A Random Ramble About Pizza

Pizza is great. Anyone who says they hate pizza is lying, or either allergic to gluten or lactose or something. Or maybe they just haven’t had a pizza they liked yet. Frankly, it’s a nice, filling meal that’s easy to make and enjoyed by most people. Regardless of age. I could be 80 and still want pizza.

It’s just so damn versatile!

A pizza for everyone.

The most obvious cool thing about pizza is that you can have so many different toppings. Nearly anything works, from a variety of cheeses, to grilled vegetables, to a wide array of meats. There really is a topping for everyone. My personal favourite topping is a meat-feast type arrangement. Just slap a load of pepperoni and ham and cheese on it, maybe some anchovies, as long as it’s meat. Mushrooms are a nice addition as well.

As for the pineapple on pizza argument? I don’t like pineapple in general, but that’s just my opinion. If you are making your own pizza and not sharing it with anyone, then put whatever you like on your pizza. If you’re going to be sharing though, I’d skip the pineapple, to be consider to fellow pizza-eaters.

The base of the pizza though is far more important than you think. Although people generally have different preferences, the dough that makes the bread needs to be light and airy, so it all cooks through properly. I prefer deep pan, but, just like toppings, everyone has a different preference.

Making it yourself.

Normally I would have stuck a recipe at the beginning of this article before rambling on. But honestly, my own pizza recipe isn’t really that good and there’s loads of better recipes out there. I just make a basic dough recipe with flour, yeast, water, a pinch of sugar and salt and some olive oil, knead it and then leave it for ages. Then, after it’s risen, I’ll roll the dough out and make it into a big standard pizza.

At least I can reliably make dough though. I’m a skilled enough cook that I can eyeball the measurements needed.

The toppings are also normally just as simple. Nothing fancy, just cheese, ham and maybe some salami or sweetcorn if I fancy it. I do like anchovies but, well, we mostly avoid fish these days. Mainly because the sibling’s boyfriend is nastily allergic to fish and seafood.

There’s so many alternate ways to make pizza.

But because it’s so simple, you can substitute literally any part of a pizza with almost anything else! The end result is still a pizza, it’s just… different.

I mean, the variations in toppings are obvious. You can make a pizza to fit any occasion. Use fancy ingredients at some sort of event for a gourmet pizza, or cheap cheese and pepperoni for a kids’ party where the pizza will be devoured regardless of taste. You can make tiny pizzas as a starter, or skip on the savory things, replace the toppings with fruit and the sauce with hazelnut spread and make yourself a dessert pizza!

But you can also replace ingredients that disagree with you and your diet. Toppings can be changed as you please. But the bread base can be altered too. Gluten-free breads can make pizza more accessible. You can even remove the bread from the base entirely, using cauliflower as a base.

There really is nothing more universal than a pizza.

Pizza is also remarkably cheap as a meal.

The thing that surprises me the most about pizza is that, really, it’s a very cheap meal. Even if you make it yourself. You need flour, yeast and water for your basic dough. Your toppings can be insanely cheap if you just have cheese and use ketchup or chopped tomatoes as your toppings. You can add peppers or sweetcorn or mushrooms for some kind of vegetable. Most of the time, you can buy these items relatively cheaply.

That being said, pizza is only cheap if you already have the tools to make it, like an oven and some mixing bowls and a large tray. And the time to do so. When frozen pizzas are so insanely cheap, it’s understandable that most people don’t make their own. And with takeaways and deliveries being more accessible than ever, you can get a pretty good pizza for not very much at all, without doing anything.

Still, pizza is an amazing meal that fills everyone’s stomachs and can be adapted in a billion different ways. I do recommend though trying to make your own pizza one day. It’s fun and worth trying. Plus, once you’ve made pizza a few times, you can make it whenever you want!

“Uh, Medic, what does this have to do with anything? You’re just rambling on about food!”

Sorry, I’m hungry. And sometimes I just want to write about things I like.