 | |
| Type | Pizza |
|---|---|
| Course | Main course |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Minnesota |
| Main ingredients | Unleavened pizza dough, typically spicy tomato sauce, mozzarella, hearty toppings |
Minnesota-style pizza (also known as Sota-style pizza) [1] is a circular thin-crust pizza, cut into squares, with spicy sauce, and hearty toppings. Red's Savoy Pizza, a local Minnesota pizza chain which invented the pizza and is a Minnesota-style specialty pizzeria, calls Minnesota-style pizza "'Sota-style". [2]
During the 1950s and 60s, several pizzerias in Minnesota began selling flat crust pizzas cut into squares. These early pizzerias included Red's Savoy Inn and Mama's Pizza in Saint Paul, Broadway Pizza in Minneapolis, and possibly the earliest version, Sammy's Pizza in Hibbing which opened in 1954. These pizzas are similar to Chicago tavern-style pizza and may have been inspired by the pizza in that city. [3] Minnesota-style pizza is generally heavier on the cheese and toppings than the version eaten in Chicago.
Red's Savoy Inn later became a franchise which helped to spread and popularize Minnesota-style pizza. In 2017 Red's Savoy pizza re-branded itself to become a Sota-style specialty pizzeria. [4] Carbones, a pizza chain, also sells Minnesota-style pizza in the Twin Cities area. [5]
Minnesota-style pizza has several defining characteristics that put it apart from other pizza styles.
The crust of the pizza must be thin with little or no leavening. It must also be cut into squares, this is usually done precisely to keep the squares the same shape. [6] The cutting of the pizza into squares, which is also known as "party cut" or "tavern-style" cut pizza, is one of the most important and defining characteristics of Minnesota-style pizza. The crust is thin but not cracker-like, it has a similar hardness to New York–style pizza. [3]
The sauce of the pizza is another very important characteristic. The secret sauce used by Red's Savoy is typically used, it is described as "passive-aggressive", sweet, savory, and it is also known to have a slight kick. Other pizzerias and homemade pizzas use marinara sauce with crushed up hot peppers. [1] [4]
The cheese always has to go on the pizza after the sauce and other toppings. Mozzarella is typically used but other varieties such as cheddar, and Parmesan can also be used. Minnesota-style also uses more cheese than other regional styles. Extra salt is added to Minnesota-style, especially in bars so that customers will purchase more beverages. The pizza is loaded with hearty toppings, especially meats like sausage, ham, Italian sausage, and pepperoni, onions can also be added. [6] [1] [3]
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
Pizza is a traditional Italian dish typically consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.
St. Louis–style pizza is a type of pizza in St. Louis, Missouri and surrounding areas. The pizza has a thin cracker-like crust made without yeast, topped sweet tomato sauce and Provel cheese, and is cut into squares or rectangles rather than wedges.
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. Traditional toppings are simply tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. This was a popular meal among poor Italians due to the ratio of product from the limited produce.
New Haven–style pizza is a style of thin-crust, coal-fired Neapolitan pizza common in and around New Haven, Connecticut. Locally known as apizza, it originated in 1925 at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and is now served in many other pizza restaurants in the area, most notably Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza. This geographically limited pizza style has been favorably regarded by national critics.
Stromboli is a type of baked turnover filled with various Italian cheeses and usually Italian cold cuts or vegetables, served hot. The dough used is either Italian bread dough or pizza dough. Stromboli was invented by Italian Americans in the United States, in the Philadelphia area. The name of the dish is taken from a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, crisp, chewy crust. It is traditionally topped to the edges with mozzarella or Wisconsin brick cheese, which caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan. Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. It was developed during the mid-20th century in Detroit, Michigan, before spreading to other parts of the United States in the 2010s. It is one of Detroit's iconic local foods.
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is an American Chicago-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded by the son of Rudy Malnati, who was instrumental in developing the recipe for Chicago-style pizza, and it has become one of the Chicago area's best-known local lines of pizza restaurants. Lou Malnati's operates a division of its company called Lou Malnati's Presents Tastes of Chicago, a partnership with Portillo's Restaurants and Eli's Cheesecake, which ships Chicago-style cuisine nationally.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.
Quad City–style pizza is a variety of pizza originating in the Quad Cities region of the states of Illinois and Iowa in the United States.
Iranian pizza also known as Persian pizza refers to the various styles of pizza and its preparation rather than its toppings. It is characterized by its thick bread and large amounts of cheese. Iranian pizza is served in Iran and places affected by the Iranian diaspora. It is usually made with minced meat, beef sausage, bell pepper, mushroom, mozzarella cheese, and Persian spices.
Baby Doll Pizza is a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.
Bridge City Pizza is a pizzeria and sandwich restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Woodstock neighborhood, in the United States.
Canada has many of its own pizza chains, both national and regional, and many distinctive regional variations and types of pizza resulting from influences of local Canadian cuisine.
Colorado-style pizza, also called Colorado pizza or Colorado mountain pie, is a style of pizza made with a characteristically thick, braided crust topped with heavy amounts of sauce and cheese. It is traditionally served by the pound, with a side of honey as a condiment.
Ohio Valley–style pizza is a pizza made with cold toppings sprinkled over a square crust that has been covered with a sweet tomato sauce. It originated in Steubenville, Ohio and is served in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, mostly in and near the Ohio Valley region of those states.
Dayton-style pizza has a thin, crisp, salty crust, sometimes described as a "cracker crust", dusted on the bottom with cornmeal and topped with a thin layer of thick unsweetened sauce. Cheese and other topping ingredients are heavily distributed and spread edge-to-edge with no outer rim of crust, and the finished pizza is cut into bite-size squares. The style shares some characteristics with other Midwestern pizza styles, which tend to be thin-crusted and square-cut.
Columbus-style pizza is an American regional pizza style associated with Columbus, Ohio. It has a circular shape, pieces cut into short or long rectangles, thin crust, dense toppings that cover the surface, and, usually, provolone cheese and a slightly sweet sauce. It was developed in the early 1950s.
