Tildes Survey #5: Pineapple on pizza? (Results)
Original post
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- Direct link: https://survey.tildes.community/form/pineapple-on-pizza-5
- This survey closes on May 24, 2026 at 10:00 UTC
- The results will be published on May 24 shortly after the survey has closed. I'll edit this topic and post a comment about it!
The current plans for questions that will be asked in the coming weeks are as follows:
| Question | Survey opens | Survey closes |
|---|---|---|
| How old are you? | ||
| What country do you live in? | ||
| What country were you born in? | ||
| What languages can you speak? | ||
| Pineapple on pizza? | 2026-05-17 18:00 UTC | 2026-05-24 10:00 UTC |
| Surveys retrospective + Vote for the next 4 surveys | 2026-05-24 18:00 UTC | 2026-05-31 10:00 UTC |
You may notice a change to the schedule from last week! I have an idea I'd like to work out to make the surveys more customizable and easier to set up but that will take some time, that's why I'm deciding to have a fun in-between survey and next week we'll have the vote on the next surveys coming up. :)
Please submit your ideas for questions here! Even if they've been submitted already by someone else. All input is valuable! You can view all submitted questions on this dashboard.
Thank you all for participating!
The survey has been closed and the results are in!
Thank you to all the 318 people that responded! Check out this special results page to see how the Tildes community chose!
Thank you all again for participating!
Some survey technical details if you're interested
You may notice that the results page looks similar but not entirely the same as the past survey forms do. I spent some time this week and set up a way to make the surveys completely custom, so I'm no longer limited by the options n8n's Form functionality provides and now have full control over the pages.
So to start off with I "recreated" the n8n Form look, however over time I'll probably adapt this to look and feel more like how Tildes does. And we'll be able to add other cool stuff like the pizza pie chart!
I started writing a multi-paragraph tirade about my disdain for people who hate a pizza topping enough to declare it doesn't belong on pizza, like they're the pizza police. But then I realized simply alluding to the rant was sufficient and much less work!
(yes it's delicious. Slap that stuff on a meat-lovers pizza or just simply with ham. The sweet somehow simultaneously offsets and lifts up the flavors of both toppings)
My biggest issue with pineapple on pizza is that... "pizza" needs to be properly defined to judge whether or not pineapple is a legitimate topping.
I live in the US, and most pizza places are basically just crappy dough with too many toppings. The Italian perfection has been discarded off to the side long ago (despite the crust names), and yes, I know that maybe the Greeks technically invented it. I grew up with grandparents both first-born in the US - Papa's family came from the Swiss-Italian border and had more pastas and pizzas. Grandma came from Bari and her family were fishermen, so more seafood and not so much the pasta/pizza, but they still had their own traditions. My aunt still makes my 2x-great grandmother's pizza: a doughy-puffy thing with some olive oil, sliced cloves of garlic, a can of stewed tomatoes strewn about, and topped with parmesan. She'll also do pepperoni versions (and let's talk about that: Italians do not put pepperoni [as us Americans know it] on pizzas - that goes on sandwiches!) because my cousins are 100% American, and I'm the oldest grandkid who had the Italian beaten into me: it's tradition or die!
But back to the topic: I now live in an area that is a hellhole of "Italian" and "Greek" restaurants that offer "pizza". It's meh at best, and I'm even talking about the North End (I am somewhat close to Boston and have easy access).
Also, my first job was working in my uncle's pizza parlour, and the head chef was strict on all the rules. We did not keep pineapple because that was not allowed on any food unless you're in Hawaii. Also, if anyone ordered more than 3 toppings or extra cheese, they basically didn't appreciate a good pizza. (Additionally, if you ever do make your own pizza, do not put any toppings and depending on the size, none or a very light amount of cheese in the middle. Often toppings will puddle up and make it too wet, and also that area doesn't need the garnishes. The rest of the pizza does! Also alsø, if you do pepperoni, layer them so you cover one half of the neighboring one. That way when they shrink and pull apart, you still have a loverly coverage!)
