Adaptation legitimacy
Pineapple on pizza
Is pineapple on pizza an offence against Italian tradition?
The most-argued question in pizza rests on a factual mistake. Hawaiian pizza was created in 1962 by Sam Panopoulos, a Greek immigrant to Ontario, using canned pineapple and ham. It has no Italian origin to betray, and no Hawaiian one either.
PizzaHQ presents both sides and takes no side. Whether a diaspora, domestic, or commercial adaptation is a legitimate tradition in its own right.
The documented positions
Traditionalist objection, including from some Neapolitan pizzaioli
Sweet fruit has no place on a savoury pizza and its popularity abroad misrepresents what pizza is.
Reasoning: The objection is about the integrity of a specific tradition's flavour conventions, which the AVPN standard does codify for Neapolitan pizza.
Generally accepted- International Regulation for True Neapolitan Pizza (Disciplinare Internazionale) — Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN)
The documented origin
The pizza is a Canadian invention by a Greek immigrant, using ingredients available cheaply in 1960s Ontario — the same local-adaptation process that produced every regional pizza tradition, including the American ones now defended as authentic.
Reasoning: The invention, date, place and person are documented; the Italian tradition was never involved.
Generally accepted- Hawaiian pizza — Wikipedia
Why it is contested
The argument is usually conducted as a dispute about Italian authenticity, when the dish is not Italian. Disliking it is a matter of taste, which is a perfectly good reason and a different claim.
What all sides agree on
Both sides agree it is not a Neapolitan pizza. It was never claimed to be one.
Related
Evidence
Generally accepted- Hawaiian pizza — Wikipedia