Lost in translation

I have long been an enthusiastic amateur pizzaiolo.

Once I became gainfully employed (as a young man back in the late seventies) and could thus afford on occasion to eat out, it didn’t take long to discover a somewhat superior but yet reasonably-priced pizza chain that I and other close friends and associates could frequent – and where we subsequently spent a fair amount of our leisure time.

Pizza Express was founded in London back on 1965 by Italophile and pizza enthusiast – Peter Boizot. He had learnt how to make Neapolitan pizzas properly in Italy and was eager to share his knowledge. Though it has since been bought out the chain is still running today in the UK and elsewhere and is still a reliable ‘go to’ when one is in the mood for a good basic pizza.

I liked the product so much (whilst at the same time disliking grocery store pizzas with a similar fervour) that I decided that I had to learn how to make my own pizzas at home. Mr. Boizot had helpfully published a slender volume describing the art in detail and I rapidly acquired a copy. The book has long since disappeared into that mysterious place to which valuable things sadly vanish all too often, but not before I had memorised most of the essential details.

I happily spent the next three and a half decades practicing the noble art and – though I say so myself – I ended up as a pretty decent pizzaiolo.

Then we moved to Canada!…

I still make pizza – though somewhat less frequently than of yore – but I have found that I must now relearn how to make it well. The reason for this somewhat counter-intuitive fact is simple: ingredients!

Back in the UK I had a reliable source of “00” flour, usable instant yeast, various ‘ready to go’ tomato bases and just the right cheeses, mushrooms, olives and artichoke hearts and suchlike.

Here in Canada these things are all subtly different and the resulting pizzas just aren’t quite as good. I found the flour but instant yeast results have thus far varied wildly, making it difficult to get a reliable ‘rise’ and the consequent fluffy texture. Cheeses are difficult in part because of the Canadian habit of selling everything in vast quantities. I used to be able to get a decent mozzarella from Waitrose in just the right portion size to make a decent pizza for two. Here I have to buy a huge thing which results either in my overdoing its use or in wasting good cheese. I can’t get quite such good goat cheeses either.

The main problem, however, has been the tomato base. In the UK there were at least two different products that delivered from the can the required thickness, texture and taste to make a reliably yummy pizza. Here there is apparently no equivalent. I am now having to resort to learning how to make my own tomato base from scratch. One might suggest that I could have done this before now, but the fact remains that there was previously no need to do so. It is now going to take me a while to learn how to turn out a decent one.

Oh well! There is – as they say – no harm in trying (at least we get to eat pizza!)…