Little Slices of Pizza Trivia

Americans are very fond of pizza and here is a bit of fun pizza trivia. Americans fell so in love with pizza that in 1987, the month of October was designated National Pizza Month. Statistics show that Americans eat this Italian creation in huge quantities; nearly 100 acres of pizza are consumed every day. This translates to approximately 350 slices per second. Each man, woman, and child consumes approximately 46 slices of pizza or 23 pounds per year. As you can imagine, if pizza is being consumed in these mass quantities, the pizza industry must be a lucrative business to get into. The pizza industry is a $30 billion per year business. Roughly 3 billion pizzas are sold per year in the U.S. by 61,269 pizzerias that have set up shop in the U.S.

Just as there are statistics on the quantities of pizza that are consumed by people in the United States, there are also statistics and fun facts about toppings and other preferences Americans have when it comes to eating that yummy slice of pizza. First and foremost, America’s favorite topping when it comes to this Italian specialty is pepperoni. It makes up about 36 percent of all pizza orders in the U.S. This means that we eat approximately 251,770,000 pounds of the stuff per year. Other popular toppings are sausage, onions, mushrooms, and green peppers. Ranking dead last on the list of favorite toppings Americans enjoy is anchovies.

While traditional toppings are what have long dominated the pizza market, new gourmet toppings are starting to make a dent in some areas of the country. Toppings such as chicken, oysters, crayfish, artichoke hearts, and eggplant are beginning to make their mark on the pizza industry. Other recent trends include topping pizza with game meats like venison and duck. If you are a traditional pizza lover, you may think that sounds a little far reaching. You may also think that about some of the stranger toppings that have been tried on pizza. Pizza makers have tried virtually every food as topping for pizza including bacon and eggs, peanut butter and jelly, and mashed potatoes. As for most Americans, traditional pizza styles reign supreme. 62 percent of Americans prefer meat on their pizzas, whereas the other 38 percent prefer veggies. Women are twice as likely to order these vegetarian pizzas as men are.

Americans love pizza, but we are not the only ones on the planet who have discovered this delectable delight. Many countries have given their own flair to a classic favorite. For example, in Japan, eel and squid are favorite toppings of the natives, while in Pakistan, curry is very popular. In Russia, red herring is a popular topping, and in Australia, locals favor barbeque toppings as well as shrimp and pineapple. While Costa Ricans favor coconut as a topping to a pizza pie, in the Netherlands, “Double Dutch” is a favorite, consisting of double cheese, double onions, and double beef.

Whatever kind of toppings you personally like to incorporate on your pizza, whether it be the traditionally favored pepperoni pizza or PB&J with a twist, these slices of pizza trivia should prove very interesting.