St. Louis–style pizza is a type of
pizza
Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...
in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, Missouri, and surrounding areas.
The pizza has a thin
cracker
Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to:
Animals
* ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies
* '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker"
Arts and entertainment Films ...
-like crust made without yeast, topped with sweet tomato sauce, is cut into squares or rectangles (rather than wedges), and topped with
provel
Provel ( ) is a white processed cheese prominent in Cuisine of St. Louis, St. Louis cuisine. A combination of Cheddar cheese, cheddar, Swiss cheese (North America), Swiss, provolone, and liquid smoke, Provel has a low melting point, a gooey textu ...
cheese.
St. Louis–style pizza is available at local restaurants and chains such as
Imo's Pizza
Imo's Pizza is an American chain of pizza restaurants headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. As of 2020, the company says it has more than 100 restaurants and stores in Missouri, Illinois and Kansas.
As of November 2015, Imo's was ranked the 32n ...
. Frozen St. Louis–style pizzas are sold at local supermarkets such as
Schnucks and
Dierbergs Markets
Dierbergs is a supermarket chain based in Chesterfield, Missouri. It effectively splits the Greater St. Louis grocery market with Schnucks among locally based retailers. Dierbergs operates 26 stores in both Missouri and Illinois. In 2006 it emp ...
.
Distinct characteristics
Thin crust
Made without
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...
and rolled thin,
the crust of St. Louis–style pizza is crisp and cracker-like, unlike the doughier
deep dish pizza and
New York–style pizza
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide Pizza by the slice, slices Take-out, to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough ...
.
Instead of the larger pie-like wedges seen in other pizza styles, it is cut into three- or four-inch squares, referred to as a ''party cut'' or ''tavern cut''.
It has been suggested that the square cut was inspired by
Ed Imo’s former profession as a tile-layer. The smaller slices and rigid crust help support the weight of its toppings.
Provel cheese
Provel cheese is used in place of mozzarella.
Provel is a white
processed cheese
Processed cheese (also known as process cheese; related terms include cheese food, prepared cheese, cheese product, and/or government cheese) is a product made from cheese mixed with an emulsifying agent (actually a calcium chelator). Additiona ...
made from
cheddar,
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
, and
provolone
Provolone (, ) is an Italian semi-hard cheese made from cow's milk. It is an aged ''pasta filata'' ('stretched-curd') cheese originating in the Campania region, near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes long. P ...
,
developed by Costa Grocery in St. Louis during the 1950s. It’s made in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
by a
Kraft Heinz
The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz (), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is t ...
subsidiary, primarily for the St. Louis market.
Sweet tomato sauce
The tomato sauce is seasoned with more
oregano
Oregano (, ; ''Origanum vulgare'') is a species of flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It was native to the Mediterranean region, but widely naturalised elsewhere in the temperate climate, temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Oregano is a ...
than other styles of pizza,
and is sweeter, likely due to the influence of Sicilian immigrants upon Italian foods in St. Louis.
See also
*
Cuisine of the Midwestern United States
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs ...
*
Cuisine of St. Louis
*
Pizza cheese
Pizza cheese encompasses several varieties and types of cheeses and dairy products that are designed and manufactured for use specifically on pizza. These include processed and modified cheese, such as mozzarella-like processed cheeses and ...
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis-style pizza
Cuisine of St. Louis
Pizza in the United States
Pizza styles