As we progress through the year, the pizza scene is witnessing a refreshing influx of culinary fads, with 2023 being ripe with innovation. At SoftDomain, keeping abreast of what's tickling the pizza aficionado's palate is our forte. Here’s a lowdown on the top pizza toppings that are the talk of the town this year.
1. Fermented Vegetables
The spotlight on digestive wellness has trickled down to pizza offerings, where fermented vegetables have emerged as an unexpected top choice. A blend of tangy tastes like kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickled onions enhance the traditional flavors of cheese and tomato sauce. These toppings are not only a boon for gut health via probiotics but also add novel textures to the pizza experience.
Experience our Fermentation Fiesta pie, boasting in-house sauerkraut, kimchi, and bold gorgonzola, perfectly balanced with a local honey drizzle. This quirky mix is swiftly climbing the ranks as a fan favorite.
2. Plant-Based Meats
As plant-focused diets gain momentum, the appetite for pizzas with inventive meat substitutes has surged. Moving past conventional veggie toppings, there's been a breakthrough with plant proteins that even satisfy staunch carnivores.
Options such as vegan Italian sausage chunks, seasoned tempeh, jackfruit in a pulled pork style, and pea protein-based pepperoni now adorn our pizzas. These toppings appeal broadly, thanks to their distinct tastes and being easier on the stomach.
3. Distinctive Chili Flavors
Fans of fiery flavors are celebrating as pizza lovers now prefer specialized chili varieties, moving away from generic red pepper flakes. Calabrian chilies carry on their popularity, while unique peppers like the Aleppo, Spanish ñora chilies, Peruvian aji amarillo, and Korean gochujang are gaining traction.
Embark on a spicy voyage with our Global Heat pizza, showcasing a quartet of these diverse chilies, each lending its exclusive taste to separate pizza quarters. This pie is particularly beloved by our daring patrons.
4. Wildly Foraged Components
The leap from farm-to-table to forest-to-pizza involves the growing appeal of wild ingredients, especially seasonal foraged toppings. Leading this trend are wild mushrooms such as chanterelles, morels, and forest nome varieties during their prime seasons.
We're also incorporating wild leeks, interesting sea greens like dulse and nori, and aromatic spruce tips. These elements offer our clientele a true taste of nature while imparting unique flavors that commercial cultivation can't replicate.
5. Exquisite Honey Infusions
The blend of sweet and savory provided by honey has secured its place as more than a fleeting fancy. Capitalizing on the warm reception of spicy honey in previous years, 2023 witnesses a rise in the use of exclusive honey sorts drizzled over pizzas at the penultimate moment.
Our menu features distinctive varieties like truffle honey, fermented garlic honey, mesquite-infused honey, and honey with the essence of CBD. These final drizzles inject complexity and propel even the simplest pizza concoctions to gourmet stature.
Honorable Mentions
Several other toppings nearly made it to our top five but are still worth mentioning:
- Preserved egg yolks, finely grated over the pizza, resembling a delicate yellow flurry
- Marinated fruits, with an emphasis on stone fruit varieties such as peaches and apricots
- Ancient grains for added crunch, including toasted farro or puffed sorghum
- Drops of artisanal butter, particularly those enriched with culture or infused with herbs
No matter if you're a purist who savors timeless classics or someone who's eager to explore daring new flavors, pizza remains one of the world's most versatile and cherished dishes. At SoftDomain, we revere time-honored recipes as much as we celebrate modern creativity, which is why you'll encounter both the quintessential Margherita and revolutionary pizzas on our line-up.
Have these trending toppings graced your palate? Or perhaps you harbor a signature topping concoction you'd love for us to explore? Share your thoughts in the comments or during your next visit!