (I don’t mean as an ingredient in cake dough, etc. I mean as a general food, e.g. for breakfast). Therefore, I would never want it on my pizza or in a burger. A runny egg would be particularly gross. In general I like to avoid _any_ runny food. Let alone an egg that I would have to take care not to splatter all over the place… Living in the Czech Republic, pizzerias tend to serve pizzas of the types described above. This only serves to confirm what I’ve already surmised, namely, that they tend to emulate the original Italian model more closely than a typical North American pizza. I have seen the version with only cheese (and olive oil?) and no tomato sauce; this wouldn’t rock my boat, though. I like pizza with a lot of good mozzarella cheese, and with mushrooms. Also with bell peppers, red onions, wouldn’t mind the anchovies either. Having read the above description of “quattro stagioni”, am intrigued. Will see if any local Prague pizzerias offer it once the lockdown ends. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/82 "2021-01-25T01:02:51Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > Having read the above description of “quattro stagioni”, am intrigued. Will see if any local Prague pizzerias offer it once the lockdown ends. I’d think you should be able to find some if you have Italian style pizzerias or ones that take inspiration from them; they were common in Budapest back in the late 90s/early 00s, so I’d be surprised if it didn’t spread to Prague. Do note if it wasn’t made clear before, in quattro stagioni, each topping gets one quarter of the pizza – they’re not combined together, at least none of the versions I’ve seen are. That said, we also had the more American style of pizzas with many toppings out there, as well. Depended on what type of pizza place you went to. ETA: Oops. I made the assumption you were in Prague. Googling I do find some quattro stagioni there. So hopefully you can find some where you are in Czechia. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/83 "2021-01-25T01:06:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@themapleleaf](#): > > > > Having read the above description of “quattro stagioni”, am intrigued. Will see if any local Prague pizzerias offer it once the lockdown ends. > > I’d think you should be able to find some if you have Italian style pizzerias or ones that take inspiration from them; they were common in Budapest back in the late 90s/early 00s, so I’d be surprised if it didn’t spread to Prague. Do note if it wasn’t made clear before, in quattro stagioni, each topping gets one quarter of the pizza – they’re not combined together, at least none of the versions I’ve seen are. That said, we also had the more American style of pizzas with many toppings out there, as well. Depended on what type of pizza place you went to. Yes, I realized that the different ingredients each got their own quarter. In Prague today, pizzerias with a classic wood oven (I assume wood is actually burned inside) are quite common. I vaguely recall this variety listed on some menus. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2021, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/84 "2021-01-25T08:55:34Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Do nuts ever show up on Italian pizza? Our homemade pizza usually has feta, walnuts, and pickled onions, with kalamata olives on my slices–it seems like about half of these things might show up in Italy. Don’t recall ever seeing it, but wouldn’t be surprised - pine nuts crop up a lot in sicily, so maybe there? Walnuts and almonds appear in a lot of italian food, but also never seen them on pizza. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/85 "2021-01-25T15:30:06Z")
The il Patio chain in Russia (Moscow, at least) serves authentic Italian pizza baked in wood-fired ovens. ---
**Author:** ![TimothyNewsome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@TimothyNewsome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimothyNewsome)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/86 "2021-01-25T16:16:52Z")
Interesting, as I have spent a fair amount of time in the Czech Republic over the years, and have never been too impressed with the overall quality of the Italian/Pizza places I have tried there, with one notable exception. Several years back I was in a little town called Cheb (near the Czech/German border) and had pizza at a small, out-of-the-way place called “12 Apostolu” (12 Apostles) which remains one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten, much better than some pizza I have had in Venice, Bologna or Parma, although I was in Naples for a week last year and ate pizza at a different place every day and each one was an “A+” (I love thin, simple pizza) as well as being incredibly affordable, usually under 5 Euro each. My big revelation in the Czech restaurant scene is the surprising abundance of very good Vietnamese cafes, even in small towns, until it was explained to me that during the Cold War, there was an influx of Vietnamese students or workers over there, who were allowed to travel between the two Communist countries to some degree. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/87 "2021-01-28T21:40:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@themapleleaf](#): > > > > Having read the above description of “quattro stagioni”, am intrigued. Will see if any local Prague pizzerias offer it once the lockdown ends. > > I’d think you should be able to find some if you have Italian style pizzerias or ones that take inspiration from them; they were common in Budapest back in the late 90s/early 00s, so I’d be surprised if it didn’t spread to Prague. Do note if it wasn’t made clear before, in quattro stagioni, each topping gets one quarter of the pizza – they’re not combined together, at least none of the versions I’ve seen are. That said, we also had the more American style of pizzas with many toppings out there, as well. Depended on what type of pizza place you went to. I checked the menu of a local pizzeria where I live. They offered quattro stagioni, so I ordered a delivery. It contained mozzarella, mushrooms, ham, and mussels (I think). All mixed together. Was good, but I assume not what the variety is supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/88 "2021-01-28T21:44:32Z")
Well, that’s not the classic Italian version. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2021, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/89 "2021-01-28T22:13:27Z")
Wikipedia has a decent picture on the right. Ingredients may vary, but that’s typically what it looks like. > **[Pizza quattro stagioni](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_quattro_stagioni)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > Pizza quattro stagioni (four seasons pizza) is a variety of pizza in Italian cuisine that is prepared in four sections with diverse ingredients, with each section representing one season of the year. Artichokes represent spring, tomatoes or basil represent summer, mushrooms represent autumn and the ham, prosciutto or olives represent winter. It is a very popular pizza in Italy, and has been described as a "classic", "famous" and "renowned" Italian... ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/90 "2021-01-28T22:34:44Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Wikipedia has a decent picture on the right. Ingredients may vary, but that’s typically what it looks like. > > [Pizza alle quattro stagioni - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza_quattro_stagioni) That’s one badass pizza there. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019/91 "2021-01-28T23:05:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Do nuts ever show up on Italian pizza? Our homemade pizza usually has feta, walnuts, and pickled onions, with kalamata olives on my slices–it seems like about half of these things might show up in Italy . Someone upthread mentioned getting pizza with pinenuts in Italy. That sounds pretty good to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-considered-acceptable-pizza-toppings-in-italy/931019.md?page=4)