Lithuanian in Italy Finds Italian Pizza Mediocre, Praises Lithuanian Style

For many Lithuanians, the idea of Italian pizza conjures images of authentic, delicious flavors. However, Rokas, a Lithuanian living in Italy, offers a surprisingly critical perspective on the pizzas he's encountered. In his view, the ubiquitous use of tomato paste and the practice of adding cold ham after baking result in a taste that falls short of expectations.

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For me personally, Italian pizzas are very mediocre. Basically, because Italians put unimaginable amounts of tomato paste and most of them are quite sour.

Rokas openly admits that his palate is accustomed to and prefers the style of pizza found in Lithuania. He doesn't shy away from calling Lithuanian pizzas 'good' and suggests that many Italians might find their own traditional preparation to be a 'mockery' of the dish. This sentiment, shared with Delfi Maistas, highlights a cultural difference in culinary preferences, where what is considered authentic in one country might be perceived as unusual or even unappealing in another.

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Italians also like to bake a pizza and just throw cold ham on top. When this happened for the first time, we thought the baker messed something up, but when we encountered this in several restaurants, we realized that they just do it like that.

While his initial experiences in Italy were disappointing, with most pizzas rated a 7-8 out of 10, Rokas recently found a glimmer of hope. A recommendation from a local led him to a pizzeria in Calolziocorte, suggesting that perhaps the perfect Italian pizza, or at least one that satisfies his Lithuanian taste buds, is finally within reach. This discovery, shared with his followers, offers a potential turning point in his culinary journey abroad.

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Unfortunately, if that's the case, I guess I just don't like real pizza very much, I like that mockery of it much more.