[Spareribs]

I once heard a guy had a hard boiled egg as a pizza topping somewhere in Italy. For me, in America, I've had some strange pizza toppings like octopus at this one restaurant and salmon teriyaki w/spinach at another place (it was delicious). Octopus can work well too as a pizza topping as long as it's tender.

Pizza can be so unpredictable. For example, in theory you would think pinaapple and ham is so wrong on pizza but it can be delicious and has been proven to be popular. There is no logic when it comes to pizza toppings. Whether it's the standard pepperoni or Japanese fish eggs, the world of pizza toppings has endless possibilities and the exploration continues out there.

 

[nick n]

peaches
 
peanut butter and honey

 

[Spareribs]

A couple weeks ago, I had an unusual topping of goat cheese on top of the mozzarella on a white pizza (no tomato sauce). I have to say that this was probably the best odd topping I've ever had. The funky flavor of the goat cheese really added that extra dimension of flavor.
 
Personally I'd like to see more high end cheeses like brie cheese perhaps but of course, the down side is that it can jack up the price of the pizza. Perhaps someday, I'll make my own pizza so I can really experiment on more pizza toppings, like truffles, etc... 

 

[nick n]

Wood fired oven place down the road here uses local island Buffalo Cheese. I prefer the white pizzas, especially their Fungi one with a type of cream sauce base

 

[PalJoey]

  A couple weeks ago, I had an unusual topping of goat cheese on top of the mozzarella on a white pizza (no tomato sauce). I have to say that this was probably the best odd topping I've ever had. The funky flavor of the goat cheese really added that extra dimension of flavor.
 
Personally I'd like to see more high end cheeses like brie cheese perhaps but of course, the down side is that it can jack up the price of the pizza. Perhaps someday, I'll make my own pizza so I can really experiment on more pizza toppings, like truffles, etc... 

To really get a proper home-made pizza, you need murderously high temperatures - beyond the average domestic oven - and quick cooking times. But you can get fairly close. I had a nice pizza with asparagus and Parma ham topping a while back, but I can't recall what else was on it. Might have been pesto.
 
Then how about thinking sideways; how about a sweet pizza. Apple, raisins, cinnamon and stuff, then top it with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream as soon as it leaves the oven. It might work.

 

[Spareribs]

Excellent advice.

 

[Argyris]

  Then how about thinking sideways; how about a sweet pizza. Apple, raisins, cinnamon and stuff, then top it with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream as soon as it leaves the oven. It might work.

 
I myself have often wondered how something like that might turn out. I'm not brave enough to try making it myself, though. It might end up being a lot of work and wasted ingredients for something that just doesn't work.
 
Then again, I recently wasted four hours in the kitchen one evening making homemade pierogi, which ended up tasting exactly like the things you get frozen in a bag. I'm still smarting over the colossal disappointment.
 
Now there's a concept--pierogi pizza. Google seems to think that Pittsburgh has already claimed this idea, which is a shame because for 0.4 seconds I thought I had something really unique--then I remembered Google. Either way, mashed potatoes on a pizza would be highly unusual, as would sauerkraut (ugh! I hate that stuff) or that weird sweet cheese you can get in pierogi.

 

[PalJoey]

   
I myself have often wondered how something like that might turn out. I'm not brave enough to try making it myself, though. It might end up being a lot of work and wasted ingredients for something that just doesn't work.

I suppose you could try it with puff pastry, but at that point calling it 'pizza' becomes a bit remote from the original concept.

 

[nick n]

you'll be glad your thread is near the top in a websearch for strange pizza toppings.
 
here are some, squid ink....
http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/10-crazy-pizza-creations-75822

 

[Spareribs]

Good stuff. While squid ink is unusual, it's not really a strange food item to me since I've had it in with Spanish and Italian foods. 

 

[tackytiger]

I once heard a guy had a hard boiled egg as a pizza topping somewhere in Italy

 
In Florence? There's a pizza chain in the UK (Pizza Express) that does a spinach & black olive pizza with an egg cracked over the top (called Fiorentina). It's delicious.

For example, in theory you would think pinaapple and ham is so wrong on pizza but it can be delicious and has been proven to be popular.

To me, pineapple on a pizza is not just wrong in theory

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I once heard a guy had a hard boiled egg as a pizza topping somewhere in Italy. For me, in America, I've had some strange pizza toppings like octopus at this one restaurant and salmon teriyaki w/spinach at another place (it was delicious). Octopus can work well too as a pizza topping as long as it's tender.

Pizza can be so unpredictable. For example, in theory you would think pinaapple and ham is so wrong on pizza but it can be delicious and has been proven to be popular. There is no logic when it comes to pizza toppings. Whether it's the standard pepperoni or Japanese fish eggs, the world of pizza toppings has endless possibilities and the exploration continues out there.

 

We have pizzas here topped with bar/bistro food. There's a dish called "sisig," made out of several cheap pig parts (cheeks, maybe ears, belly if it's one of the more expensive places) boiled, diced, then fried in a bit of fat until they're crisp (they let the meat stick, then stir fry; repeat), stir fried with bits of onion and garlic, then seasoned with some acid component (vinegar, lime, both, etc). In the better pizza joints, they use our local buffalo milk cheese instead of American-style processed (labelled "Quik Melt") cheese or the regular Mozzarella (our buffalo cheese doesn't melt as well nor gets as stringy; it's more like a crumbly Brie). Some places sprinkle crumbled pork rinds over the pizza if they don't mind if you drop dead right there (I eat mine with pork rinds made from the more expensive "ruffled fat").

 

I've also had pizza topped with our own local smoked fish, plus tomato and salted eggs, and the same local buffalo milk cheese. It's more common to use that smoked fish for pasta sauce though - either a spicy aglio olio with just the smoked fish or a white sauce similar to Alfredo but with the smoked fish and salted eggs. And sometimes, crumbled bacon or pork rinds sprinkled on top just before serving. Oh and some restaurants here use the same smoked fish along with bacon for Eggs Benedict (on the bread and under the egg).

 

 

 

[lilfatty]

was at a pizza hut in thailand... seafood topping was interesting. calamari crap and some other questionable exotic marine life lol. it was delicious.

 

[kjk1281]

I'll take fish eggs and squid ink, but hold the mayo!

While on the topic of strange Japanese pizza toppings, I'll ask this question: Why is there corn on my pizza?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

While on the topic of strange Japanese pizza toppings, I'll ask this question: Why is there corn on my pizza?

 

They round out the flavors with something sweet, and corn isn't as strange as straight out sugar/honey (or sweetened chocolate), or fruits which might bring with it a tangy or even sour flavor, unless they use something canned and swimming in syrup.

 

Also, don't expect much from bacon in Japan, including pizza toppings. They don't cure their bacon, so they never come out crispy no matter how you cook them. I have a friend living in Japan who tried every way of cooking their bacon - cast iron skillet fry, cast iron skillet bake, cast iron skillet fry+bake, toaster bake, deep fry, boil then deep fry (like the lazy ass Asian shortcut to roast belly, derived from pork rinds) - nothing. It goes from tender to rubbery, never crunchy at any point.