What if we told you that according to Italians, the second best frozen pizza is a French brand?
Considered “the Italian Michelin”, the Gambero Rosso is an essential guide to Italian gastronomy which unearths the best restaurants and products of the boot. In November, he compiled his ranking of the best frozen pizzas, a symbolic product of the Italian boot which has become a must-have in supermarkets. Its jury, made up of professional pizza makers and sensory analysis experts, blindly tasted 37 competing pizzas. Among the best, we surprisingly find a well-known pizza from our French brands.
In order to test the frozen pizzas, the Gambero Rosso jury focused exclusively on the Margherita in the classic round version, garnished with tomato sauce, basil and fior di latte mozarella. Born in Naples in 1889, Margherita pizza recalls the colors of the Italian flag with its 3 unique ingredients. The frozen pizzas tested were purchased from the supermarket shelves of the main retail chains in Rome.
Among the 37, only 9 were deemed satisfactory, based on criteria characteristic of the true classic Margherita pizza: a tasty dough “which is not just a support”, “with an airy structure, light, soft but also crunchy on the edges and with the honeycomb in the cornice”, a tomato “which does not only act as a veil but as a very red and pulpy layer”, “the possible presence of a few pieces of mozzarella” , “fresh basil, precise fats”, “a fragrance reminiscent of these typical ingredients” and “a characteristic, fresh and clean taste and aroma of the traditional Margherita”.
Among the lucky winners, we find 8 Italian pizza brands: Esselunga (in 3rd, 6th and 9th position), Magnifica Rotonda (4th), Roncadin Extravoglia (5th), Consilia (7th), Zanini (8th) and L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, at the head of the pack. But then, who landed on the second step of the podium?
Surprisingly, it is the Carrefour brand, leader in mass distribution in France and present in Italy with nearly 1,500 points of sale, which rises to second place. “The Margherita Carrefour Classic is a pizza that tastes like pizza,” commented the jury, “composed of wheat flour and water, mozzarella, tomato puree and pulp, sunflower oil, salt, olive oil, dextrose, dehydrated oregano, yeast and cooked in a wood oven before being frozen.
This pizza reminded him of the Italian “bassa romana” type pizza, “well seasoned, particularly rich in mozzarella”. The jury particularly appreciated its smell and taste “without defects”, its “fat but precise mozzarella” and its dough “fine with a honeycomb edge” and “melting”.
“What more could you ask for for a frozen pizza at just over 3 euros for two portions?” they ended up concluding. All you need to do is try this frozen Margherita pizza by going to the local supermarket.