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The Daily Horizon

Why is New York pizza taste different?

Author

Jessica Wood

Updated on January 04, 2026

New York pizza uses deck ovens that cook at extremely high temperatures and are often decades old. The idea is that like a good cast-iron skillet, the oven absorbs the decades' worth of cheese and sauce vapor into its walls and then imparts it onto new pizzas that are cooked.

Why does NY pizza taste different?

Food scientist Chris Loss explains in a Wired article that the minerals and chemicals within the water contribute to the New York City pizza dough's flavor by affecting the chemical reactions during the pizza-making process. So water from NYC can really create a different flavor than water from another area.

Why is New York pizza so special?

New York–style pizza gets its distinguishing crust from the high-gluten bread flour with which it is made. Minerals present in New York City's tap water supply are also credited with giving the dough in metro area pies its characteristic texture and flavor.

How is New York pizza different?

The Differences

New York style pizza is typically layered with simple toppings and ingredients like mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, and a choice of a few select meats like pepperoni and/or sausages. The thin crust compliments this flavor by allowing the focus on the contrasting flavors of the sauce and its toppings.

Why is New York pizza so greasy?

Many New Yorkers claim that the unique taste of the crust is because of the minerals that can only be found in the city's water. And that melty greasy cheese comes from grated low-moisture mozzarella. The city is dotted with hundreds of little pizzerias, which in their truest form sell pizza, and only pizza.

What makes New York pizza taste so good? The answer from one NJ pizza shop

Is New York or Chicago pizza better?

Which city has better pizza? Travelers have spoken and they say New York City bests Chicago when it comes to pizza.

Why does pizza suck in California?

"Water is huge. It's probably one of California's biggest problems with pizza." Water binds the dough's few ingredients. Nearly every chemical reaction that produces flavor occurs in water, says Chris Loss, a food scientist with the Culinary Institute of America.

Does the water make NY pizza better?

"Water is the one main ingredient that has a huge effect on the taste of the crust," said Paul Errigo, an entrepreneur from New Jersey. Errigo's company makes a device called the New York WaterMaker, which he says can make any tap water mimic New York City's by adding in the right minerals and tweaking the pH balance.

What makes Chicago pizza different?

Unlike regular pizzas where the dough ends are rolled, the dough in a Chicago deep-dish pizza is pushed and pressed to the sides of the pan, creating a crispy crust afterward. Basically, bakers push the dough to the sides, similar to an apple pie crust, to create a thicker type of pizza.

Why is NY pizza thin?

Finally, the crust of NY style pizza is very thin. It's also made from high-gluten bread flour. But most interestingly, many New Yorkers attributed the popularity of authentic NY style pizza to minerals present in New York City's tap water supply.

Why is pizza better on the East Coast?

East Coast pizza tends to be more traditional, made with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and toppings such as meat and vegetables. It's a classic, and usually what comes to mind when one thinks of pizza.

Why are NY bagels different?

Many people claim the main difference in taste and texture of a real New York bagel compared to other styles of bagels, is due to the use of New York City tap water, which contains certain minerals which they attribute to creating a better bagel, specifically the low concentrations of calcium and magnesium found in New ...

Can you drink water after eating pizza?

There's A Lot Of Sodium In Pizza

Sodium is salt, and salt makes you thirsty. It dehydrates you, and so your body lets you know that you're thirsty so you will replenish your water levels. That's why after eating pizza, your mouth feels dry and all you can think about is a tall drink of water.

Does Brooklyn have hard or soft water?

New York water is soft, however, which can lead to gooey, “weak” dough. The second factor is the ph level, or acidity of the water. New York water is about 7.2 on the ph scale, making it slightly alkaline (7 is neutral).

Why is NYC food so good?

The secret behind the good quality of NY street food is care. Usually, the one cooking the food is also the owner of the business. Hence the extra care that goes into preparing the food. New York street food is always fresh as well.

Is New York pizza thin or thick?

Here are the basics: The crust: Everybody knows New York pizza, like its Neapolitan forebear, is thin. It should be less than one-fourth-inch thick until you get about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the edge; this area should be thicker, with good hole structure, i.e., bubbles.

What is authentic NY style pizza?

New York-style pizza has slices that are large and wide with a thin crust that is foldable yet crispy. It is traditionally topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, with any extra toppings placed on top of the cheese. Pizza without additional toppings is called “plain,” “regular,” or “cheese.”

What is a Brooklyn pizza?

Brooklyn-style pizzas tend to be cut into 6 slices. This is in contrast to other thick-dough pizzas, such as the New York which are cut into 8 or 16 triangular pieces. Moreover, Brooklyn-style pizzas are cut into squares, not triangles. This is because of the thin crust which can break more easily.

Does patting grease off pizza help?

Generally, nutritionists agree that patting pizza with a napkin results in less fat, and less fat means fewer calories. “By blotting off the grease, you're going to reduce the number of calories consumed per slice of pizza,” says Dale A.

Is New York pizza healthy?

So, You can enjoy a new york pizza all warm and hot in slices. The sauce of pizza is really good for you health in many ways. The sauce is loaded with vitamin C which is great for your body to fight or prevent illness.

Is New York style thin?

The defining characteristic of the New York pizza is its thin base. It will be thicker around the outside. But in the middle, the crust is thin enough to be folded in half to eat. If you can't eat your pizza folded over vertically, it isn't New York style!

Why is New York pizza the best water?

New York water is considered to be “soft,” meaning it has low concentrations of calcium and magnesium due to the makeup of the water that flows into the Catskills and Delaware Watershed. According to the American Chemical Society the only American city with “softer” water is Boston.

Why are bagels better in New Jersey?

NJ gets its water from the Catskill Mountains which has very soft water, meaning it has low concentrations of calcium and magnesium. This softness of the water affects the gluten in the dough. Hard water strengthens gluten and makes bread hard, bust soft NJ water gives the perfect fluff.

Why is there a hole in a bagel?

Ever wondered why bagels have holes in the middle? The basic shape is hundreds of years old and serves lots of practical advantages besides an even cooking and baking of the dough. The hole also allowed them to be threaded or piled high on a dowel which made them easier to transport and display.