You Should Seriously Be Putting Pickles On Your Pizza
Your average old-school pizzeria might offer more than a dozen standard toppings, ranging from sausage to bell peppers, but there's one topping that works just as well, if not better, than all the others, and it's usually nowhere to be found at your favorite slice joint. It's pickles. Yes, pickles.
Think about the popular foods that already feature pickles as common components: burgers, hot dogs (in the form of relish), Cuban sandwiches. For pickle lovers, it's difficult to conceive of enjoying these foods without the indispensable accompaniment. Pickle is already a beloved potato chip flavor, and Vlasic is even considering selling dehydrated pickle chips in the snack aisle. Yet even the most ardent pickle fanatics never think to top their pizza with it, and that's a darn shame.
Pickles work on pizza because, put simply, the flavors are complimentary. Plenty of people already top their pizzas with strongly flavored salty and briny things, like banana peppers, olives and sardines, and pickles definitely fit the mold. Melty cheese, crispy crust, tangy sauce and briny pickles? A match made in heaven (especially if you also add some ground beef and turn it into a cheeseburger pizza).
As most pizzerias sadly still don't offer pickles as a topping option, you're going to have to DIY it if you want to try this flavor pairing out for yourself. We suggest you start with a whole pickle so you can use a mandolin or sharp knife to slice it as thinly as possible. Then you'll want to blot the slices between two paper towels to remove as much excess moisture as possible. Then add the slices like you would pepperoni, and let the pie get hot with a few minutes in a 450-degree oven. Heck, you can even swirl on some dill-flavored ranch dressing if you like. We guarantee you'll be hooked for life, and we wouldn't be surprised if we see it pop up as a topping option at one of America's favorite pizza chains.