The Pizza Aroma

Walking into Baking and Pastries on Tuesday, I was hit by a wall of the unmistakable aroma of pizza. Pizza is one of my favorite foods and just catching a whiff of the melting cheese and baking crust got my taste buds ready to eat. In class, we had to taste three different kinds of pizzas: frozen, partially made, and home made. This was my quest to find the perfect pizza aroma.

The first pizza I tried was the frozen pizza. My first impression of the frozen pizza was, "This looks like the kind I make at home!" The golden brown cheese and the bright red sauce gave off good vibes. However, I realized that this frozen pizza had thin crust, not a huge fan. When I took my first bite, I tasted the bold tomato sauce with a mixture the very bland mozzarella cheese. I also noticed that the crust was very crunchy and not very tasty. Prior to eating the pizza, I took a big whiff hoping that this was the magical smelling pizza. To my disappointment, this was not the pizza I was looking for. Otherwise, the frozen pizza was my second favorite of the three.

The second pizza that I sampled was the pre-made crust pizza. When looking at this slice I thought that it looked sad. The cheese did not get golden brown and, again, it was another thin crusted pizza. Before taking a bite hopeing that this would be the answer to my quest, but, sadly, this partially home made pizza did not have that magical smell. After taking a bit and analyzing the pizza I came to the conclusion that this pizza sucked. The crust was super chewy and not crunchy. The sauce, which was really good, overpowered the cheese. Overall, this was my least favorite pizza of the three.

The last pizza I tried was fully homemade. At first glance, I knew this was the pizza for me. It had a thick crust, golden brown cheese and a vibrant red sauce that made my taste buds jump for joy. Sure enough, when I took a big whiff, the aroma matched the scent in the room. My quest had be finished! And to celebrate my victory, I got to taste the super soft and fluffy crust along with a mouthful of cheese and homemade sauce.

Pizza Critique

Imagine the feeling when you crave your favorite food. Maybe it is a burger, french fries, or ice cream cake. When you get that craving you are probably thinking of any way you can obtain that food, and as fast as you can. There are probably about ten places where you can get the food you are craving at a moments notice, but you always have your go to spot to get it. The point is, there are many places to go to get the same exact food, but all restaurants prepare food all a little differently so they have different tastes. In class, we tried three different kinds of cheese pizza to compare the taste of them. The particular kinds of pizza we tried in class were pre made crust pizza, frozen  pizza, and homemade pizza

First of all, I am going to talk about the pizza made using a pre-made crust. Going into eating it, I definitely had my doubts about how the crust would taste because it is from the store. My doubts were verified when I actually tasted the pizza. I thought it was very dry and hard to chew, almost like how I would imagine cardboard to taste. Not only did the tough texture throw me off, but right when I bit into it I could immediately taste just a wave of saltiness almost like I was eating a pizza with a potato chip crust. The crust was not the only bad part about this pizza though. The barely cooked cheese on top was not only an eye sore, but also tasted like a mushy bland mess. I prefer my pizza with almost burnt cheese, so this was a totally new experience for me. I would rate this pizza a 1 out of 5.

Next, I am going to talk about the frozen pizza. Right when I saw this pizza I thought it didn't look like it just came out of a plastic wrapping, and actually looked pretty good. When I took my first bite, the grease on top of the pizza was the only thing I could taste. It was so overpowering, I could not even tell that I was eating pizza. Next, the crust was really crisp, which I normally would like except this pizza had so much grease it was almost leaking onto the crust and making it hard to eat. I thought that the pizza was perfectly cooked, I just wished it was any other kind of pizza than a frozen one. I would rate this pizza a 2 out of 5.

Lastly,  I am going to review the home made white crust pizza. This pizza was by far my favorite out of the three. The thick, spongy crust made me want to keep going back for more. My favorite part of the pizza though was the smell. It smelled all natural and was not like something you could find at any old grocery store. The taste of the pizza itself was rich and warm, but the only bad thing I would have to say about this pizza was there was maybe a little too much salt in the crust. The golden color on top was just the icing on the cake which is why I give this pizza a 4 out of 5.

In conclusion, you can see how there are so many differences between each of the three pizzas even though they are the same type of food. This critique shows how even though you might think  there are so many restaurants with the same food, they are all very different and have their own distinct taste. Some good and others bad.

