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The kebab pizza is Sweden's favourite

Published: 29 Dec 12 16:15 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45334/20121229/

Kebab meat - yes, kebab meat - is the most popular pizza topping in Sweden, according to a new survey which also shows that pizza sales double on New Year's Day.

The New Year's period is a busy time for Sweden's pizzerias and, according to a survey by pizza delivery company Online Pizza, many Swedes will kick off 2013 by digging into a meaty kebab pizza.

The kebab pizza is a Swedish invention which combines Italian and Turkish cuisine in a way that might horrify Italians and Turks.

In Sweden, however, it has been a big hit, particularly among the drunk, anecdotal evidence shows.

Sweden's first pizzeria opened in 1947 in Västerås, central Sweden after 300 Italian guest workers moved to the city. In the 1960s pizzerias started popping up around the country and pizza became the most common fast food in Sweden.

Kebab first came to Sweden in the 1980s and is often served with a dipping sauce made out of sour cream or yoghurt and a special spice mix. It is known as kebab sauce in Sweden and can these days be bought ready-made in supermarkets.

The standard toppings on a kebab pizza are tomato sauce, cheese, onion, fefferoni peppers, kebab meat and, of course, kebab sauce. Some people also like to add fresh lettuce or cucumbers to their kebab pizza.

Then there's the Viking kebab pizza, which is a kebab pizza folded before baking to resemble a Viking ship.

The kebab pizza has topped Online Pizza's survey for the past four years.

While 27 percent of respondents said that they prefer to make up their own pizza topping combinations or to get one made up by the restaurant, 12 percent said that, if ordering a standard pizza, they would go for one with kebab meat.

Sweden's second most popular pizza is the plainer Vesuvio (tomato, cheese and ham) followed by Capricciosa (tomato, cheese, ham, mushrooms) and then the Hawaii pizza (cheese, ham, pineapple).

Swedes planning to go for pizza on New Year's Day better get their orders in quick.

"January 1st is the most hectic day for Sweden's pizzerias. We get twice as many orders as usual, with most coming in between 11am and 6pm," said Anders Signell, CEO of Online Pizza.

Online Pizza plans to release a more comprehensive report on Swedish pizza trends in January 2013.

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18:39 December 29, 2012 by Eric1
Love Swedish style pizza. We now have a Swedish pizza place here in San Antonio, Texas. Started by a Turk from Göteborg.
20:32 December 29, 2012 by Gardian
I really appreciate that kind of food multicultural in Sweden. its the positive side of the open door policy that we have been implementing since two decades. things are going in a bit the opposite direction now after EU zone financial crises . to keep our new multicultural society safe and dynamic Sweden needs to fallow Uk and withdrawal from EU. we are not part of the EURO and their disease are spreading to effect our economy.
21:10 December 29, 2012 by sbf325
Swedish-style pizza is pretty good. My brother visits often from the US, and the first thing he asks for here is a kebab pizza. Problem is, especially in the smaller towns, that's usually ALL there is... one gets a little tired of the same thing every time. Thai food is slowly becoming more popular, maybe in 10 or 15 years' time there will be TWO restaurant choices in every town...
05:40 December 30, 2012 by Valdemaratterdag
I'm sorry, but the drippy, slimy crap that the restaurants produce in Sweden ain't pizza.
08:26 December 30, 2012 by bjorkon
It seems Sweden is a culinary wasteland. Unless you have 1-2000 krone per head to throw at a central Stockholm eatery every week for heavily overpriced wine and poor service.

Every other street on the outskirts and the rest of the country is a series of these god awful Pizzerias, "Thai", more pizzarias, more thai and more mcdonalds per head than any other country in EU.

Where is a variety and affordable family restaurants that we can eat our at twice a week and still have our dignity?

C'mon Sweden - how about a new resolution to sort it out?
10:42 December 30, 2012 by Swedishmyth
Family restaurants wouldn't be a cultural fit in Sweden. There seems to be an unpronounced collective agreement that anything that isn't homemade must be marked up 500%.
14:50 December 30, 2012 by Rishonim
Kebab Pizza look and smell like pig vomit. For it being the most popular in Sweden baffles me. Nonetheless, I am grateful for those fast food joints specially when traveling to many small towns throughout the country.
15:02 December 30, 2012 by Greysuede
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
15:35 December 30, 2012 by Rishonim
@Greysuede, One thing is to dislike the food for whatever reason but it is totally distasteful to insult and to call Middle Eastern people low quality.
15:56 December 30, 2012 by Greysuede
Comment removed by The Local for breach of our terms.
19:53 December 30, 2012 by Daveo
Someday they will learn how to make real pizza here.
20:00 December 30, 2012 by Mats Nilsson
Greysuede, why don't you start your own "Breivik Party" in parliement.
22:43 December 30, 2012 by w_t_f
kinda ironic that Swedes hate Turks but cannot survive without their food ...
07:30 December 31, 2012 by markusd
It looks like someone made a round Turkish pide and called it pizza.
17:00 January 4, 2013 by onuryangel
I have never seen non quality "kebab foods" anywhere as I saw in Sweden , also I could eat none of them there. So I can say that clearly; the thing what you eat as a "kebab" is not really "kebab" or it's the worst quality one. By the way, the real name of the food which we talk about it is "Döner Kebap", kebap is a general name. Eventually, the problem is relevant with the persons who serve this craps to you.(sorry for my english)
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