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NJ Pizza

post #1 of 22
7/15/07 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
I just got back to my place in Oregon after visiting family in NJ.

MMMM what good stuff I had there, pizza, NJ corn, blueberries, tomatoes and I stayed with my sis in PA

What makes NJ pizza so much better than Oregon's??? I really would like to know how I can make pizza almost that good :lips:
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post #2 of 22
7/15/07 at 11:15am
The EC really has it down when it comes to Za

Crusts vary but one thing is consistant, a very good and flavorful sauce!

Lots of fresh herbs, tomotoes and garlic in combination with any quality crust, cheese, and topping combination will be a winner.

Most (not all) pizza places use pre made store bought sauces. It's like anything else..if you want a good product it must be a labor of love.
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post #3 of 22
7/15/07 at 1:07pm
alot of people also say its the water.

no offense to anyone but I think the NY pizzza blows away the NJ pizza.

I work in NJ and have the pizza all the time but I find alot of NY pizza to be much much better.


A guy I worked for brought his pizza and everything out to PA. He triple filters his water for his dough and the sauce is still the same they have been making for years.

What part of PA where you in?
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post #4 of 22
7/15/07 at 5:05pm
He filters it?

I'm under the impression that it's the mineral makeup of NY/NJ water that gives the dough that unique flavor.

It is the same in beer making. Some home brewers add Burton salts to their brew water to simulate the tap water in the UK. (The problem with this is that it messes up the PH.)

Now if only someone would produce a NY pizza dough water salt:smiles:.

I have also heard that it is from the water, but living far from NY for a number of years I have noticed that the flavor of the cheese is part of it too.

Don't know much about cheese distribution in the country, but New York store bought Mozzarella has much better flavor than store bought Mozzarella from California.
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post #5 of 22
7/15/07 at 9:24pm
Thread Starter 
If you're talking the part of NJ that's near NYC, that's a whole different country than where I was, in southern NJ (Burlington County).

Andy
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post #6 of 22
7/15/07 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
I say a pizza crust should be delicious by itself, no cardboard for me and no greasy Pizza Hut crust either.

I think the cheese used in NJ is much better than in Oregon. Also the pepperoni seasoning is different. And in NJ they're not scared of garlic like most places are here.

I'll work on that crust and look for whole milk mozzarella too.
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post #7 of 22
7/16/07 at 6:08pm
Being from the east coast moving west I have learned that most companies will use convection ovens instead of brick. Giving the bread a real chewy taste. I have had great pizza out here, but those places make their own dough, use fresh ingredients, use brick ovens, and above all are not afraid of a little grease.
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post #8 of 22
7/17/07 at 8:26am
Honestly I think it has everything to do with the large number of Italians that settled in NJ/NY. They just know how to make good pizza.

IMO it's all about the sauce. I am from Jersey, but I will agree that Brooklyn pizza blows away Jersey pizza, and chicago comes in at a close 3rd. I have not had a decent slice since I came to the west coast, and I long for the day I can return home and enjoy a slice from the local corner joint.
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post #9 of 22
7/17/07 at 8:09pm
Thread Starter 
On the West coast, seems it's all about toppings and the basic pizza isn't paid as much attention to.

Crust, sauce and cheese are the most important, I say.
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post #10 of 22
8/27/07 at 4:46am
Yup, it's the sauce. They're not afraid of garlic. BTW, not to toot my home state's horn, but we get pretty much the same pizza in CT, as well. I've had pizza in MA, PA, NJ, and NY before I settled in CT. The Freschetta pizzas in convenience stores (i.e. Stop & Shop) aren't half bad, either -- I love their sauce, though I pick off their meatballs before I eat the pizzas.
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post #11 of 22
10/3/07 at 6:53am

Nj Pizza

:talk:Being I am a North Jersey girl for the first 24 yrs. of my life, I thought I would give you all my opinion on this. I do prefer NY Pizza first....NJ 2nd. I was very lucky growing up in a small Italian town, to be able to get quality pizza from Italians. Brick ovens, dough, sauce, kind of cheeses, water and being Italians---all yes. The combo is unbeatable. I heard that one company down South even gets the water shipped in....imagine that! I visited Northern California...sorry about your luck with pizza--not good at all. Here in KY, lived here for 7 yrs.,not good either, but not as bad as California. Eastern PA, you can find some pretty good ones, lived there for 12 yrs. NY sticking to traditional ways.:)
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post #12 of 22
10/3/07 at 8:37am
I don't know who uses it, but triple-cream mozzarella is hard to beat. Just like triple-cream Egyptian Feta, um um good!

