Pizza Obsession

February 2024

Today I am pondering a topic that I am extremely passionate about.  Something I am essentially obsessed with. No, it’s not global climate change or any other critical world issues.  It’s not about my children or my family. It’s not about my health.  Although all these things merit my passions. The subject I am referring to today is pizza. Yes, pizza! 

For me, it is the ultimate comfort food. One that I could reasonably consume 3-4 times a week. Or more!  And it’s not just me.  No one can argue, there isn’t a more iconic, beloved, and coveted food form on the planet. A food enjoyed by people all over the world. But all of this makes me ponder, why is pizza so adored? What is it about this iconic pie that has made it so popular for centuries? And finally, what is the reason behind my own pizza obsession?

Many people believe pizza is such an ideal food because it is an impeccable combination of bread, fresh toppings, seasonings, tangy tomato sauce, and melty cheese. This may be partially true, but I believe there is so much more to it than that.

From its storied history to its perfect combination of ingredients, there are an amalgam of reasons for people to love pizza. For me, one of the biggest draws is its versatility. It’s a very adaptable food that can be customized to suit my mood.  One so adaptable that even if a server brings a pizza to a table, or a delivery driver brings it to your house, each person being served can still customize it by adding even more flavor components. Think about oregano, parmesan, and hot chili peppers, to name only a few last-minute topping adjustments.

There are also many, many styles of pizzas that add to its versatility. Neapolitan pizza is truly the “classic” pizza style.  It is typically cooked in a wood-fired oven and is often topped simply with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and olive oil.  Then it is generally folded over on itself to be eaten. Truly representing simplicity at its finest.

Then there’s Sicilian-style pizza, boasting a thick, spongy dough like focaccia. It is usually baked in a deep, square pan. Its thick, tomato sauce is created by concentrating Italian tomatoes, with onions, garlic, basil, and olive oil. Toppings generally include anchovies, oregano, and caciocavallo cheese, which is a cheese like aged provolone.

For those looking for something a bit heartier, there’s Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, which is made with a thick crust and multiple layers of cheese, sauce, and toppings. Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, crisp, chewy crust. It is traditionally topped to the edges with mozzarella or Wisconsin brick cheese, which caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan.

St. Louis–style pizza is a type of pizza originating in the US Midwest. The pizza has a thin cracker-like crust and is generally topped with a very small dose of sweet tomato sauce and finished with simple toppings that usually feature sausage.  It almost always includes a non-mozzarella cheese, like Provolone.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for something a bit more creative, there’s New York-style pizza, which is characterized by its large, thin slices and foldable crust. It’s typically topped with more creative ingredients like artichoke hearts, olives, and capers. And of course, there’s no shortage of gourmet and artisan pizzas everywhere, which are often topped with more unique ingredients like truffles, cremini mushrooms, and arugula.

These are just a few of the more popular formats of pizza.  All this to say that pizza has nearly an endless number of permutations.  Many of them are regionally based.  In India, pizza is often served with chutney, a sweet and spicy condiment.  While in Japan, pizza is often topped with seafood, such as squid and shrimp. And so on and so forth from continent to continent and culture to culture. So, versatility is a critical aspect of why pizza is so beloved.

But let’s get back to the basics here.  What creates that “craveability” that makes us all keep coming back for more? I believe you need to look no further than pizza’s simple complexity. This is driven by the ingredients as well as the chemical reactions that take place while it is being prepared. Simple on the outside, but a bit more complicated when you dive into it. 

No matter what culture you are in, pizza is a form of bread carrying a combination of sweet and savory ingredients to your mouth. Then as you consume it, signals are sent to the pleasure centers in your brain. The way it smells, the way it chews, the way it makes your mouth water, the way it feels when you swallow it.  We must also include what it leaves behind in your mouth to continue to enjoy.

Pizza is a food that literally attacks all the senses.  It’s a food you touch and that’s ok! No utensils required! But the experience begins long before you even get your first piece.  Pizza has a classic aroma, creating a high level of anticipation before it even gets in your hand. When you see it, you can hardly wait to dig in. And as you do, you hear the crunch as you chew.

But taste is where pizza shines.  Fundamentally, it stimulates every taste response you have. Let’s just say that there are very few foods that can make that claim.  We detect flavor via taste receptors that line the tongue and upper pallet of your mouth. To understand how taste is created, a little knowledge about how the sense of taste works is necessary.

There are five different taste sensations, which are categorized as Bitter, Salty, Sour, Sweet and Umami. Flavorists now know there are also some other, less common taste responses, including astringent, spicy, and fatty. A newly discovered taste sensation is called Kokumi.  That is a Japanese term that literally means “rich taste.”

While Umami imparts a savory flavor or meatiness, Kokumi is a sense of richness, body, and complexity.  It’s associated with foods that have a “fullness” of flavor. Some people use the word succulence to describe Kokumi. Regardless, it is tied to the stimulation of the pleasure center in your brain. Evidence of this Kokumi sensation is primarily found in cheese, yeast extracts, and even wine. Kokumi enhances the overall taste experience by adding depth and richness to savory dishes.  And pizza seems to be loaded with it. Helping create that craveability I spoke of.

