New York pizza is better than Neapolitan pizza: that’s what the Americans say…

We usually believe that one of the symbols of Italy in the world is pizza. It’s also a bit stereotypical and – as of today – perhaps not even that realistic. Yes because really wherever you go you will find pizza. Let’s take the States, for example. There they prepare pizza for you in their own way, with their own tastes (often indecent, let’s face it), and although they show that they appreciate the Neapolitan style, they still continue to give preference to their version. To tell us one Washington Post report, which analyzed 7.5 million reviews of the American web portal Yelp, which collects user opinions about clubs, restaurants, bars, locations and much more. In short, like Tripadvisor. So what happened? This is for the Yankees the queen of pizza is the one from New York

no discussion.

Okay, we good and proud Italians need time for our veins to swell. “But how dare these fast food adepts not put our Italian pizza at the top of their meaningless ranking? But you want to put our pizza with theirs? Classic. But in the end, it fits when you get used to eating a certain way, your tastes adapt to everyday life, and this applies to American friends as well as to us. So who is right? ? But most of all: How the hell do they make New York pizza?

Let’s start with the base. The original pizza is Neapolitan.. Sorry, but this needs to be said, also because since 2017 it has been included in the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity, so there is nothing special to add. The dough is prepared only with water, flour, yeast and salt, without adding butter or sugar. Neapolitan pizza should be then cooked in a wood-burning oven at a temperature of at least 430 degrees for several minutes, which allows you to form a beautiful crust that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The ingredients do the rest.

not much but good quality: buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes and fresh basil if we want to try a classic Margherita that can never go wrong.

Pizza from New York it is usually larger (even 50 cm in diameter compared to 30 colleague Neapolitan), is flatter, has a thin crust and is by default cut into slices, even square or rectangular. This is a classic fast food pizza, where serious mozzarella is often replaced with cheddar cheese. Plus, Big Apple pizza is anything but simple. In fact, the more ingredients the better. So there’s room for sausage, chilli, onions, ham and, of course, the inevitable bacon, for a riot of flavors that, frankly, does seem like too much. In New York even more than in Milan, they have no time to waste, so they agree to these raw slices (okay, we’re kidding) take the metro or taxi. Either way, they love it.

The Post’s research found that in the US, New York pizza most common in 42 of 50 states and in the District of Columbia, the federal district of the capital of Washington. The success is three times greater than the second-ranked Neapolitan-style pizza. Third place for another US production, Chicago pizzaalso known as deep-dish double crust pizza. It has a very thick dough, almost like it’s a pie, and is full of cheese and seasonings. Fourth place for Detroit pizza, similar to our pizza, thick and soft; fifth – pseudo-Sicilian pizza, a variation of Palermo sfincione; sixth place in typical New England pizzacooked in a shallow pan and having a consistency similar to focaccia.

In short, if you find yourself in the States, you’ll be spoiled for choice (embarrassingly).