-Emma Hour 5

Pizza Time

Anya Larson

Hour 5

Baking & Pastry

Pizza Time

Pizza has been a timeless dish for years on end, originating from Naples, Italy back in the early 1800s. One slice of it can grab your attention instantly and make your mouth water. The rich toppings and the fluffy crust will draw you in and hold you captive until you finish every last bite. We had our very own pizza parlor in class yesterday. Three different kinds of pizza were served to the people (well...just us), and we enjoyed the great variety. We had Frozen Pizza, Pizza with a Premade Crust and Homemade White Crust Pizza to choose from.

Each slice of pizza had a very different texture, taste and aroma. None of them were exactly the same, which is wonderful. Variety is a thing to cherish, not discard. Due to my gluten allergy, I was not able to eat any of the pizzas that we had to taste and critique. Although I have become used to watching people eat the things I cannot in front of me, it was a bit difficult. What was it exactly that I was feeling, then? Scared? Angry? Confused? I wasn't any of those things. I was perfectly confident in my abilities to critique the pizza based on the senses I COULD use.

The first pizza on the list to observe was the Homemade White Crust Pizza. I imagined the taste resembling that of a pizza served on a fancy silver platter at a parlor in the city. Just a simple item of food to eat if you are in a rush, or just hanging out with family and friends. Homemade food is always baked with love and care, no matter what it is. Not literally, but metaphorically, of course. You always know that somebody really took their time to produce the magical product that lies before you on your plate. All of the ingredients had to be added correctly, and the time to bake had to be set out very carefully. Our teacher baked this pizza for us, which really made it even more special. The texture was very thick, and it had many layers to it. It was almost as if every time you took a bite, you were turning to a new page in a book. It was very smooth, and did not have much of a scent. It was very odorless. Although I could not eat it, I was able to collect opinions from the students who sat at my table. They relayed to me that it had a very rich and chewy taste to it, due to all of the fresh ingredients added to it, and how it was baked. It had a very pale color, but what it lacked in color it made up for through the overall appearance of it. I really enjoyed the pizza (although I couldn't taste it). It was the best out of all three.

The second pizza we could try was the Pizza with a premade crust. This type of pizza looked very dry, and the color resembled that of an apple, drained of all of it's color. The thing my table mates tasted was a very grainy kind of taste. It did not have a good blend of flavors, like the homemade pizza did. It looked almost like cardboard, which is something that is obviously not safe to eat. This pizza was very real and edible, of course, but just didn't live up to the standards of the pizza before it. It had a very herbal kind of aroma to it, though, which pleasantly surprised me. Even though it was a very small, meek kind of pizza, the crust looked very floury and crispy. It seemed to stand out more than the other parts of the pizza, almost like it had a spotlight shining down on it. This pizza was the kind of pizza you expect a 10-year old to make and proudly present to the consumers. I wouldn't recommend he go into the restaurant business when he's older....

The very last pizza we had to try was the frozen pizza, just your basic throw-in-the-oven-and-it-will-be-ready-in-10-minutes kind of pizza. The thing all college students live off of during their years at school. It was very flat, but not in a pleasant way. It looked like the life had been sucked out of it. Not a party kind of pizza. It wasn't airy or light like the homemade pizza was. The greasy aura of it was very disconcerting to me, as I could not eat it anyway. They say it tasted very 'salty and rancid'. Great describing words, just not for something that should taste delicious. As I leaned forward to smell it, my nose was met with a very stifling and pungent kind of odor. Just one more thing to add to the list of reasons why frozen pizza should be outlawed in areas with any kind of taste in wonderful food. It was lumpy and grainy, and it made me secretly wish I could chuck it out a window, hoping it would land in the dumpster just outside.

In conclusion, the three pizzas we had were very different from one another. I enjoyed the smell, texture and color of the homemade pizza. It was very appetizing to look at, and it really tempted me to eat it. Although it is a forbidden food for me. The pizza with a premade crust was almost there, but just not quite as great as the homemade one. It was so close to teetering over the edge of the cliff, but took a step back at just the right moment. And finally, the frozen pizza was the worst one of them all. Frozen pizzas and I have never connected with one another. College students really need to find a better food to eat. Even a collection of celery on a plate would be better (I really dislike celery). But anyway, after writing this review, I know one thing is true; pizza is just a great food to eat overall. 

You just have to find the right one to enjoy.