The History of Hawaiian Pizza

Pizza evolved from food served in Naples, Italy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but didn’t gain mainstream popularity in the United States and Canada until the middle of the 20th century. While there are several references to pineapple as a pizza topping that date back to the mid-1950s, credit for creating and popularizing the dish is typically given to Sam Panopoulos, a Greek immigrant who settled in Canada. Panopoulos co-owned Satellite Restaurant with his brothers in Ontario, close to the border and, notably, to Detroit, where pizza had already begun to establish a foothold. Initially, he served simple, relatively plain fare. However, after a trip to Naples, Panopoulos was inspired to add pizza to the menu. Pizza was still a relatively new dish in North America and had not yet gained widespread popularity. Furthermore, most versions were served with simple toppings like mushrooms, bacon, or pepperoni. Panopoulos, who was also experimenting with new Chinese-American dishes like sweet and sour chicken (which notably called for pineapple) at the time, decided to branch out with his pizza toppings, too. In 1962, he added canned pineapple to one pizza. He also added ham (it's unclear if this was done right away or established a little later) and the Hawaiian pizza as we know it was born. Over time, it became popular with his customers, perhaps in part due to the growing interest in “Tiki culture,” a term used at the time to describe the nation’s fascination with Hawaii, which had just become an American state in 1959. Panopoulos reportedly named his creation “Hawaiian pizza” because the brand of imported, canned pineapple that he used to make it was called Hawaiian. Since Panopoulos first popularized Hawaiian pizza at his Ontario eatery, it has become an extremely popular pizza choice, however, it is not without controversy, as the question of whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza has long been a source of arguments among pizza lovers — in fact, while serving as the President of Iceland, Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson famously joked about banning pineapple on pizza and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, defended his country’s creation passionately online in response!