Craveability is an interesting concept.  Food cravings come from areas in your brain that regulate memory, pleasure, and reward. These cravings can be triggered by emotional needs, such as tension or anxiety, or by physical circumstances, including hunger. Food cravings are typically a response to certain stimuli and are generally you striving to try to feel “good”. 

Humans are drawn to foods that are fatty, sweet, rich, and sensorially complex. Even the simplest pizza has all these components. Cheese is fatty, meat and other toppings tend to be rich, and the sauce is often sweet. Making it a perfect storm for you when you are hungry or when you are just trying to add a little natural serotonin to your day. Either way, it’s all about the total eating experience when it comes to pizza. And pizza is set up to deliver that experience! And it starts with the crust.

Whether you prefer thin or thick crust, the dough is the foundation of the pizza and can make or break the overall flavor. The dough is typically made with wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt.  Yeast is alive, at least it very much wants to be!  As yeast feeds and grows they create a chemical reaction, making carbon dioxide and alcohol as well as other flavor and aroma compounds. 

This chemical reaction, called fermentation, gives the dough its final flavor, texture, and cooking qualities.  The magic of fermentation makes this mixture into the pallet that the pizza will rest upon.  Before baking, the dough will be in some way stretched, formed, and made ready for toppings. Irresistible!

The sauce is what binds the pizza together.  Traditional pizza sauce is made with tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and maybe basil, but there are endless variations of sauce that can be used, like marinara, alfredo, pesto, salsa, BBQ sauce or even just olive oil. The sauce makes the pizza savory and adds a hint of sweetness to the dish, which is why it’s so delicious.

Toppings for pizza are nearly endless.  Almost any vegetable, meat, herb, or spice can be used.  Even fruit.  Many of these toppings contain a compound called glutamate. Think monosodium Glutamate or MSG, but in its natural form.  When glutamate hits our tongues, it tells our brains to get excited. There is that craveability again!  This compound not only stimulates our brains, but it also causes our mouths to water in anticipation of the next bite.

Cheese is often added to top off the pizza, providing a creamy and fatty addition to the eating experience.  And let’s not forget the stretchability factor. Mozzarella cheese is generally the go-to choice because it strikes the perfect balance between flavor and stretchiness.  However, Provolone, Emmental, Fontina, Edam, or even blue cheese are being more widely used nowadays.

As for the texture, cheese plays a crucial role in creating that gooey, stretchy goodness that makes pizza so satisfying. The cheese melts in the oven and combines with the sauce and toppings to create a perfect harmony of flavors and textures.

Ingredients are endless and critical to the final pizza flavor. But wait, there’s more!  The way it is prepared and cooked adds a great deal of value.  The pizza is baked in a very hot oven for a few minutes. allowing it to get crisp and golden-brown. Some people love the crust to be a little burnt.  Or even a lot burnt!  The term “Leoparding” is used for this phenomenon, and it adds a great deal of rustic appeal to any pizza. Both appearance and flavor.

We talked about fermentation, but there are other chemical reactions that occur during the cooking process. Foods turn brown and crispy when we cook them because of two chemical reactions; Caramelization and the Maillard reaction.

The best pizzas are cooked at super high temperatures.  That is when real magic occurs. During this time some of its ingredients become brown and toasty. This is due to those chemical reactions.  Caramelization happens when the sugars in a food become brown with heat. Most foods contain at least some sugar, or at least simple carbohydrates that act like sugar. 

Caramel is made from several thousand compounds, making it one of the most complex food products. On a pizza, ingredients such as onions and tomatoes become caramelized during baking, making them rich, sweet and flavorful. That brown and crispy crust is also the result of the dough caramelizing from some of the simple sugars that yeast left behind will it was doing its thing.

While the meat and cheese on your pizza also get brown, this is due to a different chemical process called the “Maillard reaction,” which is named after French chemist Louis-Camille Maillard.  The Maillard reaction occurs when the amino acids in high-protein foods such as cheese and pepperoni react with the sugars in those foods when heated. Pepperoni that becomes crispy with curled edges, and cheese that browns and bubbles, are examples of the Maillard reaction. This reaction leaves behind amazing flavors that make pizza even more craveable!

Wow!  That’s a lot to think about.  The point is, Pizza might seem like a simple food, but with yeasty crust, brown and melty cheese, and caramelized tomato sauce as its base you set the table for something very complex.  Add unique and fresh toppings and you get true genius. Its adaptability and simple complexity make it hard not to love.  Or even be obsessed over!   

So, the next time you’re about to devour a slice, you’ll be able to appreciate all the elements of pizza that excite our brains, thrill our taste buds and cause our mouths to water.  We will save the analysis of the joy of making pizza from scratch another day.  That takes this obsession to a whole new level!