First two main distinctions: NY/NJ style, which is generally the traditional American pizza. 1" crust, a little crispy, thin body, sauce, lots of cheese. This has a few variations though, most notable "thin crust", which is often cracker-thin and very firm & crispy, the body much thinner too.
The other main variety is Chicago deep-dish pizza, which is very thick, anywhere from 1-3 inches deep in my experience.
Both of these in their pure forms are difficult to find outside of their regions. But the NY/NJ style is popping up in places around the country. North Carolina Charlotte area for example, as transplants from the North-East find their way to other parts of the country.
Then there's the various pizza chains: Pizza Hut, Dominos, Papa Johns... most of their pizzas most closely resemble the NY/NJ, but that's putting it loosely. They're sort of like a McDonald's Big Mac compared to a steak house burger, except at least for me, I sometimes just want the Big Mac, but I'd never choose the chain pizza when the alternative is available.
Let me be clear though: some people are purists to one type or another and consider other varieties, or chain pizzas, to be blasphemy. But if you put aside ideological considerations, almost all pizza is fundamentally good. You can find bad pizza, but it's harder than finding good pizza. (Let the downvotes roll in from Chicago/NY purists :D )
The cheese around the edges comes in contact with the metal pan and turns brown and crunchy, just like you get when the cheese leaks out into the pan with a grilled cheese sandwich. Amazing pizza!
If you don’t have a rectangular pan you can also make it in a cast iron skillet. Works extremely well!
[1] https://www.seriouseats.com/2017/02/how-to-make-detroit-styl...
But cheese all the way to the edge, and browned crispy? That's almost too much. But not quite: It's the type of cheese. I don't see mozzarella in that link you posted, I don't even see the lesser trinity of 3 cheeses. I see something called "brick" cheese. That's just a bridge too far.
I won't be the one to push the button on this and trigger the fallout that comes with it, Detroit has enough problems as it is. But you need to hope the true pizza extremists don't hear about this. Maybe delete the post, or at least put a /s sarcasm flag on the end. Also at the beginning, and in the middle. Maybe one after each word.
Also Detroit pizza looks awesome and I want some right now.
You’ll find it throughout the Southwest at many smaller chains. Dion’s is one regional I can vouch for. Two Boots in New York is probably the closest I ever found on the East Coast, but I didn’t look hard outside of the City.
It’s distinct to me from New York style because of the amount of cheese and the rise of the crust. The more topping-laden variants (“combo”) can require a knife and fork to eat, whereas a classic New York slice is designed to be eaten standing up and toppings are portioned accordingly.
See, that's the thing: there really is an infinite variety. I know that's true of other foods, but very few other foods are available in such diverse forms with that level of ubiquity. In a 5-square mile area I could easily get 10 different types, and it's all available with pretty much the same convenience as fast food.
> But if you put aside ideological considerations, almost all pizza is fundamentally good.
Completely agree. I like American style pizza and I like cheese. I also like Italian style pizza and often find it has more interesting flavours, but that doesn't make American style pizza bad or anything. Just different. A good American style pizza is better than a bad Italian style too, obviously.
My main point though was that the idea of cheese-less pizza really doesn't seem strange to me, once you look outside of the American cheese-focused pizzas and that's the only reason I brought up the differences really.
Pizza in NYC usually not only has great crust and sauce, but it also has plenty of cheese. They don't "overload" it like many places outside the area. (I am purposely separating "Pizza in NYC" from "NYC Style" because people around the US suck at emulating it).
The basic thing which I have seen as big difference; you have to cook these pizzas from going into the oven to plate in < 90s (usually it's less than that; in my oven, when it's perfect, it takes about 60s) and then immediately eat it. If you leave it only for a bit even, to me it is no longer good.
That's where the low moisture (which here they equate with lower quality, not sure if that's true, but more moist is considered better) mozzarella comes in handy; if you want to serve slices over a period of 30min or you want to deliver a pizza etc, you really cannot use this Italian style as far as I have seen and tried.
I guess I'm a great chef then!
Have you had one in Italy? Personally, I quite like American style pizza, but the Italian style I still find has a more interesting flavour profile and therefore I tend to prefer it.
So pizza in Naples is only slightly older than pizza in Little Italy in NYC. It arrives in USA in 1890s
The main problem is that in the great american convenience rush of the 50-s, 60-s etc the tradition is overwhelmed by mass pizza from the chains. And what becomes mass pizza (especially delivered) is inferior product. We have lower baking temperatures, start pumping the dough with oil, sugar and whatnot to get some browning. To compensate for lack of flavor in the dough you start putting all kinds of toppings on top and too many of them. Upping the calories to insane levels to compensate for their flavorlessness.
I think that when people dish out on American pizza they don't mean NYC, New Haven, Chicago or Detroit styles but Dominos and Pizza Hut at their worst.
That's interesting, I'm annoyed at my shortcut/assumption in my head that a) it would be older than 170 yrs and b) that there wouldn't be a clear historical record of the exact date. Although, cooked down tomatoes, flatbread etc. presumably met under a different name before that
As an Italian the first time I saw a nyc style pizza I found it disgusting
Just because you invented it doesn't mean you've perfected it.
I didn't taste NY style till I was 30 or something.
Lol I remember crying big time because mom tricked me into getting first communion by saying she'll take me to a pizzeria.
p.s. don't get insulted too much, ton of places messed their food - best burgers aren't mcdonalds, best buffalo wings aren't in Buffalo NY, best sushi isn't in Tsukiji market, best cuban sandwiches aren't in Florida. All due because locals tend to fetishise it or mess it up to serve tourists.
Back to question I don't think I've ever tried certified Neapolitan pizza, but pretty sure I've had unofficial version many times. It's good, but given choice I'd take NY style. I was about to make one just to realise my dough didn't rise enough (guessing lack of water) few weeks back.
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This could be, I am fan of the pizza from Napoli and I have been to the best chefs over there; besides the Marinara, pizzas have plenty of cheese and the Italian people in the restaurants all consistently asked for an extra serving of mozzarella on top. As I try to copy the experience at home in my wood burned oven, I watched and read many italian (Italy and US based) Napoli pizza chefs and ‘rather little cheese’ never was mentioned. Are you talking about a different style or maybe compared to US style pizza? I had pizzas in the US, but I find them generally too heavy; probably because the base is too thick. I can eat 2 napoli ones while only 1/2 a US one (again, based on my very limited pizza experience in the US!). But I saw brilliant chefs on youtube from the US; my business trips did not allow me to travel the US for pizza tasting...
Not true, authentic neapoletan pizza is marinara(no cheese) or margheritta (lots of cheese).
Nothing beats American-style pizza.
I've had a great vegan pizza once and between bread, sauce and toppings, it tasted like great Italian-style pizza. Sure, a sprinkle of cheese would have made it better still, but the point is it tasted great and it tasted like pizza.
Sure, it doesn't make for a great American-style pizza, which is all about overloading on cheese (and having rather meh tasting bread typically...), but that's not all there is to pizza around the world.