All pizzas are great, but some people like specific types of pizzas—this New York Style Pizza Vs. Chicago Style Pizza(Deep Dish Pizza) debate is an example of that.
It has been a debate for years, and no one can seem to come to a conclusion on which pizza is better. That could be mainly because we all have different tastes and preferences.
Pizza is a great type of food, and one major factor why it is so good is its versatility. You can put any type of topping that you like in it, and it can be good or bad for other people.
It is one, if not the most popular food on the planet. For decades, people have made their versions of this food, and so we all have different kinds of pizzas to choose from nowadays.
Two of the most popular types of pizzas in the world are the New York-style pizza and the Chicago-style pizza. They are both great, and they have great differences.
That is why here, we will be discussing the differences between these two types of pizzas and see which one is better when it comes to certain factors and properties of a basic pizza.
The Great Pizza Debate
Because of the discussion and arguments on which pizza is best, people root for different pizzas too, but not as much as the New York versus Chicago Pizza.
You have to consider many factors when it comes to determining whether the pizza is perfect or not. That also comes with an uncontrollable variable such as preferences.
You cannot debate whether or not the person has bad taste since they like one pizza type over the other. Some may like it more to have denser toppings, while others go for fewer ones.
Some pizza enthusiasts might argue that it is not a real pizza if not cooked the traditional way, while others might say that as long as you do the basics.
So as you can see, there have been many arguments on which pizza is the best. You cannot just weigh it down to one conclusion, but we can break it down and see a more objective result.
These debates and small arguments have led to one of the biggest debates among pizza lovers whether New York-style pizza is better than the Chicago-style pizza, which is very different.
So before we go into the details of this heated argument, let us take a general approach to what these pizza types bring to the table. That way, we get a broader idea of what they are.
New York Style Pizza
New York-style pizzas are usually large but thin. They have a thin and crispy crust sturdy enough to hold just enough toppings when distributed evenly throughout the crust.
It is a wide type of pizza that is as big as 18-inch pies. The crust edges are usually thick and crispy, while the middle crust is dense yet crispy on the outside.
It is the perfect meal when you are in a hurry, which, as we know, is a personality of the city. Everything is on the move, and you need to get a quick meal to energize yourself for the day.
This type of pizza is folded in half when eaten. That can be because the sauce might drip, and the thin yet large slices of New York pizzas give you the ability to fold it to get one big bite.
Chicago Style Pizza
Chicago-style pizza is a much larger pizza when we talk about volume. It comes with toppings, cheese, and sauce that make it far thicker than any pizza type in the world.
Usually, a pizza has thin crusts that are sturdy enough for thick toppings. The Chicago-style of pizza takes it to a whole new level with its rising edges and thick toppings.
The pizza has raised crust on the edges, making up for more space for more toppings. This then allows the pizza to contain large amounts of cheese, sauce, and toppings.
It is a deep-dish pizza as you cook it in deep cookware that holds the edges of the crust and the toppings. The pizza itself looks like a deep dish, too, so the name is fitting.
What Are The Major Differences Between New York Style And Chicago Style Pizza?
From the general sense, you will already see the major differences between these two types of pizzas. That is why you get to see people arguing over which pizza is better.
Here, we will get into the details of what makes these two pizzas very different from each other. It still comes down to preferences, but this will help you determine which pizza you like better.
The Crust
The first and most obvious difference between New York-style pizza and Chicago-style pizza is the crust. You get the different thicknesses and different forms of the crust when you compare these two.
New York-style pizza sticks to the more authentic approach where it uses thin and crispy crusts. This is great because you get the right balance of the dough and the toppings that you have.
The Chicago deep-dish pizza has a crust that holds up toppings that are almost triple its volume. This crust holds up the thick toppings and sauces by having a raised edge and sides.
If you take the authentic approach, then the New York-style pizza wins. However, if you want to go with more toppings over the crust, then the Chicago-style pizza surely takes the win here.
