Don’t Order Pizza in Kyrgyzstan

I went to a nice restaurant in Bishkek. I’d eaten there before and enjoyed it, but this time I felt like trying something different. So I ordered a pepperoni pizza. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t what I expected, either. After I finished, I decided never to order pizza in Kyrgyzstan again.

Not Pepperoni

The crust was fine, if a little odd. But the meat on top wasn’t pepperoni. It was some kind of soft sausage, and felt undercooked compared to the crisp edges and spice of proper pepperoni. It was strange, especially because other dishes at this restaurant had been genuinely good.

After that, I started noticing a pattern. In restaurant after restaurant, I’d flip through the menu, see the pizza section, and spot it again: “pepperoni” pizzas topped with the same soft sausage, not the cured, spicy slices I knew.

I learned something about Kyrgyzstan. They don’t do pizza right.

So, don’t order pizza in Kyrgyzstan.

Still Not Pepperoni

But something is nagging me in the back of my mind. A memory of an Italian friend telling me that Pepperoni isn’t sausage. That pepperoni pizza isn’t pepperoni pizza.

But something was nagging at me; a memory of an Italian friend telling me, “Pepperoni isn’t sausage.”

Did you know that if you ask for pepperoni pizza in Italy, you will get pizza with bell peppers on top?

The pepperoni pizza most of us know and love is actually an Italian-American invention. The name is borrowed from peperoni¹ , the Italian word for peppers. Italian immigrants in the U.S. adapted that word to name a new kind of spicy salami, what most of us now know as pepperoni.

So to Italians, pepperoni is not meat.

That’s something I’ve recently learned about pizza outside of Italy. No one but the Italians do pizza right.

So, don’t order pizza outside of Italy.

“Authentic”

There’s a certain romanticism to seeking out “authentic” food. Original, pure, traditional. But that mindset can overlook the history of food, and how it evolves.

Tomatoes, for instance, are native to the Americas. Europeans didn’t encounter them until they began colonizing the New World. Does that mean that Italian pizza, with its tomato sauce base, isn’t authentic?

I think there’s value in recognizing what people consider authentic cuisine. Food is a deep part of every culture. But there’s also nothing wrong with adaptations. Pepperoni pizza may not be Italian, but it’s beloved around the world. And the strange sausage topping I keep finding in Kyrgyzstan is popular all over Central Asia. That’s just how pizza is done here. It’s been tailored to local tastes.

When I lived in China, I used to joke that I missed Chinese food because the “Chinese” food I grew up with in the UK is so different from the real thing. But I still like the sweet-and-sour dishes and thick sauces of British Chinese takeout. It’s just not the same as what you’d find in Shanghai or Chengdu.

And China isn’t shy about adapting foreign food, either. People in the West argue endlessly about whether pineapple belongs on pizza. If only they knew the kinds of toppings you’ll find on pizza in China.

So I’ve learned something about pizza. It’s often adapted to local tastes creating many new variants. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

So, order pizza wherever you like.