Posted on 12/30/2012 3:32:54 PM PST by nickcarraway
Kebab meat - yes, kebab meat - is the most popular pizza topping in Sweden, according to a new survey which also shows that pizza sales double on New Year's Day.
The New Year's period is a busy time for Sweden's pizzerias and, according to a survey by pizza delivery company Online Pizza, many Swedes will kick off 2013 by digging into a meaty kebab pizza.
The kebab pizza is a Swedish invention which combines Italian and Turkish cuisine in a way that might horrify Italians and Turks.
In Sweden, however, it has been a big hit, particularly among the drunk, anecdotal evidence shows.
Sweden's first pizzeria opened in 1947 in Västerås, central Sweden after 300 Italian guest workers moved to the city. In the 1960s pizzerias started popping up around the country and pizza became the most common fast food in Sweden.
Kebab first came to Sweden in the 1980s and is often served with a dipping sauce made out of sour cream or yoghurt and a special spice mix. It is known as kebab sauce in Sweden and can these days be bought ready-made in supermarkets.
The standard toppings on a kebab pizza are tomato sauce, cheese, onion, fefferoni peppers, kebab meat and, of course, kebab sauce. Some people also like to add fresh lettuce or cucumbers to their kebab pizza.
Then there's the Viking kebab pizza, which is a kebab pizza folded before baking to resemble a Viking ship.
The kebab pizza has topped Online Pizza's survey for the past four years.
While 27 percent of respondents said that they prefer to make up their own pizza topping combinations or to get one made up by the restaurant, 12 percent said that, if ordering a standard pizza, they would go for one with kebab meat.
Sweden's second most popular pizza is the plainer Vesuvio (tomato, cheese and ham) followed by Capricciosa (tomato, cheese, ham, mushrooms) and then the Hawaii pizza (cheese, ham, pineapple).
Swedes planning to go for pizza on New Year's Day better get their orders in quick.
"January 1st is the most hectic day for Sweden's pizzerias. We get twice as many orders as usual, with most coming in between 11am and 6pm," said Anders Signell, CEO of Online Pizza.
Online Pizza plans to release a more comprehensive report on Swedish pizza trends in January 2013.
what kind of animal is a kebab?
They are raised hydroponically on pointy sticks.
And all this time I thought it would be surströmming pizza!
I suspect “kebab meat” is what the Swedes call gyro (having been introduced to it by Turks rather than Greeks), in which case it’s a mixture of minced beef, minced lamb and spices.
Shish kebab is Arabic for skewered red-meat (kebab being ambiguously beef, lamb or a mixture). Shish tahwouk is Arabic for skewered chicken. (It is very annoying to me that the wrong part of the phrase passed into popular English usage as meaning “served on a skewer”.)
Johnny’s Pizza in Louisiana has a swamp pizza. Shrimp, crawfish, pollock/crab, andouie sausage, with onions and bell pepper, sprinkled with Tony Chacheries seasoning. Beats plain pepperoni anyday.
Actually, it sounds rather good.
mmmm... Sweep the Swamp is my favorite. I remember when I was a kid they even had alligator on it. I think as they started expanding as a big chain, they had to cut to what was available all over.
Did you ever get a chance to try the Indian Pizza in San Jose? Too late now. *sigh*
Awesome...it should be delicious....
Of course, I love pizza....all types...
Through High School and College I managed a couple of different pizza places.....
I ate pizza at least once a day....seven days a week....
Pizza is the ultimate food....Yummmm!
Where was it?
I’d recently read an article saying that curried banana pizza is popular in some parts of Scandinavia. Can’t remember if it was Sweden or Norway, though.
At any rate, I’d give the Swedish kebab pizza a try. Especially if I could eat it in an outside cafe, in full view of the løveli lakes, and the mani interesting furry animals...
Surströmming pizza? That’s what they serve in Hell.
Kebab pizza could actually be pretty good. I love kebab: tasty kebab. Might have to head downtown tomorrow for New Year’s and grab a kebab (Döner kebab) to ring in 2013.
poor kee-bob
Probably better than a lutefisk pizza.
Blossom Hill Rd and Snell.
kebabs are giant furry snails?
Used to be Taj Palace, then split into San Jose Pizza and Pasta and Taj Palace. Now both are closed, but they say they are still catering.
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