If you want to start an argument in a room full of people, simply ask whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza. Some people will passionately support this fruit as a topping, and some will call it nothing short of blasphemy.

While you might think that this is due to nothing more than whether people like the taste or not, it might actually be more complicated.

For those who love the topping, it likely isn’t the actual pineapple taste that they think is so good. Instead, it is the way that it contrasts with the other ingredients on the pizza.

Terry Miesel works for FONA International and is a flavor chemist. He recently spoke with Mel Magazine and said the following in explanation for why so many people find pairing pineapple with pizza just makes sense:

“When we’re talking about food pairings, we’re talking about things that both reinforce flavors in each other, as well as flavors that provide contrast. For example, when you put garlic on a steak, you’ve got a lot of sulfur compounds and sugars, and those reinforce the steak, but you can also taste the contrast, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to tell it’s there. With pineapple on pizza, it’s doing both of these things — it’s reinforcing and contrasting — but with different components of the pizza.”

On the other hand, for people who despise pineapple as a pizza topping, it once again may not be the flavor. In fact, many people who would never put pineapple on a pizza would gladly enjoy it fresh, or even cooked in a pineapple upside down cake.

Many of them would even admit that, after trying a pizza with pineapple, that the taste really isn’t that bad. But that it still shouldn’t be used as a topping.

For these people, it may be more an appeal to tradition than a strict rule. Pizza is widely considered to have started in its modern form in Naples Italy. It could have a number of toppings, but pineapple was certainly not one of them.

Plus, for most people who are against it, grew up with more traditional toppings like cheese, pepperoni, ham, bacon, olives, and other ingredients.

Whether you love it or hate it, however, at least we can all agree that pizza is one of the best dishes in the world.

So, what do you think? Does pineapple belong on pizza?

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