But as others have pointed out, "pizza" can easily be done with bbq chicken, or pickles, or ... the thing is, if you want it on your pizza, if you want to "ruin" your pizza with
too muchextra cheese, pineapple, linguica, or some fake vegan meat and cheese, it's your damned pizza and if it makes you happy, enjoy it while flipping everyone else the bird. :DThe problem I have with supposedly traditional Italian pizza around here is that the tomatoes (at least everywhere I've ever lived) are anything but. Even canned tomatoes that advertise being imported from Italy are almost flavorless these days. If I want good sauce on my pizza, I have to grow the tomatoes myself (or source them from someone who grows heirloom paste tomatoes) and then make my own sauce.
But if I buy tomatoes from a shop — or even worse, use canned tomatoes — than I really need additional ingredients to re-create the flavors that are missing from the tomatoes. I'm a vegetarian, so I usually use fine-chopped mushrooms in the sauce to add umami back in and a little pineapple (or sometimes pineapple juice) in the sauce to add sweet and sour back in. While it's not the same as a proper heirloom tomato sauce (nothing's as good as that, especially if I make from Amish Paste tomatoes, yum yum yum!) it at least has the right overarching flavor complex that makes pizza (and lasagna, spaghetti, etc.) oh-so-good.
If I get pizza from a restaurant, I usually ask them to add mushrooms and pineapple as a topping (in addition to whatever toppings I'm actually going for) to try to correct the flavor of the sauce. It's not as good as when I make my own sauce, but it helps.
I don't know if it was me that changed or the ingredients that changed, but the last time I went to Italy I was disappointed by the flavor of the food. I remember going to Italy about 20 years ago and being blown away by everything I ate, even the cheapest tourist-trap pizza, because the ingredients tasted so different from what I was used to. When I went about 5 years ago I felt like everything tasted kind of meh in general. I don't know if that's partially due to a breakdown in correlation between restaurant ratings and food quality, but I didn't feel the same at all about the difference in flavor for all the things I ate. I'm not sure if that's because the US caught up in Italian food and ingredient quality, Italy learned to truly cheap out on ingredients, or some combination of the two and more.
Crappy cultivars grown to look good and have a longer shelf life come for us all. We have the same problem in Portugal with tomatos. The good ones didn't cease to exist, but they're certainly harder to find than your common supermarket produce section.
I think just 10 years ago I still had access to good tomatos.
Oh man, here's my half-italian American hot take: American-style pizza is a massive improvement over Italian pizza, in pretty much every way. Having been to Italy plenty of times, and loving most of the food there, the pizza is always a disappointment to me: little baby thin crust (but not in a crunchy delicious "thin crust" way, just a sad layer of flour), the two droplets of sauce (if that), the cheese that is inexplicably less delicious despite Italy's cheese selection being amazing, and just the overall lack of salt or sugar or anything. I'd take a Dominos pepperoni pizza over a pizza in Italy any day of the week.
Relatedly, I do think Pizza is one of the foods that is best when cheap, and trying to make it fancy or gourmet paradoxically makes it less delicious. I can't argue whether or not the traditional Italian style might be more nutritious, or wholesome by some metric, but if we're judging by actual enjoyment of the food item the Italian-Americans did the right thing with the modifications IMO.
To answer the OP: I don't personally like to eat it, but I do not care about pineapple on pizza, and if others want to eat it that's fine. Pizza has already been so bastardized in a million different ways, it seems weird to me that people will draw some philosophical line in the sand at pineapple not being "true" pizzs
I genuinely can’t tell if you’re joking with that take.
Very hot take, I love it. I more or less agree with you though. I like the greasy, cheesy, saucey, slices more than the traditional types. Not saying I don't enjoy them though which seems like it might be the case for you.
Regardless, I will consume cheese and bread combinations of any sort with great enthusiasm.
