Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Steve. Steve Wonders, “Why Do People Like Pineapple On Their Pizza?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Steve!

There have been many great debates over the ages. Which came first: the chicken or the egg? Why did the chicken cross the road? Is it soda or pop? Is a hot dog a sandwich? What do you call the end of a loaf of bread? The list goes on and on.

In recent years, a new debate has popped up. People love to share their opinions about it on social media. It is dividing friends and families. Researchers have done polls to learn people’s thoughts. The question: does pineapple belong on pizza?

What do you think? Do you love pineapple on your pizza? Or do you think that pineapple is not a pizza topping? There does not seem to be much middle ground. When it comes to pineapple on pizza, most people either love it or hate it. And that is okay! 

Pineapple on pizza is a matter of personal taste. People can explain their preference with reasons. However, there is no “right” answer. Other matters of taste include the clothes and music that people like. And, people’s taste can change. Someone might develop a taste for pineapple on pizza after they have tried it a few times. 

People who love pineapple on pizza are often fans of Hawaiian pizza. This specialty pizza has tomato sauce topped with pineapple, ham, and cheese. Sometimes it also includes bacon. Hawaiian pizza fans love the combination of sweet pineapple, salty ham, and savory tomato sauce.

Hawaiian pizza was first created in Canada—not Hawaii. Sam Panopoulos, a restaurant owner, was inspired by Chinese dishes that mixed sweet and savory ingredients. He made the first pizza with pineapple in the 1950s. He named his pizza creation “Hawaiian” because he used  Hawaiian brand canned pineapple. His new recipe was not immediately popular, but today, people eat Hawaiian pizza around the world.

However, some people strongly believe that pineapple—a fruit—does not belong on pizza. They give a lot of different reasons to support their opinion. Since pizza comes from Italy, some argue that pizza should be made only with traditional Italian ingredients like pepperoni and peppers. Other people say that pineapple is too sweet for savory pizza. Pizza eaters who like a crispy crust complain that pineapple is juicy and makes the crust soggy

The pineapple-on-pizza debate is not likely to be settled soon. However, YouGov did a survey about pizza with 1,000 American adults in spring 2023. When asked about pineapple as a pizza topping, 22% loved it and 37% liked it. That means 59%, or more than half, had positive feelings about pineapple as a pizza topping. On the other side, 18% disliked it and 19% hated pineapple on pizza. The survey also asked people to pick their least favorite pizza topping from a list. Only 6%, or 60 out of 1000, people said pineapple was their least favorite topping.

There is one reason for putting pineapple on pizza that is not up for debate. Pineapple is good for you! Pineapple is a low calorie topping. It has no cholesterol, fat, or sodium. Pineapple is also full of nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin B6, manganese, and fiber. Scientists have also found that pineapple helps skin heal. It can also reduce inflammation, or swelling, in the body. 

So if you love pineapple on pizza, keep eating it! If you have never tried pineapple on pizza, what’s stopping you? Try it! And if you have tried it, but were not a fan, don’t worry about it. The great thing about pizza is that there are different topping combinations for everyone!

Standards: CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.4, CCRA.L.5, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.W.2, SMP.4, NCAS.CR.1

Wonder What's Next?

1, 2, 3, 4…music is in the air with tomorrow’s Wonder!