The Surprising Story of Pineapple Pizza

When it comes to pizza toppings, few spark more debate (and sometimes fury!) than pineapple on pizza. Some people love the combination of the sweet, tangy flavour of pineapple, paired with a savoury, salty topping such a ham or bacon. Others think it’s sacrilege to even utter the word pineapple in a conversation about pizza! No matter which side of the fence you’re on, the origin of pineapple pizza might surprise you, and, dare we say it, might even inspire you to fire up your wood-fired pizza oven and try it for yourself.

The Inventor

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Hawaiian pizza has its roots in… Hawaii. Well, you’d be wrong. Your second guess might be Italy? Nope… wrong again. It originated from Canada in 1962, invented by a man called Sam Panopoulos who was a Greek immigrant living in Ontario. Sam ran a small diner with his brothers and, looking for something new and imaginative to add to the menu, Sam decided to experiment with different pizza toppings. He landed a hit with his customers, Pineapple pizza. The name he gave it, ‘Hawaiian Pizza’ comes from the brand of tinned pineapple he used. Who knew?

Global Phenomenon

From this relatively humble beginning, the world soon started to take notice of Sam’s invention, loving the contrast of sweet and salty flavours that they’d never seen on pizza before. Of course, much like today, it was controversial for pizza purists, but that didn’t stop this pizza phenomenon from taking off and adorning restaurant menus across the world.

The Great Debate

Whenever we ask our social media audience for their favourite flavours, pineapple is always in the comments, and of course it sparks the usual rage from angry traditionalists! However, if we thought that was bad, it was nothing compared to the debate that exploded in 2017 when the president of Iceland joked about banning it altogether. His comments went viral on social media and resulted in pineapple pizza deliveries to Icelandic embassies around the world. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson even publicly defended the topping! 

Pineapple Pizza… in a Wood Fired Oven

The rise of home pizza ovens in recent years has meant you can experiment with different pizza toppings and variations of the pineapple pizza. The smokiness that a wood-fired pizza oven adds to the flavour profile is a gamechanger. A proper wood-fired pizza such as an Igneus oven achieves the temperatures needed to lightly caramelise the pineapple, adding a rich depth of flavour that’s hard to emulate in a conventional oven. The design of the pizza ovens in the Igneus range, from the Igneus Minimo, through to the Igneus Classico and Pro Range, is all designed to create an arcing flame across the roof of the oven, meaning the flames almost lick the pizza toppings, which has a caramelising, charring effect. So, if you’re judging your Hawaiian pizza experience on a frozen supermarket pizza, cooked at 220°C in your conventional oven, we urge you to try it in your Igneus pizza oven. It might just change your mind!

Adding a touch of spice to the mix can really elevate the sweet flavour too, for example, adding fresh chillies alongside the ham and pineapple or swapping out the ham for spicy nduja. The possibilities are endless!

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re firmly anti-pineapple or a closet fan, there’s no denying that Hawaiian pizza has earned its place in pizza history. And when cooked in a proper wood-fired oven, even the most sceptical tastebuds might be won over by the caramelised sweetness and smoky flavour.

As always, if you have any questions about our range of ovens or accessories, or if you’d like some advice on getting the best from your Igneus oven, just give us a call on 01423 575885. You can also browse our full range of products here.