Gasp! I'm 0% Italian my heritage and I thought I was just being an uneducated heretic when I had pizza across several places in Italy that were all different in the ways you said. The toppings were good but it felt very sparse. The cheese and sauce were different from what i'd expect. I prefer my inauthentic fluffy crust way more than Communion wafer style thanks. A few Montreal places serve pizza thin like that too but at least crispy.
Are Italians horrified by Chicago deep dish?
For too many years I was scammed with bad dough. I might not have cared if I hadn't had real pizza as a teenager (in a restaurant that's long closed, by a place where I used to learn windsurf). It was the highlight of my week and I never forgot the flavor and texture. As I previously mentioned on tildes, I finally said enough is enough and started making my own good quality pizza, and not eating any fake pizza.
I dislike pepperoni on pizza but my friends love it so I'll put it on for them. As for the other toppings, I have to disagree with italian tradition - almost everything is good, in the right combination! (But not too many at the same time.)
Pineapple is traditionally served as part of Rodízio because the sharp, acidic flavor will contrast with all the fatty meats and reset your palate. As long as it's good pineapple, I've found that it admirably fulfills the same role on pizza, providing a great (and tasty) counterpoint for a variety of fatty salty ingredients. It's hardly the only pizza topping that can have a strong, acidic flavor - a good tomato is a prime example!
I hope my assurance that I always add the olive oil (provided I'm not already using an unreasonably fatty topping, like pepperoni...) will somewhat redeem me in the eyes of every italian.
My trick for stopping certain vegetable toppings from making the center of the pizza wet (on anything less hot than whatever modified firing kiln they use at restaurants) is to pre-cook them a bit in a frying pan to evaporate the water. Works like a charm.
I think the main part of the arguement that drives me insane is the non-pineapplers typically are not considering other types of pizza. I never personally want pineapple on a stock pepperoni pizza, but it's a must-have for hawaiian pizzas and great addition to chicken bbq!
One of my favorite pizzas is pepperoni and pineapple.
I think the two compliments each other very well.
Ha, to each their own! (or, like, we can share a half-pepperoni and half-pepperoni-and-pineapple :D)
My "yes" needs context. Most pizza places I've tried do pineapple on pizza poorly - they just slap it on and throw the whole thing in the oven. The pineapple stays wet and doesn't heat evenly, leading to cool pockets where everything else is deliciously warm.
I've had a few good ones where the pineapple is grilled/seared beforehand. The sugars caramelize and the surface juices dry off while the inside stays moist. The entire fruit gets a better depth of flavor and the surprise cold pockets are eliminated, leading to a much better taste and feel. I genuinely believe that most pineapple pizza haters should try this at some point - it won't change every mind, but it will change some (like me!).
I do not enjoy pineapple on my pizza, but I'd give this a try.
OK I could see that being good. Like I've been to some places that drizzle honey on like a simple pepperoni pizza and it's REALLY good.
But yeah, the places I've had pineapple pizza, like you said, just toss it on there and it's wet and mushy...
I dislike pineapple on pizza but enjoy pineapple in general, so I'd be willing to give this a try and might really enjoy it. I think it's far enough from the norm for "pineapple on pizza" that I'm still comfy answering "no" on the quiz, though.
I think you would like grilled watermelon (you can add a little feta on the first side while the second is grilling).
(Not related to the topic of pizza topping, just as something good)
This recipe caramelizes it first and it looks super good
https://irenematys.com/honey-caramelized-pineapple-onion-and-porchetta-pizza-with-sesame-seed-crust/
I think there's a real case to be made for sweet or sour things to be pizza toppings, pineapple among those. As long as whoever's eating the pizza understands and accepts that there will be pineapple, that's all good and well.
Personally though I just don't like pineapple that much, pizza or not. I voted yes for freedom of choice but I'll never ask for it myself.
Missed opportunity. I'd have liked to have seen an 'If yes, what with?' follow-up.
I'm sure bacon/ham would be a big one, but I'm a huge fan of pineapple with green olives for that sweet and salty hit. I'm curious what other interesting pairing there are out there!
