Corn on Pizza?

My Italian antennae went up when I read a blog about putting corn on pizza.

The author’s justification was that pizza provides an exciting opportunity to experiment and since it was summer we should take advantage of corn. Now I’m all for using seasonal ingredients but the use of corn as well as hot dogs and fries as pizza toppings seems a little misguided. I recently saw a recipe for a Pad Thai pizza and one made with paneer cheese. I understand everyone loves pizza and wants to make it part of their cultural cuisine but by definition pizza is of Italian origin made from a thin layer of bread dough topped with tomatoes, cheese and various other ingredients traditionally sausage, salami, meats, ham (prosciutto), mushrooms, anchovies, olives, onions and vegetables. Pizza as we know it today was invented in Naples. A true Neopolitan pizza has been registered with the European Union with the distinction of being a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish. In 2017, the art of making Neapolitan pizza was added to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage demonstrating the traditional knowledge of the regional foods of Italy that have been transmitted from generation to generation.

In true Italian style, pizza toppings consist of just a few, high quality ingredients as in the classic Margherita pizza.

• raw tomatoes
• fresh mozzarella cheese
• fresh basil
• olive oil

There are variants of this adding garlic, oregano, arugula, pecorino, gorgonzola, asiago cheese, chili peppers and in the US pepperoni. In Italy there are usually a lesser amount of ingredients on the top of the pie keeping it light and digestible. Traveling in Italy with my Italian family and friends has led me to believe that the classic Margherita pizza and a few variations (Quattro Stagione, Quattro Formaggi, some seafood and meat toppings) are all you need and VPN guidelines (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) an organization of pizza-makers dedicated to “protecting one of the most ancient and most important gastronomic traditions” of Italy should be followed. Corn, blueberries, ketchup and mayo on pizza, if that’s what you like OK, just don’t call it a pizza.

I admit I’m a pizza purist so I’m often confused by the amount and disparate combinations of popularized pizza toppings. Is it because we’ve never tasted an authentic Italian pizza outside of Italy that we feel compelled to twist it and turn it into an unrecognizable mass of dough with toppings of every shape and form? Or do some of us look at it as a blank canvas to express our inner Jackson Pollock. Now I know you should eat what you like and culinary creativity should be applauded but sometimes less is more. Wolfgang Puck’s California Pizza innovations pale in comparison to the extreme toppings seen today. The next thing you know candy corn will be offered as a topping at you local pizzeria. In fact I believe that’s already been done.