Pizza in Canada facts for kids
Canada is famous for its own unique kinds of pizza! You'll find many different pizza places, big and small, all across the country. These pizzas often have special toppings and styles that come from local Canadian foods. A classic "Canadian pizza" usually has tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, bacon, pepperoni, and mushrooms. People around the world even know this recipe by the same name!
Contents
Canadian Pizza Styles
Canada has many special pizza types, especially in different regions. Some of these unique pizzas have even spread to other parts of the country.
Atlantic Canada Pizzas
The eastern provinces of Canada, called Atlantic Canada, have some very unique pizzas:
- Donair Pizza: This pizza is inspired by the famous Halifax fast food called a donair. It has mozzarella cheese, donair meat, tomatoes, onions, and a special sweet sauce made from condensed milk.
- Garlic Fingers: These are like a pizza but without tomato sauce. They are covered with melted butter, garlic, and cheese. Sometimes bacon is added too! They are cut into strips, like fingers, and often served with donair sauce for dipping.
- Pictou County Pizza: This pizza is special to Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Instead of red tomato sauce, it uses a unique "brown sauce" made from vegetables and spices.
Quebec Pizzas
In Quebec, where most people speak French, you'll find other interesting pizza styles:
- Montreal "All Dressed": This popular pizza has a slightly spicy tomato sauce, pepperoni, onions, green pepper slices, and mushrooms.
- Rossa Romana Pizza: Also known as Pizza Rustica, this comes from the Italian community in Montreal. It has a thick crust with a thick, plain, sweet tomato sauce. It's often cut into square pieces and served cold. A similar cheeseless tomato pie is popular in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
Windsor Pizza
In the city of Windsor, Ontario, pizza is known for a few special things:
- It uses shredded pepperoni.
- It uses mozzarella cheese from a local company called Galati Cheese Company.
- While fresh mushrooms are common now, the original style used canned mushrooms.
This unique style is thought to have started at a place called Volcano Pizza in downtown Windsor. When employees from Volcano opened their own pizzerias, they took the special recipe with them.
Hawaiian Pizza
Did you know that Hawaiian pizza (with tomato sauce, ham, and pineapple) was actually invented in Canada? It started at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario. The owner, Sam Panopoulos, first made Hawaiian pizza in 1962. He thought that if people liked sweet and savory Chinese food, they might like pineapple on pizza too! So, he tried adding pineapple from a can to a pizza.
Indian-style Pizza
In recent years, another type of pizza has become very popular in Canada, especially in cities with many South Asian Canadians. This is called Indian-style pizza, or Punjabi-style pizza. You can find it in places like Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Greater Toronto. This pizza often has a sauce mixed with different spices. The toppings can include things like cilantro, ginger, spinach, cauliflower, tandoori chicken, butter chicken, or paneer (a type of cheese).
Pizza Cake
A Pizza cake is a Canadian invention that's basically a giant, multi-layered pizza baked in a pot or cake pan. It was first created by Boston Pizza, a Canadian restaurant chain. Recipes for pizza cake started appearing online around 2014. It became super popular when the Pillsbury Company shared an example. People have different opinions about it: some love the taste, but others find it complicated to make and not very healthy.
Pizza-ghetti
Pizza-ghetti is a special combination meal you often find in fast food or family restaurants in Quebec and other parts of Canada. It usually means you get a regular slice of pizza with a side of spaghetti that has tomato sauce. Sometimes, it's served as a small pizza cut in half with the spaghetti placed in the middle. A common change is "pizza-caesar," where spaghetti is replaced with Caesar salad. In Montreal, you might even find spaghetti as a pizza topping, placed under the cheese!
Poutine Pizza
Poutine pizza is another unique Canadian creation. It's a pizza topped with French fries, gravy, and fresh mozzarella cheese curds, just like the classic poutine dish. You can find this interesting pizza in different places across Canada, and some fancy restaurants have even made their own versions.