Jalapeno pairs extremely well with pineapple, from my experience.
Exactly, my go-to pizza order is pineapple, jalapeno, and red onion. It's basically just a salsa fresca on a pizza lol
I make jars of pickled carrots/jalapenos, and I'll often do a dash of the brine on my Hawaiian pizza. That green spiciness is a great combo with the acidic sweetness of the pineapple and the smoky fattiness of the ham.
I've done ham, pineapple, jalapeno as a nice mix.
Ooh yes, fruity-spicy is a great combo. I'll absolutely be adding jalapeno (or whatever peppers I have on hand) next time I make pizza.
Pineapple + feta is great.
I don't eat meat, but I really love pineapple with some good meaty mushrooms and jalapenos. And artichoke, too, if it's available.
My go to vegetarian pizza order is feta, olives, pineapple, and jalapeño. Sweet, salt, spice, all the good stuff.
Mine is: feta, pineapple, mushrooms & onions.
I like the salt, sweet, meaty and combinatory of the ingredients.
(I'm not into spicy foods, like at all!)
I love pineapple on pizza. I love pizza, I love pineapple, they're great together. It may also be the most truly international food item ever created.
I will never not post this when this comes up in conversation. It's from the podcast "The Anthropocene Reviewed", where author John Green (The Fault In Our Stars) reviews various facets of the human-centered experience on a five-star scale. This episode is about viral meningitis, and pineapple pizza.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/anthropocene-reviewed/episodes/episode-5-hawaiian-pizza-and-viral-meningitis
I tick many boxes from the bolded sentence's rundown of cultures. I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when I enjoy pineapple on my pizza.
This poll does not allow me to voice my opinion and I am extremely upset. /s
My answer is "I don't care". I don't have it on pizza and you can do what you want!
You have to make a choice! The fate of the universe depends on it!
Fine!
I accept that Hawaiian pizza has a right to exist, but I fucking hate pineapple in general.
You may hate canned pineapple, which happens to be a pretty consistent thing.
If possible, find a pizza place that serves fresh-cut grilled pineapple on their pizza. That'll make a true-believer out of anybody.
Sadly, it's insanely difficult to find a good pineapple in some countries. I have not found even a singular good pineapple here in Poland, and I'm the type of person who loves pineapples.
Say one thing for Brazil, pineapple is so fucking good there... I never wanted to stop eating it...
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@-mentionyou. :)You can put me on it, please!
Add me as well, please :)
Add me please
Please add me !
Moi aussi, s'il vous plait !
Count me in; these are fun!
Please add me as well.
"I want the pineapple pizza but without the pineapple"
– @PierogInTheButt
That's the only right way
This may be the most contentious question this survey will ask, and it's only the fifth question.
It is funny how worked up some people can get over this though. I remember a worker at a pizza shop displaying toppings in the front said they hid the pineapple in the back because people would complain about just seeing it.
Not a fan of Hawaiian pizza but I do enjoy pineapple and jalapeños together, really great sweet and spicy combo.
The survey has been closed and the results are in!
Thank you to all the 318 people that responded! Check out this special results page to see how the Tildes community chose!
Thank you all again for participating!
Some survey technical details if you're interested
You may notice that the results page looks similar but not entirely the same as the past survey forms do. I spent some time this week and set up a way to make the surveys completely custom, so I'm no longer limited by the options n8n's Form functionality provides and now have full control over the pages.
So to start off with I "recreated" the n8n Form look, however over time I'll probably adapt this to look and feel more like how Tildes does. And we'll be able to add other cool stuff like the pizza pie chart!
Notification list
If you'd like to be notified when future surveys open and close with the results, let me know here or via a private message and I'll
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Oh my
One third pepperoni and two-thirds hawaii pizza sounds like my perfect pizza, lmao
How kind of you to make a third of the pizza not covered in pineapple. A democratic solution would be to order what the majority wants
As with many things, I take the libertarian view: "Hell no!" on my own pizza, but if that's your thing, I won't judge.
