Pizza toppings
Do you put the toppings before the cheese or the other way around or is there some sort of common sense order of ingredients that I haven't figured out yet? Just curious...
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15 Comments:
It depends on what I'm topping my pizza with...If it's caramelized onions, those go on before the cheese because I don't want them to toast too much. If it's ham or raw onions, those go last because I like them toasty and browned.
bitchincamero at 6:36PM on 06/16/09
I know people who do it both ways. Personally I prefer the cheese first and then the toppings. I usually put pepperoni or sausage on first and then the veggies so I can easily blot off any excess moisture from the veggies when the pie comes out of the oven. That would be for my husband--I'm not a meat eater. Canned mushrooms always get a squeeze to remove excess moisture. Fresh mushrooms go in the microwave for a 30-40 seconds and also get a quick squeeze. If I put fresh tomatoes on, I always sprinkle them with salt ahead of time and let them drain on a paper towel. Onions are always the last thing on my pizza along with a sprinkling of parm and oregano simply because I like them to caramelize a touch.
dhorst at 6:39PM on 06/16/09
Toppings on top. That is the only way.
I always put the toppings on top of the cheese because I want them to cook a bit while they're in the oven. If I have toppings that I don't want to cook, like arugula, I add them after the pizza comes out of the oven
Montreal pizza usually has a layer of (too much) cheap pepperoni under the (excessive) cheese with the rest of the toppings on top. Although there's so much cheese that everything sort of melds together. One suburban place puts all the toppings under the cheese and when you eat it you realise that it's a really bad idea.
SqueezeBottle at 6:49PM on 06/16/09
Bottoming?
dmcavanagh at 7:42PM on 06/16/09
I usually end up with the 25:25:50 rule. 25% under the cheese, 25% in my mouth, 50% on top of the cheese.
finewinendine at 8:22PM on 06/16/09
LOL @ finewinedine. Winning ratio!
I tend to put toppings on top of the cheese.
therealchiffonade at 8:39PM on 06/16/09
thanks guys. i'm off to make pizza for the 2nd night in a row - yum!
mrstkach at 11:43PM on 06/16/09
i have been known to do both depending on what style I make.
pjracz10 at 1:04AM on 06/17/09
I don't generally have cheese on my pizza, so that is a moot point for me. :) However, when I have goat's cheese on it, I just sprinkle it on, so that it sort of gets mixed into the rest of the toppings on top of the sauce.
Traveller at 11:28AM on 06/17/09
Peperoni or Salami must be dry, and it has to be on top of the cheese. Other things can, and sometimes do go under, depending on the mood I'm in and the ingredient, but the meat MUST be on top
thepirateking at 11:41AM on 06/17/09
I am the exact opposite of thepirateking..I always put pepperoni or hard salami under the cheese, then the toppings, then the cheese. I guess the exception to this is something I want to stay crispy, like bacon. Yummm....pizza.
fyrebelley at 12:04PM on 06/17/09
i did the meat & onion on top & spinach, garlic, mushrooms under. I did layer a tiny bit of mozza on the bottom first though.
it was perfect.
except that I burnt it a bit, but that's ok - nothing wrong with a little crunch ya know.
mrstkach at 12:04PM on 06/17/09
Good one, finewinendine. I think that's the best reason for making pizza at home.
Does anyone else pre-cook sausage and pepperoni before topping the pizza? I've been doing this ever since a friend in the 70s showed me how much grease there was on the paper towels that he used to blot a delivery pizza.
I do cheese for a couple of the grandkids, veggies (spinach, button mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, onion--whatever I have on hand, all barely sauteed) for me and a couple daughters-in-law) and sausage/pepperoni/mushrooms for the guys. Veggies under the cheese, meat on top, sprinkled with some good parmesan or romano or asiago if I have it.
If I'm doing BBQ chicken, I spread Sweet Baby Ray's over the dough, layer on the onions and chicken first, top with a mozzarella/jack/cheddar mixture, then top with softened onion slices and bacon that's had most of the grease cooked out of it but is still slighly limp.
betteirene at 2:41PM on 06/17/09
I have never seen the toppings under the cheese. That is just strange. Except for Chicago pizza but that isn't really pizza.
xwafflesx at 7:38PM on 06/17/09
What the PirateKing said, word for word! There's nothing like the delicious taste of the meat such as sausage or pepperoni baked into the top of the cheese. The combined taste of both meat and cheese with the oil from the meat that seeps into the cheese, giving it a crunch and only improves the taste!
sassy at 8:00PM on 06/17/09