It’s Time for Pickles to Become a Common Pizza Topping.
If you ask me, not enough salty toppings end up on our precious pizza pies. Only olives are accepted so much that they regularly appear on menus (anchovies do too, although they seem to be widely appreciated, although increasingly many chains will deign to let you add a hot yellow pepper to your order.
But I think there’s an even more accessible topping that can provide a pizza with a much-needed balance of olives and anchovies while adding a little more textural interest. These are pickled cucumbers. It was always pickles.
Why pizza is ripe for pickles
In my opinion, pizza can be compared to a hot dog. (I know my mind is a strange place.) Both dishes are salty and greasy and can accommodate a wide range of toppings, but while many people feel free to experiment with hot dog toppings, bold pizza is less ubiquitous.
A basic pizza has a crust, tomato sauce and cheese, but it barely scratches the surface. Typical toppings may include vegetables, sausage, pepperoni, meatballs, or all of the above. Other pies may have a rich white sauce instead of tomato, removing the only balancing acidic ingredient. If you take only cheese and meat, then there is simply more salt and more fat. Sure it’s delicious, but is it balanced? Not so much. This is where pickles can shine—and before you leave this site in horror, let me point out that I’m far from the only person who has come up with this idea. Last year, pickle pizza even briefly went viral on TikTok .
Bring the pickle
It’s no secret that I love pickles . They go perfectly with a lot of hearty foods, and I eat a lot of hearty foods. The reason they pair so brilliantly with salt and fat is because they’re soaked in a bright, tangy brine. This acid gives your palate something pleasant among the heavier flavors. It’s a short, sweet changeup that keeps the pizza interesting and doesn’t lose flavor after the first bite.
Pickles make the dish delicious
A less obvious joy that pickles bring to pizza is texture. While most pizza toppings are bland and bland, pickles, even when cooked, almost always retain some crunch, and the change in consistency also makes the dish interesting and enjoyable to eat. This is why celebrity chefs always comment on the “crisp element” or “crunch factor” on one cooking show or another. This is a predictable comment, but it is a real factor to consider. Some crunchy pickles are sure to impress the judge. (You are the judge.)
Explore the universe of pickles
I’m not just talking about pickled cucumbers. There are so many pickles in this world and you can try them all on your pizza. Try pickled red onions, spicy mango pickles, kimchi, giardiniera or pickled lemons. To start, you can probably open a jar of your favorite pickles, gherkins or dill. Depending on the type of pickles you use, you can cut them into small pieces or leave them whole and top them on quick-cooked pizzas or ready-to-bake frozen pies. I now pre-slice frozen pizza so I bake as many slices as I need. Today I cut some thick slices of semi-sour Grillo and placed them right on top of my slices, adding a little cheese to seal them in. (Tip for pickle lovers: You can drizzle a little brine over the pizza for extra fun.) Bake the pizza as usual and start cooking it. Before you leave me an angry comment, consider this: You already love pickles on your cheeseburgers and fried chicken sandwiches. It’s time to put them on the pizza.