(I do enjoy pineapple, just not in this context.)
Yeah I love pineapple, buying one at the store and cutting it up is a nice treat every once in a while. But on pizza? That's a no from me dawg.
I think it's somewhat texture related, I don't like the texture of cooked pineapple as much. It also loses some of its sour, and I do love that in pineapple.
But if it's your pizza? Knock yourself out.
Ever grilled it? It’s amazing.
That I have done! It was pretty good!
I stumbled across a recipe for tequila that involved grilling pineapple, cutting it into chunks and then letting the tequila age a couple of months with the pineapple in it. It's supposed to smooth out even the worst tequila, but I couldn't get it to work as well for me.
If you use a pineapple corer you can get a pineapple shell. If you pour vodka into that and leave it until the shell starts to leak, you get a pretty amazing infusion. I don’t even like vodka.
Finally. I was wondering when we were going to finally get into the substantive issues. This is a subject I can really sink my teeth into!
Edit: Oh...
You're basically asking if war crimes are OK or not!
Pineapples are new world, and have been part of available Italian ingredients for as long as tomatoes.
My wife has a sensitivity to pineapple. It causes her mouth to blister from the juices digesting her soft tissues. If you eat enough pineapple, it would happen to you too, it just happens to her right away. That being said: she would eat pineapple on pizza if she could. She loves it. Especially with ham.
In reality, there is no reason to not put whatever the hell you want on pizza. Some of my favorite pizzas were with unusual ingredients. One in particular was with mortadella and pistachios amongst other ingredients. Knowing that, why should you restrict yourself for anything delicious just because you have a weird preconception?
Otto Pizza in Cambridge, MA used to serve a pulled pork and mango pizza, sort of an uber-classed-up Hawaiian. It wasn't my favorite of their flavors, but I liked it. I'm curious what the pineapple haters think of that topping combo.
Personally, I think pineapple is a fine topping. It's not one of my go-tos, but I don't mind it. I admit I don't get the memetic hate for pineapple in particular, of all the weird things people put on top of pizza. Like, why pineapple and not fresh tomato (which has the same textural problems—you gotta pre-cook your tomatoes—as well as being gross and tasteless at anything less than the peak of the local season) or anchovies (just seems weird to me tbh) or, like, baked ziti (this is actually delicious, don't knock it 'til you've tried it)? People can obviously have their individual preferences, which I'm not judging, but the whole cultural thing about pineapple on pizza is strange to me.
A thousand curses to you, Bauke, for not making this a free-response. I say that in jest, all in good fun. In the state I live in, we're known for our barbecue pizza. I, personally, am not a fan of it, but to each their own.
Muahahaha, more curses only makes me grow more powerful!
One of my favorite discoveries moving from the US to Australia is how much more socially acceptable sweet-sour-savory flavor profiles are here. Pineapple is very common on pizzas, burgers, etc., and I will never say no to it.
But I generally find Australia (at least around Melbourne) a lot more foodie and multicultural than the US, so I guess it's not really surprising.
Yeah, it's pretty good, I guess.
I don't really feel strongly about it one way or another, but I do like it on a Hawaiian with some pickled Jalapenos. I'll never reject it, but it's also not necessarily my first choice as far as toppings go.
Agreed.
On my regular pizza order, no thanks.
If I’m in the mood for a “Hawaiian” pizza? Absolutely.
pickles are hype these days.
oi.
for a time tuna was really taking over by way of Sweden, but that cooled down. These days the toppings shift has kind of cooled down in favor of home cooks focusing on different styles; a lot of lloyd pans outside of the surge of pizza ovens (mostly NY or New Haven-style) from those :)
One of my favorite pizzas is just mortadella w/ pistachio, stracciatella (the inside of burrata), and a nice drizzle of pesto or an infused oil.
