I don't know anyone who doesn't enjoy a slice of pizza every now and then.
It's the perfect customizable meal that can be enjoyed by a wide-range of palates.
But one of the most controversial pies that people seem to have a beef with has got to be Hawaiian pizza.
Some just crave the sweet with the savory that the combination of pineapple and ham provides, while others passionately believe pineapple has no business being a topping.
Others seem to have issues over its classification of what exactly makes Hawaiian pizza, Hawaiian.
Because unbeknownst to some, Hawaiian pizza has its origins in Canada, not in Hawaii.
In 1962, Sam Panopoulous – who co-owned Satellite Restaurant in Toronto, Canada, with his brothers – came up with the idea to add canned pineapple on pizza.
The pizza became an instant hit among his customers but also received flak from pizza purists.
Wanting to get to the bottom of what makes the hotly contested pizza so controversial, Redditor happyfuckincakeday asked Hawaiians:
Hawaiians of Reddit, what are your feelings about hawaiian pizza?
How Do You Really Feel?
"It's so dumb that the rest of the English speaking world dumps pineapple on something and it's instantly 'Hawaiian.' (Including Canada, where ham+pineapple pizza was invented.)"
– carmium
You Can't Report This
"Doesn't have enough Spam in it."
"They need to make spam pizza, then it would truly be Hawaiian."
Not About Toppings
"When you live in Hawaii, all pizza is Hawaiian pizza... even without the ham and pineapple."
– blipsman
Meanwhile, In Canada
"In Canada, we order Canadian pizza and its toppings are always the same: pepperoni, bacon and mushrooms.We can order other pizzas too, but I am not sure why anyone would need to."
A Matter Of Taste
"Am a fan although I get sh*t on for it. Hawaiian pizza is not at all Hawaiian but I don't really care cause it's tasty."
the little mermaid pizza GIFGiphyThe Thing About Pineapples
"I don't want to blow anyone's mind here but I'm pretty sure it's called Hawaiian pizza because there's pineapple on it. Just speculation of course but it's speculation based on the fact it's just because of the pineapple."
– KingRokk
A Bigger Offense
"As someone who lives in Hawaii, and travels a lot, I am far more offended by the crap they are calling poke bowls. Put whatever you want on your pizza. I don't care. If you use anything other than fish for your poke bowl, it ain't poke!"
Make It Your Own
"You know what's great on pizza? Whatever the hell you like to eat on pizza."
It Doesn't Make It Hawaiin
"My wife is native Hawaiian and is ok with pineapple on pizza. However she is not ok with calling it Hawaiian pizza. Pineapple isn't native to Hawaii, and putting pineapple on sh*t doesn't make it Hawaiian."
– zergbait
A Game-Changer
"Live on the Hawaiian island of Oahu."
"Typically I am not a crazy fan of Hawaiian pizza, but if you add some peppers, it completely changes the whole pizza."
"Also, Kona Brewing Company's Hawaiian pizza is out of this goddamn world. They have a porter BBQ sauce that they use instead of tomato sauce, and they add BBQ pulled pork to their Hawaiian pizza. It's probably my favorite pizzas on the island."
For And Against It
"Born and raised, live on the mainland now. Simultaneously don't care at all and am deeply offended by it. Will eat it any day of the week, but I prefer a Pepperoni/pineapple."
Socialized By The Stigma
"90% of people who 'hate' pineapple pizza have just been peer-pressured by society into thinking that way."
"The other 10% though, they mean business. They're not messing around."
The Great Protector
"I am not hawaiian. I have never even set foot on hawaii. I just know I am here to defend hawaiian pizza."
Final Word
"I come from a heavily anti-hawaiian pizza family, except I really like hawaiian pizza because goddamn is it good, but whenever I mention that I want hawaiian pizza I'm treated like the anti-christ and ignored. Why is hawaiian pizza so discriminated? It's good pizza! Why would people eat white cheese and broccoli pizza and say it was good but then act like hawaiian pizza is made of trash straight from a garbage can? Anyways that was my pizza rant, if you like white cheese broccoli pizza, nothing against you I just don't personally like it."
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