In Defense of Pineapple as a Pizza Topping

There’s only one thing in this world more divisive than politics, and that’s pizza, specifically when it comes to toppings, particularly when it comes to pineapple. Does the tart-tasting yellow fruit belong on your beloved pie? Or does the mere thought of ananas drive you bananas? People on the Internet have opinions, of course.

Reactions on reddit from Team No-Pineapple range from a mere “No” to a stronger “No no never no no” to a “Hard pass” and an “Absolutely disgusting 🤢 🤮,” with one person even declaring its presence “A sin against God.”

Pizza professionals and pizzaioli tend to be a bit more empathetic in their opinions:

“It’s not my style—I don’t love it, but I’m not opposed to it,” says soccer player turned pizzaiolo Massimo Laveglia of L’Industrie Pizzeria, whose beautiful basil-and-burrata-topped slices are found in Brooklyn and now the West Village.

Legendary pizzaiolo Chris Bianco, of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and Los Angeles, echoes Laveglia’s sentiments: “I don’t use it, but I’m not against it,” he says.

Joe Beddia doesn’t do pineapple at his eponymous Pizzeria Beddia in Philadelphia but would use them under one condition: “If I ever have a pizzeria in a place where pineapples grow, then I will,” he says.

Meanwhile in Seattle, chef-turned-pizzaiolo Khampaeng Panyathong is on Team Pineapple. In fact, he’s so pro-pineapple he opened a pizzeria last fall called Ananas Pizzeria. (Ananas is the original name of the fruit.)

“I originally wanted to call it Pineapple Pizzeria—I really just wanted to say ‘fuck you’ to people who would hate on you for liking pineapple on pizza,” says Panyathong.

Pineapple pizza is mostly associated with “Hawaiian pizza,” of course, where pineapple chunks come combined with either ham or bacon. Confusingly, Hawaiian pizza was actually invented in Canada by a Greek guy by the name of Sam Panopoulos in the early 1960s—he was inspired by the sweet-and-salty flavor combinations found in Chinese cuisine and wanted to do something different culinarily. What’s more, pineapples aren’t even native to Hawaii—they originated in South America before they were brought to the Aloha State. The more you know.

In recent years, pineapple on pizza has continued to cause controversy around the world; in 2017, the president of Iceland threatened to ban pineapple as a pizza topping, while more recently, Italy has become divided over famed pizzaiolo Gino Sorbillo’s introduction of pineapple to his pizzeria in Naples, the birthplace of pizza itself.

If you want to know what I think, I’ll say this much: I’m not into rules when it comes to food, and if there are any, I’m all for breaking them in the name of deliciousness. Don’t yuck my yum, and I won’t yuck yours.

Pizza is art, and a stretched-out piece of dough is a blank canvas for creativity. And as I’ve been traveling the country the past few years reporting for our Best New Restaurants in America and Best Bars lists, I’ve managed to squeeze in quite a few pizzerias where chefs are displaying their own spins on the so-called Hawaiian pizza.

Pizzaioli aren’t just dumping syrupy chunks out of a can. They’re breaking down fresh pineapple into razor-thin cuts, roasting and caramelizing the pieces beforehand; they’re using different salty cuts of pork, like capicola, and topping with other interesting items to complement and cut through the fruit’s sweetness. The below are just a few of the special ones I’ve found around the nation that might make you consider Team Pineapple.

This story originally appeared on Esquire