The 3 A’s of good pizza are:-
- A balanced appearance
- Awesome cheese
- A rich homemade sauce
Firstly, the pizza, as a whole, should be roughly symmetrical. When it is cut up into 8 portions, will every piece have some of each ingredient? Is the pizza visually appealing and colourful? People start their tasting experience with their eyes. The appearance of food stimulates the saliva in our mouth. It should be too oily and not too dry either.
Second, good flavoursome cheeses that complements the rest of the ingredients is important. Traditionally mozzarella is used on the base before other ingredients are put on. If you want a low fat pizza use ricotta. Ricotta spreads evenly onto the base and forms a cushion to hold everything else in place. If the meat and sauce is plain a sharp cheese will draw out the flavour. If the highlight is a special meat or sauce don’t allow the cheese to over-power it; choose a milder cheese instead.
Third is a rich homemade sauce full of antioxidants and phytochemicals from fresh or tinned tomatoes and dried herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. A few sprigs of fresh herbs strategically placed on top after cooking adds a great finishing touch to showoff the pizza’s freshness.
Finally, made your pizza with “amore” (pronounced as “a-more-ray”), that’s Italian with love.