Why does pizza have such a bad reputation?

it has both grains and dairy, a recipe for obesity

There's nothing inherent to grains or dairy products causing obesity except excess of calories, in any reputable study that I've ever seen.

He knows that. He's being sarcastic.

Well refined grains and dairy are very easy to eat in large quantities. Obviously they're fine if you control your portions, but if you don't they lend themselves to overeating.

Very true. But that, in and of itself, does not make pizza inherently evil. People blame foods for obesity because they can't hold themselves accountable for their own will power.

Because anything that perfect must have been spawned from some kind of an evil deal.

Because I can consume more calories in one sitting in the form of pizza than I can with probably any other food.

Cheese in particular has a ratio of protein to fat that "hides" the amount of fat that it contains. So you can eat more fat in that form than you otherwise would. And the dough, calorie dense in itself, is really just a vehicle for the cheese.

The toppings and sauce are pretty harmless. It's the way it's composed as a vehicle for calories, and the fact it is unbelievably delicious, which makes it so dangerous.

Ahhh, this is an excellent question.

Pizza from a chain or store is bread loaded with fat (cheese, wayyy more than it needs) and fatty cuts of meat. The fattiest. Pepperoni and sausage? Why don't we just put cookies on the pizza too..

My homemade pizza is made with bread flour, so yes, the crust has carbs, but it has a ton of protein.

Low fat mozarella = mozarella when it comes to taste, just like light sour cream and sour cream have little difference between them, so I choose to use the lighter of the two..

But the kicker comes with how much cheese you load it with. If you like doing a thin crust, crispy style pizza, you really get to taste the crust and the slightly darkened spots, the differences in textures in each bite. You sort of lose that when you load up the top with fat.

And I don't mean fat in a disparaging way, I mean fat in a culinary term. You have to be aware of your ratios when you cook, and what each component and macronutrient brings to the table. Fats bring a heavy mouth feel, a richness to it, and they have a "muting" effect if you will on other flavors.

Acids like tomatoes and lemons and vinegar have a brightness, a sharpness, so when I build my pizza I toss a few cherry tomatoes (I keep these stocked in my kitchen ALL the time) in the food processor and make my own sauce, add a touch of balsamic vinegar for smokiness or a little brown sugar if you have a sweet tooth like me (a little brown sugar won't hurt nothing, like a pinch or two).

But, Seige, where's the meat? I indulge in bacon sometimes, you can get a thin steak, sear it quickly to med-rare and lay steak slices on top for protein without overdoing it on fats, some pepperoni is okay, but when you layer the top like you're building a lasagna.. no no. browned and crumbled and well seasoned ground beef is always a plus, the McCormick hamburger seasoning is great, it's got a perfect balance for seasoning ground beef with a hearty pepper flavor. Canadian bacon is also A+..

Tie in the top with a touch more mozarella just to keep everything in place and give it that melty goodness, and viola, you've built a pizza that ISN'T 200+ calories per slice.

I've sometimes wondered why pizza gets such a bad name too. As you say, it's basically just bread and cheese, with a bit of tomato. It's not a WELL balanced meal, but there obviously more nutrients in it than, say, sugar-only foods. Or, say, bread on its own, without the tomato and cheese.

Hamburgers are another one that are seen as terrible. It's just a meat sandwich. Maybe with a bit of salad, dressing and cheese.

It's not a good idea to live off them entirely, but it's probably not any worse (or more likely, better) than living off fruit and veg entirely. They are fine now and then. I know there's the argument that it's easy to eat too much of them, but I refuse to accept "it tastes so good I want to eat more" as a criticism of a food :laugh: . It's a fair point with pizza though, because it seems to come in such big portions (you used to be able to buy takeaway pizza by the slice - I don't see that so often now). Hamburgers usually have better portion control, so maybe that's why pizza comes out as the big, evil baddie.

Honestly, I think there's a kind of snobbery about takeaway food. I know people will say that you can make a healthier version if you make it home -possibly. It will still be bread, cheese and tomato, but you can juggle the proportions to your liking a bit more. Howver, I do think some people believe that it's inherently more healthy if you made it at home than bought it from a fast food place, even if it was exactly the same.

Why don't we just put cookies on the pizza too..

They do that, yanno. And it's glorious.

That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen

Pizza has a bad reputation because we like simple solutions without nuance and context. It's much easier to just say "pizza is bad" than to take into account things like ingredients, quantity, etc. That's hard thinking, and might even require math. "Pizza bad" I can remember.

it has both grains and dairy, a recipe for obesity

I want to remain in denial :grumble:

I did come across this "CARBS + FAT = BAD" So it must be true :sad:

it has both grains and dairy, a recipe for obesity

I was thinking along similar lines...!

I eat grains but not wheat. I avoid cheese. I would bet the bread base from pizza hut has more than just flour, yeast, water and salt?

pretty sure the tomato sauce is more than just tomatoes seasoned with herbs?

therefore, I'm out.

Pizza dough should be made with oil, not water.

Well, whatevs...I've never made pizza dough before so excuse my ignorance.

Wiling to bet it has sugar and all sorts of artificial preservatives and unnecessary stuff in it!

it has both grains and dairy, a recipe for obesity

I was thinking along similar lines...!

I eat grains but not wheat. I avoid cheese. I would bet the bread base from pizza hut has more than just flour, yeast, water and salt?

pretty sure the tomato sauce is more than just tomatoes seasoned with herbs?

therefore, I'm out.

Pizza dough should be made with oil, not water.

Flour, yeast, water, salt

Is the key components of any bread.

Adding fat to the dough will add chewy and mouth feel and a different texture, but without water, you cannot hydrate the wheat proteins to form gluten, the key to risen yeast breads.