St. Louis-style pizza facts for kids
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| Type | Pizza |
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| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Main ingredients | Pizza dough, tomato sauce, usually Provel cheese |
St. Louis-style pizza is a special kind of pizza. It is very popular in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, in the Midwest. People in nearby areas also enjoy it a lot.
This pizza has some unique features. It has a very thin, crispy crust, almost like a cracker. This crust is made without yeast. Another key part is the cheese, which is usually a special kind called Provel. Also, St. Louis pizza is often cut into squares or rectangles, not the usual triangle slices.
You can find this pizza at local restaurants. Famous chains like Imo's Pizza serve it. You can also buy frozen St. Louis-style pizza in local supermarkets.
Contents
What Makes St. Louis Pizza Special?
St. Louis-style pizza stands out because of its crust, cheese, and how it's cut. These things make it different from other pizzas like those from Chicago or New York.
The Unique Crust
The crust of St. Louis pizza is very thin. It is made without yeast. This is different from a thick Chicago-style pizza or even a thin New York-style pizza. Yeast makes dough rise and become soft. Without yeast, the St. Louis crust becomes very crisp and cracker-like. You cannot easily fold a slice of this pizza.
How It's Cut
Instead of big triangle slices, St. Louis pizza is usually cut into small squares. These squares are about three or four inches wide. This way of cutting is sometimes called "party cut" or "tavern cut." Some restaurants even make their pizzas rectangular instead of round.
People are not sure why it is cut this way. Some say it is because Ed Imo, who started a famous pizza chain, used to be a tile layer. He might have cut his pizzas like he cut tiles. Others think it helps the thin crust stay together. It keeps the crust from breaking under the weight of the toppings.
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A St. Louis-style pizza being sliced into squares
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The Special Cheese
St. Louis-style pizza often uses a white processed cheese called Provel. Provel is a special mix of three cheeses: provolone, Swiss, and white cheddar. It is used instead of, or sometimes with, mozzarella or provolone cheese. These are common on other types of pizza.
Provel cheese was created in St. Louis in the 1950s. It is made in Wisconsin mostly for the St. Louis area. You usually cannot find this cheese easily outside of St. Louis.
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Provel pasteurized processed cheese for pizza in a 5-pound block
The Flavorful Sauce
The sauce on St. Louis-style pizza often has a lot of oregano in it. This gives it a strong, herby taste. Even though the crust is thin, you can put many different toppings on this pizza. The cracker-like crust is strong enough to hold them. Some of the sauces also taste a bit sweet. This might be because of the influence of Italian immigrants from Sicily who settled in St. Louis.
See also
In Spanish: Pizza estilo San Luis para niños
