A True Pizza Comes with (Good) EVOO
Pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo at his restaurant 50 kalò © 50 kalò
Did you know that the mother of all pizzas, the Neapolitan Pizza, should have extra virgin olive oil as one of its key toppings? This is at least what the Neapolitan Pizza standard (known as Neapolitan Pizza TSG) very officially requires.
According to the EU-certified standard, the Neapolitan pizza may come in two versions, Margherita or Marinara, and extra virgin olive oil is a crucial topping for both varieties. Since other oils are often deliberately substituted by pizza makers for economic reasons, an Italian university conducted an in-depth study (1) on the chemical and sensory quality of a pizza depending on the type of oil used for the baking process.
In the study, three different olive oils were used. One was a lower-grade refined olive oil, the second a commercial EVOO, and the third was a high-quality EVOO produced with Ottobratica cultivar olives.
The EVOO-tomato alchemy
One first finding confirms the particular alchemy between tomatoes and EVOO, as already highlighted in our article on “The Tomato Chemistry”. Both EVOOs strongly increased the antioxidant potential of the tomato sauce on the pizzas due to the interaction between the phenols of one and the other ingredient in the baking process.
The analysis of the lipid fraction (fats) after baking also indicated that the use of the higher quality EVOO resulted in better fats compared to the commercial EVOO and refined olive oil. This is related to the higher phenolic content of the monoculticar EVOO, that makes it more stable.
A pizza that tastes better
The panelists involved in blindly tasting the pizzas largely found that the overall flavour was significantly enhanced by the higher quality EVOO, and that the tomato taste was improved by the use of both the commercial and more artisan EVOO. The human palate somehow confirmed the chemical analysis!
Recognizing the potential of grand cru EVOOs as a topping on pizzas, some chefs have chosen to add a drizzle of selected EVOOs as a finishing touch on their pizza creations, pairing the EVOO carefully with the other toppings. Ciro Salvo, a Neapolitan pizzaiolo whose restaurant 50 Kalò features in fourth position of the 50 Top Pizza World 2022, has chosen a set of local premium EVOOs to pair with each pizza on the menu. For Ciro, high quality EVOO should be added after baking “to preserve taste and aroma”.
Which olive oil in our selection on a Margherita pizza?
Although all our olive oils would blend well on a pizza, we would be inclined to choose an olive oil by Marco Rizzo, whose groves are located not far from Naples. Our first choice would be Impronta, a monocultivar Rotondella with notes of tomato leaves and lettuce that will pair well with the tomato and mozzarella on the pizza. A second best would be Racconto or Cherubino IGP by Terraliva (Sicily).
[1] Nicola Caporaso, Virginia Panariello & Raffaele Sacchi (2015). The “True” Neapolitan Pizza: Assessing the Influence of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on Pizza Volatile Compounds and Lipid Oxidation, Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 13:1, 29-48