Chef (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/comicstrips@lemmy.world
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[–] 9 points 2 months ago (59 children)

Do Americans really just say cheese pizza instead of Margherita?

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  • [–] 35 points 2 months ago (23 children)

    In my experience in America, "cheese pizza" usually means shredded mozzarella spread evenly over the pizza while "Margherita style" means chunks of fresh mozzarella.

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  • [–] 12 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (22 children)

    In the UK Margherita literally just means cheese on a pizza, regardless of the type of cheese from what I can tell. Obviously some places do the more fancy mozzarella blobs but most places it's just grated cheese (usually still mozzarella though)

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  • [–] 35 points 2 months ago (10 children)

    Seems like the UK has it wrong on the name, then. The margherita pizza I am familiar with has large slices of mozzarella, a chunky tomato sauce, and basil on top.

    Ordering a margherita pizza and getting a generic pizza made with shredded cheese and marinara sauce would be a major disappointment.

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  • [–] 13 points 2 months ago

    Ordering a margherita pizza and getting a generic pizza made with shredded cheese and marinara sauce would be a major disappointment.

    Andy: Okay. You guys ever had Margherita pizza?
    Stanley: What's that?
    Andy: Fresh tomato with a dollop of mozzarella cheese.
    Stanley: That's pizza.
    Pam: That's regular pizza.
    [pizza arrives, Andy looks in the box]
    Andy: Ah, their interpretation of Margarita pizza. Fans of classic pizza will be psyched.

    The Office (US) S8E1 "The List"

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    The margherita pizza I am familiar with has large slices of mozzarella, a chunky tomato sauce, and basil on top.

    That's a margherita pizza in the US.

    Ordering a margherita pizza and getting a generic pizza made with shredded cheese and marinara sauce would be a major disappointment.

    Imagine my chagrin when, traveling in Europe, I ordered a margherita pizza and received a cheese pizza. I thought they got my order wrong. It took me like three tries on separate days before I found out that that's just what margherita means outside the US...

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

    I mean, I've had margherita pizzas outside of the US as well and they matched my expectations. At least in Asia and South America. So I guess it just leaves me puzzled as to how much of Europe (maybe just the non-NA Anglosphere) is getting it wrong when Italy is right there.

    I've also seen pizzas that I would describe as margherita pizza when visiting Scandinavia, but if you're in Sweden and you're having anything other than the banana curry pizza, you're doing yourself a disservice

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    leaves me puzzled as to how much of Europe is getting it wrong when Italy is right there.

    That's the part you're not getting. Europe isn't the one "getting it wrong." If you want to claim that only one way is correct, then the US is the incorrect way.

    A country's proximity to italy is irrelevant. There's literally an Italian in this thread who says margherita pizza in italy just means cheese pizza.

    It's like claiming Germany does bratwurst wrong because it doesn't taste like the ones you get from the supermarket in the US.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Americans easily gets confused when people are using different terms and words for things than Americans are.

    The point is that what you encountered wasn't wrong, it was just different from what you were used to.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago

    Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I related a personal experience about when I learned there was a difference, but that doesn't mean I thought it was wrong.

    Just a humorous way to laugh at myself while saying "the world is bigger than you think, and words can mean different things in different places."

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  • [–] 10 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Italy here: Margherita is the basic pizza, tomato sauce and mozzarella.

    Basil is basically always included in the sauce of normal pizzas.

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  • [–] 6 points 2 months ago (4 children)

    Basil is basically always included in the sauce of normal pizzas.

    I wish that were the case in the US.

    But also, margherita pizza here usually has whole or chopped basil leaves added directly on top

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    It's such a cheap ingredient, it makes no sense to omit it

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Probably cheap in Italy. In the US if you grow your own basil you don't really want to publicize that cause you'll be labeled as bougie

    And some people won't eat anything that seems too "foreign," like good bread and most spices and herbs.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Weird. It's just a plant, takes plenty of sun and water and that's it. I've got two in pots, one even survived the winter, which they usually don't, although I had to fight Noctua caterpillars. (very silent caterpillars? no, not that Noctua)

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    In Australia it can sometimes mean with blobs of mozzarella but typically it's grated with fresh cubed/sliced tomato added.

    Most places also do a basic cheese only, some with a 3 or 4 cheese as a more expensive version.

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  • [–] 14 points 2 months ago (13 children)
  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (12 children)

    Why would you ever have a pizza without basil? :o

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    Why would anyone have the nerve to eat anything I don't like!?

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  • [+] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

    I'll take it! Being the motor behind McDonaldisation I do think the US has a habit of creating cheap, unhealthy versions of many culinary dishes and exporting the formula worldwide.

    Of course it's a bit of a generalisation to say all Americans are like toddlers, I still think as a country they deserve me imagining them as such.

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  • [+] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Except that at least half the country only eats that plasticky "american cheese" because they think anything else isn't patriotic.

    All that other stuff: hot sauce, chips, etc., it's all just overly-processed, mass-produced, artificially-flavored crap that tries to overcompensate for the blandness of everything else that's a staple of "american" cuisine.

    In other countries they actually blend spices and herbs and chilis and they use good ratios to make complex and harmonious flavors. That's not the same thing at all as putting ranch on your chicken nuggets.

    And yes, I know there are immigrant communities with ethnic cuisine. But those are indicative of the cuisines of their homeland. America cannot take credit for that. Especially because there's at least a third of the country who won't eat it because they think it's too "foreign."

    So providing counterexamples doesn't refute my statement because it wasn't absolute. I didn't say "all americans are like this" or that "you can't find flavorful food anywhere in america."

    But the fact remains that a significant portion of the american population does avoid anything beyond white bread, american cheese, and all the most basic stuff they consider "american" or "normal" foods.

    If you've never had the displeasure of knowing someone like that, good for you. You might live in a vibrant and progressive area. I haven't been so fortunate, and all my life I've been judged for enjoying fancy cheeses, herbs and spices, various types of cuisines from cultures around the world, etc. So don't tell me my experience isn't real.

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  • [–] 11 points 2 months ago* (3 children)

    This is a margherita pizza. If a kid asks for cheese pizza and receives that, they'd be upset.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 months ago

    In the US, margherita pizza usually has fresh mozarella and basil

    Cheese pizza is just "plain," meaning just crust, sauce, and cheese. The cheese could be any kind, most often either shredded mozarella or provolone. If it's fancy maybe a blend including hard cheeses like parmesan, romano, fontina, and/or asiago.

    Some absolute heretics actually put cheddar cheese on their pizza. We don't talk to those.

    But yeah, there's a difference here between "cheese pizza" and "margherita pizza"

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    Do non-americans really not know the difference?

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    Which is 4 cheeses (iirc specific cheeses), distinct from other cheese pizzas

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