What is the Best Pizza Topping? (Slogging Insights)

In this thread, the team at Hackernoon discusses the best pizza topping. Be warned, this slogging thread gets a bit spicy, with our team members heavily disagreeing on what the best topping is.This Slogging thread by Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, Sara Pinto, Limarc Ambalina, Adrian Morales and Blake Cram occurred in slogging's official #random channel, and has been edited for readability.INCOMING...heavily debated topic: what is the Best Pizza topping? Jack Boreham PINEAPPLE! PINEAPPLE! 🍍 AND CHEESE! 🧀Jack Boreham I'm gonna go ahead and say it: pineapple (please don't shoot)OH GOSHHHHH Mónica Freitas Sara Pinto, naaa to be honest it's not half bad, but not the best, right Limarc Ambalina? 😁 Mónica Freitas Sara Pinto how can it beat a pepperoni though....Jack Boreham I'll fight you on this! I'll change pepperoni for mushrooms or peppers easily. Jack Boreham and NOW I'm hungryMónica Freitas HOWWW, pepperoni was gifted to us from the gods 😂 are you vegan or veggie? 😂Nah, I couldn't give up on meat. I just find it an overpowering flavor; it erases the rest of the pizza. 😂. Speaking of veggie, Sara Pinto come through. What's the perfect pizza like?Jack Boreham I can trade pepperoni for pineapple every day, but I guess I'm biased since I'm a vegetarian 😂. Mónica Freitas Jack Boreham I'll tell you what - olives are a pretty strong runner up!I'll be honest Jack Boreham the fact that the first answer to this thread were pineapple from 2 separate people caused me to ignore this thread for 22 hours. I'm almost offended. I'm with jack that you can't beat good ol' pepperoni, and my second would be bacon. I wish I had the strength to go veganI'll give an out of the box one. There's this place in my hometown called A Little Pizza Heaven, and their biggest differentiator is that they top the crust and the pizza off with a smear of special garlic butter......the taste is HEAVENLYMónica Freitas mushrooms are slimy; I don't want to add any more slime to my greasy pizza😂. Pep is crisp, tasty and compliments the cheese and balances out the texture. Mushroom belongs in a soup and a fry up (what we British call a proper breakfast) or perhaps a mushroom tartare (I don't know what it is, I heard it on Masterchef). 😂Sara Pinto, I respect that; I wish to go vegan, but the meats are far too good! Limarc Ambalina, you know what? I completely agree with you! I didn't want to go full ham, as I was outnumbered... but I couldn't agree more. I'm offended as well 😉! That pizza sounds amazing, bro 💪 .Limarc Ambalina Garlic butter on pizza... that's what I'll dream about when I go to sleep today. Jack Boreham Haha, I respect what you're saying as well, but I have to challenge you to do a pizza without the meat (I won't even mention pineapple) 😂Jack Boreham soup???? mental! ahahah. Limarc Ambalina Jack Boreham Stop pineapple hate! Are we moving to the cereal first vs. milk first discussing next?! 😂Sara Pinto you mean veggie pizza. I've had one and I like it 😂Mónica Freitas never had a good old mushroom soup...it's the bee's knees 😂. Mónica Freitas hahahhhaha #newthreadstarting. I bet you can't list three reasons why pineapple is better 😁Jack Boreham It's not something I've ever seen here. Maybe someday I'll try that soup out. If you go ahead with that thread, we best build a wall between this community ahaha.

Jack Boreham challenge accepted:

I firmly stand with pineapple belonging on pizza. A pineapple and ham pizza? I'm there, save me a slice. 😂 Yay, team pineapple!Holy smokes. Never thought I'd see so many pineapple advocates. I don't think it's the best topping... but I think pineapple can be delicious, but it's easy to f--- up. I think there are a few essential "pineapple on pizza rules"...                                                                                        

1. Pineapple as the only topping is an abomination. It's basically dessert.                                 
2. Texturally confusing if the pineapple is mushy or mealy. You have to have fresh pineapple with at least a little crunch.                                                                   
3. Pineapple is an acidic fruit. And it can add a nice acidity to the sweet and savory of cheese, sauce and bread. But, you can't let the pineapple be the star of the show or you get too much sweetness.

You have to break up that sweetness with one of 3 things:

1. something cool in the cheese mix like pecorino romano, parm or asiago does a lot to break up Mozz or Provalone's sweetness.
2. you also have to have a spicier, herby sauce.
3. finally have to agree with, gotta pair it with something awesome like Canadian Bacon... although my personal faves are Pep or Jalapeño when I'm feeling crazy.

As far as best toppings, I think I side more with Jack Boreham and Limarc Ambalina that Pepperoni is the classic barometer for quality at a pizza joint. If you're vegetarian then it's the Margherita slice (maybe with light anchovies in NY). To me, either of those slices shows off a pizzerias skill without anything in the way.

Blake Cram, a man that speaks the truth! Couldn't have put it better myself. Mónica Freitas Sara Pinto any counterpoints before we declare VICTORY?Yes! My preference! Ahahaha