doc
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post #13 of 22
10/3/07 at 8:52am
Yall don't know pizza until you had a Chicago deep dish:chef:
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post #14 of 22
10/3/07 at 9:56am

Nj Pizza

:look:Oh no, Abefroman....somehow I knew there would be a "Pizza" war in this!!! LOL Only kidding!!!:)
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post #15 of 22
10/5/07 at 11:13am
I'm convinced that it's the water. The tap water in the NY/NJ area has a ph and mineral makeup that makes it "harder" than anything on the west coast. This effects the taste and texture of the crust. Now, I'm not a chemist and can't explain the "why" of this that well, but I've seen enough evidence of it to believe this is the reason. I was born and raised in NJ, and have been in Los Angeles for about 16 years. There is a bagel company out here that imports NY tap water for this very reason, and they do, in fact, make the best bagel in the city by a long shot. And even though I've actually found good pizza in Los Angeles (Dominianos on fairfax & Joe Peeps in N. Hollywood), there's a noticeably dissapointing difference in west coast pizza, & it's the crust.
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post #16 of 22
10/19/07 at 11:48pm

Chantal Cheese Pizza

My husband and I are making a variety of pizzas tomorrow night, and are looking for different dough recipes. Any suggestions? We would like to find a whole wheat recipe that doesn't get too crisp right away. Also- last year we discovered how delicious Chantal cheese iss compared to mozzarella for pizza. A blend would be delicious too...
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post #17 of 22
10/22/07 at 6:06pm
A search on this forum will show a few ideas, and these 2 links are my favorite sources. Warning, these are very large resources!

encyclopizza and pizza making forum

Enjoy!!
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post #18 of 22
10/23/07 at 7:26am

Cantal pizza and crusts

Thank you so much for the suggestions for crusts, and the terrific background on Cantal. We were surprised too to find that almost every pizza place in Aix en Provence had Cantal on their pizza- sometimes combined with mozzarella, sometimes alone. I prefer it. My husband and I held off on our crust experimentation until tonight- but will make 4 or 5 with different crusts and toppings- reports tomorrow! Many thanks.
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post #19 of 22
3/13/08 at 1:23am
Thread Starter 
A couple days ago I went to recipes page on this site. There was an ad . . wait where did it go? I was gonna order the CD. Bev somebody. Anyway she says crust is the most important thing to get right. And I think that's probably most of it. I'd like to get the CD if anybody can refer me to it.
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post #20 of 22
3/13/08 at 7:47am
depends where in jersey...I'm about at the "mason dixon" line....i agree NYC is better, the further south you go it turns BAD real quick.

Pizza in Philly is not even edible.


soon as you cross the real mason dixon line (which is 195 in NJ) it starts to get bad.

Delorenzos in trenton is pretty good.

I have a local place by me that is REALLY good, in Middlesex county, called caffaros
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post #21 of 22
3/13/08 at 11:28am
;)I hear you on that about going further South. Here's a little :crazy:. I took a trip back up to Eastern PA, Delaware Water Gap. It had been 3 years. As usual, when we get there after 12 hours of driving, we stop and pick up a pizza from one of the better places there. Being so tired from the drive, we pull up to the place and it turned into a:beer:place, which was connecting to it to begin with. Our faces were priceless!!! So, the beer place expanded into the now non exsisting pizza place. :bounce:I guess beer rates higher up there now!!! :cry:Anyway, we drove an hour more into NJ for the pizza and then backtracked to Eastern PA. Couldn't make the NY trip at that point. Please enjoy some pizza up there for us....THANKS !!!:)
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post #22 of 22
3/13/08 at 11:50am
Mozzarella made from real water buffalo tastes worlds apart from that made from typical cows. THAT made all the difference in my homemade pizza.
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