The Cheese
The more common way of layering New York-style pizza is using grated mozzarella cheese. Compared to the authentic Neapolitan pizzas, it does not use slices of mozzarella.
This creates a more even distribution of the cheese, which also helps in keeping the crust crispy. The mozzarella cheese used in New York-style pizzas is also low-moisture for the same purpose.
Chicago-style pizza, having so much room for other ingredients, uses different types of cheeses. This makes it perfect for putting layers of cheese that also makes up for the thick crust.
The multiple layers of cheese in a Chicago-style pizza is also great for protecting the other toppings. They help in reducing the risk of burning the other ingredients and the crust as well.
The New York-style pizza reduces the crust density to get a layer of the cheese nicely on top, while the Chicago-style pizza has dense cheese layers and dense crust.
The Sauce
The pizza sauce is one of the most important parts of the pizza as it helps bind the other flavors together. New York-style pizzas use a blend of sweetness and spiciness to their pizza sauce.
As for the thickness, the sauce commonly used in New York-style pizzas is light enough to be easily spread around the crust while also a bit chunky, so it does not make the crust soggy.
The Chicago-style pizza is the more authentic pizza in this category. It uses pizza sauce that is chunkier and somewhat similar but nowhere near the ones used in traditional pizzas.
It also uses a lot of sauce since the Chicago-style pizza needs to be covered. The sauce also helps protect the toppings from burning due to its long cooking process in the oven.
The Toppings
Due to its limited crust and space, New York-style pizza often uses no more than five toppings. There are usually up to three types of toppings added on top of the cheese and the sauce.
This makes the pizza crispy as the crust is not affected by the toppings’ weight and moisture. The toppings are also thinly sliced so they can cook just as fast as the crust.
The Chicago-style pizza having a much denser crust and bigger space, can layer its toppings. You can put as many and as thick toppings as you want in the deep-dish pizza.
The Amount Of Oil
Despite having more ingredients and larger volume, the Chicago-style pizza has a more evenly distributed oil than the New York-style pizza. It uses the oil evenly throughout the dish.
The New York-style pizza will usually have a pool of oil in the middle, which can even drip down on the crust, while the Chicago-style pizza has both oils inside and outside the toppings.
This makes the Chicago-style pizza appear drier than the New York-style pizza. However, when it comes to the literal volume and content, then, of course, the Chicago-style pizza has more oil.
The Assembly
This is the category where you will also see a big difference between these two styles of pizzas. The arrangement of the toppings and other ingredients is different for these two pizzas.
The New York-style pizza uses a more traditional approach with its toppings arrangement. You lay the crust first, spread the pizza sauce, and then put the toppings between thin layers of cheese.
As for the Chicago-style pizza, you lay the cheese down on the crust first to use it as a protective cover for the toppings.
Then you put a layer of meat on top of the cheese, preferably sausage or thick meat. You then add another layer of cheese on top of the meat.
Then put the thinner slices of meat or toppings such as pepperoni on the cheese before covering the entire surface with the pizza sauce.
How Do You Eat The Pizza?
The way the pizza gets served and the way you eat them are different. For the New York-style pizza, it is usually great for a snack on the go when you are in a hurry.
The Chicago-style pizza is for a sit-down meal as it has a lot of ingredients that might fall off when you eat it on the go. It is also served in a pot or, well, a deep dish, and you eat it with a fork.
New York-style pizza usually comes in slices, and you can eat it right away by folding it in half to get as much of the topping and other ingredients as you can in one big bite.
Which One Is Better?
Now that you know all the major differences between the New York-style pizza and the Chicago-style pizza, you can decide which one is better for your taste.
They have many differences, especially on the flavor, and I prefer the Chicago-style pizza since I can taste more of the meaty ingredients and the different cheese.
However, I am not always in the mood for a big meal, so I would prefer the New York-style pizza when I want something to munch on. There are days where one will be a better option than the other.
So when it comes to choosing between the New York-style pizza and the Chicago-style pizza, I would say that it all comes down to your preferences as they are both great-tasting pizzas!
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