anchovies on pizza?!
By coldnpale
@coldnpale (555)
Greece
June 24, 2011 2:47am CST
I am a pizza fan. I like every type of pizza, all the combinations, except one. Who, the name of god, came up with anchovies on pizza?:P Are there really any people that are actually enjoying this fish on their pizza? I mean, it's not about the fact it's a fish, cause I enjoy pizza with tuna, but anchovies have a very particular taste. I totally understand why the teenage mutant ninja turtles hated pizza with anchovies! Except michaelangelo of course:P Did you guys ever tried it? Dare I ask if you liked this thing that looks like an experiment gone totally wrong?:P
1 person likes this
6 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Jun 11
Anchovies are part of many original Italian pizza recipes. Pizza Napoletana is tomato paste, anchovies and mozzarella, sometimes with black olives as well. The southern French pissaladière also has anchovies. Alexandre Dumas wrote in 1830, "In Naples pizza is flavoured with oil, lard, tallow, cheese, tomato, or anchovies." Tomato was the 'new' addition that makes a pizza what we know it today. All the other ingredients were very readily available and cheap.
It is not, therefore, a 'new' thing at all, in fact it is a traditional recipe, especially near the coast. I am surprised that, living in Greece, you are not used to anchovies. Perhaps they are less of a tradition there than further west. Incidentally, bread with toppings is a very ancient idea and it's even possible that it was the Greeks who brought it to Naples in the first place. 'Pita' may have been the origin of the words 'pizza' and 'pissaladière'.
Personally I can't get enough of pizza/pissaladière with anchovy and olives (preferably the little salty, black oven baked kind, though I like kalamata as well).
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@coldnpale (555)
• Greece
24 Jun 11
Very interesting the facts you mention! thanks for replying. Actually I am a huge sea-food fan. I eat fresh fish at least twice a week. I don't really like anchovies and the way they prepare them most of the time. It makes them more salty and ..kinda special taste in a bad way for me (personal opinion always). It's weird though, cause I like different fish prepared/cooked in the same way as anchovies. :)
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@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Jun 11
Fresh anchovy is very different from salted anchovies. Pickling fish in salt is a time-honoured and world wide way of preserving fish and is actually a way of controlling the bacteria which cause the fish to ferment. Most of these, of course, are ones which make the fish go bad very quickly (so that nobody would think of eating it). Salt just allows certain bacteria to work and this changes the flavour to something which is definitely an acquired taste for some.
If you eat oriental food, especially Thai food, you may have come across Fish Sauce. This is made in very much the same way as pickled anchovy, except that the result is a brown liquid. Worcestershire Sauce also contains anchovy, so you might not like that either!
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@blacks94 (161)
• Italy
24 Jun 11
Actually, pizza Napoli (that's the name of pizza with anchovies) is one of the traditional italian pizzas. Here in Italy you'll find it in every pizzeria, no matter if you are in Milan, Naples or Rome.
I like it, even if it's not one of my favourite. When I go out for dinner, I never get a Napoli, but if someone offers me a slice of that pizza, I never say no!
The taste is, as you say, very particular. Either you like it or you find it disgusting - I know many people who could never eat it, while my grandma always chooses it. I find it quite good because it mixes the sweet taste of tomato and mozzarella with salt anchovies... some hate it exactly for this reason.
But that's why there are so many varieties of pizza... everyone can choose his favourite toppings! :)
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@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
24 Jun 11
It's interesting, I think, that Naples was a Greek settlement (way, way back, of course) and the name means simply 'New Town' in Greek. My brother teaches there and has made a study of the gestures used in conversation. He says that there are many Neapolitan customs and idiosyncrasies which can be traced back to the original Greek occupants. Perhaps putting anchovy on pizza is one of them (in fact, it's likely that the word 'pizza' is the same as the Greek word 'pita', meaning a flat bread).
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@shaggin (72131)
• United States
24 Jun 11
I used to love the teenage mutant ninja turtles when I was young. Seems like turtles would like fish though.. but I do remember them eating pizza just not what kind they liked. I have been a vegetarian for 20 years... since I was 7. I ate chicken and beef and hotdogs before that but I've never tried fish ever. I didnt like the smell so I never tried it. I remember being at pizza hut one time with my husband and since my husbands uncle liked anchovies my husband decided to try them and see what they were like. He hated the pizza. Even after taking the anchovies off the taste was on the pizza so much that he couldnt eat it lol.
@coldnpale (555)
• Greece
26 Jun 11
hehe, Ninja turtles fans are probably a lot more than anchovie fans. Pity of you that you never even tasted fish. I am actually a big fan of fish.. if you forget about anchovies-pizza at least :P. Your husband shouldn't try new, dangerous taste combination at pizza hut! It's too expensive there.. I might have actually eaten those anchovies just because of all the money I would have paid:P
@TrvlArrngr (4045)
• United States
24 Jun 11
I do not like anchovies on anything - lol. I like just about any other kind of pizza though. Especially New York pizza
@coldnpale (555)
• Greece
26 Jun 11
Haha. So there are people out there who really enjoy achovies. And in combination with pizza. Well, I guess everyone has his own taste preferences, so as a result, it kinda makes sense why people invented so many different kind of foods, drinks and the all in between combinations. Thanks for sharing your opinion with me! Have a nice day there.
@belonephobicgirl (513)
• United States
24 Jun 11
I agree with you on that! I think it's nasty. I don't like pizza with fish or sausage, I don't know, I just don't have the taste buds for it. I've tried pizza with anchovies and I had to spit it out lol, I'm happy someone didn't make it for me because that would've been hard to keep down.
1 person likes this
@coldnpale (555)
• Greece
24 Jun 11
Haha yeah. I can't imagine being obliged to to eat it without showing any feelings of disgust. Like you said, I am glad that a person that I love didn't spend time on prepairing it for me. I'd had to spend half an hour of torture and tortments. Maybe even get nightmares that night. Like huge anchovies chasing me.. shouting "why don't you like us??" :P
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