Thrillhouse
Member
I have had pizzas all over the world, from Rome to Laos via the UK and Tunisia. No other country in the world make pizzas quite like here in Sweden and I can without doubt say that i enjoy my native pizza more than any other. The Swedish pizza has gotten a lot of negative press on the internet, many claiming it to be weird or disgusting, based on reports of odd topic combinations. For example. However, the unique concept that is Swedish pizza is seldom understood.
So what makes it unique? There two things that differentiates a Swedish pizza from others. Before I come to that; a little history. The pizza arrived in Sweden during the 60's and the people who worked in the newly opened pizzerias reflected the nationality of the Swedish immigrants of the time. No one in Sweden could see the difference between someone from Italy and someone from Turkey or Yugoslavia. Therefor working in, or starting a pizzera, was an easy way to get a job for Swedens immigrants. Particulary the Balkan and Arabic food culture have formed the Swedish pizza. What does that mean for the final product?
First of all the dough, or bread. The crust of a Swedish pizza is really thin, but that is not all of the magic. Unlike for example a Neapel style pizza, the Swedish pizza is slightly crispy on the oustide but has an elastic quality with an almost juicy texture wich gives just right feeling while taking a bite. This is reminiscent of traditional Balkan and arabic bread wich is achived by cold fermentation with small amounts of jeast during a long time, wich also developes deep flavours in the bread. It is then cooked in a really hot stone oven ( altough not as hot as a neapal-one). Making it the ultimate pizza-crust, both in terms of flavour and texture.
Secondly we have the cheese. I think Sweden has the best hard cheese in the world, tangy with and almost nutty flavour, and we do not put mozzarella on our pizzas. Mozzarella is a boring, tasteless cheese that in my opinion has nothing to do on a pizza. A good pizza-cheese need to have a higher amount of fat and have alot more character than mozzarella. Therefor the cream-based Swedish hard cheese is ideal.
There are no pizza-chains in Sweden. Sure we have Pizza-hut in a few locations, but no one ever goes there, except maybe foreign turists. Every neighborhood has it's own Pizzeria that is at least in some way unique. From my house I have five different Pizzerias within walking distance, four of them make excellent pizza. A pizza is also very cheap, wich eliminates the need to share a Pizza, allowing everyone to get exactly what they want on theirs; wich leads us to the toppings.
It is here that the controversy lies. Sure you can get some really weird combinations on a Swedish pizza. But that is mostly the "special pizzas", where every local pizzeria goes crazy with "creativity". Some order and like them, some don't. The most common pizzas are pretty standard with things like ham, mushrooms, onions, olives and so on. With one exception: The Kebab pizza, the most popular and most famous. It is basically a Pizza with so called kebab meat, I.E Shawarma meat, wich is a spicy shredded meat grilled on a stick like this. It is topped with onions and a sauce based on mayoneise, garlic, chili and various herbs. Sometimes it is also topped with sallad, adding a certain freshness to it all. This is also a product of our arabic food heritage.
Cheers, to the greatest, and most misunderstood, Pizza-culture in the world!
So what makes it unique? There two things that differentiates a Swedish pizza from others. Before I come to that; a little history. The pizza arrived in Sweden during the 60's and the people who worked in the newly opened pizzerias reflected the nationality of the Swedish immigrants of the time. No one in Sweden could see the difference between someone from Italy and someone from Turkey or Yugoslavia. Therefor working in, or starting a pizzera, was an easy way to get a job for Swedens immigrants. Particulary the Balkan and Arabic food culture have formed the Swedish pizza. What does that mean for the final product?
First of all the dough, or bread. The crust of a Swedish pizza is really thin, but that is not all of the magic. Unlike for example a Neapel style pizza, the Swedish pizza is slightly crispy on the oustide but has an elastic quality with an almost juicy texture wich gives just right feeling while taking a bite. This is reminiscent of traditional Balkan and arabic bread wich is achived by cold fermentation with small amounts of jeast during a long time, wich also developes deep flavours in the bread. It is then cooked in a really hot stone oven ( altough not as hot as a neapal-one). Making it the ultimate pizza-crust, both in terms of flavour and texture.
Secondly we have the cheese. I think Sweden has the best hard cheese in the world, tangy with and almost nutty flavour, and we do not put mozzarella on our pizzas. Mozzarella is a boring, tasteless cheese that in my opinion has nothing to do on a pizza. A good pizza-cheese need to have a higher amount of fat and have alot more character than mozzarella. Therefor the cream-based Swedish hard cheese is ideal.
There are no pizza-chains in Sweden. Sure we have Pizza-hut in a few locations, but no one ever goes there, except maybe foreign turists. Every neighborhood has it's own Pizzeria that is at least in some way unique. From my house I have five different Pizzerias within walking distance, four of them make excellent pizza. A pizza is also very cheap, wich eliminates the need to share a Pizza, allowing everyone to get exactly what they want on theirs; wich leads us to the toppings.
It is here that the controversy lies. Sure you can get some really weird combinations on a Swedish pizza. But that is mostly the "special pizzas", where every local pizzeria goes crazy with "creativity". Some order and like them, some don't. The most common pizzas are pretty standard with things like ham, mushrooms, onions, olives and so on. With one exception: The Kebab pizza, the most popular and most famous. It is basically a Pizza with so called kebab meat, I.E Shawarma meat, wich is a spicy shredded meat grilled on a stick like this. It is topped with onions and a sauce based on mayoneise, garlic, chili and various herbs. Sometimes it is also topped with sallad, adding a certain freshness to it all. This is also a product of our arabic food heritage.
The Kebab pizza is great, but not my personal favourite. I usually order a quite plain pizza because I think the great pizza-flavour disappears when you put too many toppings on it. Sometimes i top it of myself with the complementary "pizza salad" served with every Swedish pizza. It is basically shredded cole in vinegare, oil garlic, oregano, sugar, salt, and pepper. It is excellent and goes very well with pizza. This is yet again a product of the Balkan-roots of Swedish Pizza.
Cheers, to the greatest, and most misunderstood, Pizza-culture in the world!
