These Are South Jersey’s 3 Favorite Pizza Toppings

There seems to be one thing we, as Americans, can all agree on.  We love our pizza.  Interestingly, if you Google the origin of pizza, you'll get a million different opinions on where and when pizza was first created.

Why do so many people in America love pizza?  Perhaps it's because of all the different ways you can make pizza.  It seems like most regions of our country have their own preference of how they like their pizza.

In Chicago, they love their deep-dish pizza.  Deep-dish pizza got its name from the way it's cooked.  The dough is put into a pan with high edges that create a large crust.  They pile the cheese and a chunky tomato sauce on top of theirs.  They've even created a deep-dish stuffed pizza.

California seems to mix several styles that reflect the culture of the city itself.  You're mostly going to find what we call personal pizzas.  They're circular, single-serving pizzas.  Pizza choices in California tend to take advantage of the fresh produce available to them.  And if you think pineapple on pizza is weird, in California, it's not uncommon to find people eating pizza topped with sushi.

Detroit-style pizza is rectangular, cooked in a tray with edges not quite as high as Chicago.  They use a brick cheese that spreads to all four edges and caramelizes.

Here in our region, the most common pizza is the NY Style pizza.  Those big, round pizzas, served piping hot.  Back in the day, I remember picking up tomato pies. The sauce (they called it gravy) was so good, I can still smell it as I think about it.

We recently conducted a poll to see what people in South Jersey put on their pizza.  Turns out, we're pretty traditional.

The most common toppings are:

• Mushrooms
• Pepperoni
• Meatball

Chicago-style pizza - Wikipedia, California-style pizza - Wikipedia, Detroit-style pizza - Wikipedia