I’m good with anything and everything on a a pizza, had some very creative pizzas in Japan that were delicious (also had the best Chicago style deep dish of my life there).
Pineapple and New Mexico roasted green chile. That is all.
Pineapples should be eaten cold, not warm.
But also replacing tomatoes with pineapples in a pizza is a strat.
replacing ? Like, diced tomatoes as topping, not pineapple sauce pizza right? :) even though I'm a fan of Hawaiian I wouldn't go that far
But also grilled fresh pineapple with sprinkle of salt is really good
Yeah, the topping.
Pineapple sauce sounds unhinged. I want someone to try that.
Never tried grilled pineapples now that I think about it.
Fuck yeah; it just elevates a prosciutto funghi in so many ways.
Agreed with @Banazir - lightly searing the pineapple makes it fit more alongside the other ingredients, but personally I'm obsessed enough that even fresh pineapple is perfectly fine.
Pineapple with pepperoni and jalepeño, or as I originally learned it, “The Hyphy”
I had a place I used to live near that called that the Triple P
According to ancient (i.e. before I was born) Canadian tradition, I should enjoy the Hawaiian pizza which is my birthright. It's... fine. The pineapple is great, I just don't like ham on pizza.
I accept this as a topping choice, because it's one of the few ways my youngest son will eat something healthy.
It's got all the food groups!
There is a pizzeria in Naples that has a pineapple pizza on the menu for €250.
Under each pizza, the ingredients are listed. Under the pineapple pizza, it reads: 'If you want this s***, you must pay a lot!'
It's a no for me, simply because I don't like the taste of pineapple.
If you do like it, I'm not going to say you can't have it.
Same, I'm not a huge fan of pineapple in general. Maybe it's because it's actively trying to dissolve your tongue while you eat it. Cooked or processed pineapple is different, though because I do love a piña colada, but I'm pretty sure the coconut is doing the heavy lifting there.
Or the alcohol?
I was converted a few years ago when I had pizza with pepperoni, jalapeños, and pineapple. It may have had mushrooms, too, but I forget that detail. Regardless, that combination is pure 🔥🔥
Mate, if you don’t like the crunchy saltiness of bacon or ham offset with the sweetness of pineapple, I don’t know what to tell you. More for me, I guess. Hawaiian pizza time at Costco here in Japan is the shining light in a year filled with shitty cardboard margherita and increasingly crappy combo
I don't really like sweet/savory combos and I don't like pineapple. So for me the answer is no. But idgaf what anyone else gets.
It'll be interesting to see if people answer for themselves or for pizza in general.
I like pineapple as a fruit, standalone or in sweet foods. I used to eat a lot of pizza, not anymore, because I'm living in Finland now... Here there is a pineapple on almost every second pizza, I just cant. Dont get me wrong I am not a picky eater I will eat pizza with pineapple if I have nothing else, but its just not my thing.
My all-time favorite pizza is a NY-style buffalo chicken pizza, followed closely by a classic NY-style cheese slice. But as I live very far from authentic NY pizza, my practical all-time favorite is a thin-crust BBQ chicken and pineapple pizza with loads of onions, mushrooms and a smattering of black olives; light on cheese.
Thin-crust supreme (with mushrooms/olives) is also good too, but that's only if BBQ chicken isn't an option.
You reminded me that one time I lived near an Indian person owned pizzaria, and their butter chicken pizzas were amazing. The bread is fluffy buttery more like a naan and the tomato chunks with tandoori or butter chicken toppings are always excellent 👌
Owing to this thread I made myself a Hawaiian pizza for dinner tonight. My only problem is that I was too sparing with the pineapple! I'll know better for next time 😋
So much pineapple it becomes a dessert!
American cheese on pizza is the way to go. No one can convince me otherwise.
Very interesting I see the benefits for melting but feel like it would be an odd taste. But then people love provel cheese in St. Louis and I think it's also not my fave. Have you had Imo's or another St. louis style pizza by chance?
You are the 10th dentist
Gimme some with jalapeño any day!