Teenage Pizza Challenge
Time to eat
First out of the oven for taste-testing are the kit pizza from Chef Boyardee, and two of the frozen pizzas: Kraft Jack's and the Red Baron.
Chef Jim slices the pizzas, and the testers get started.
Slice it or Dice it?
Before you decide which way to slice, think about how you will serve the pizza.
If you are slicing pizza for snacks at a party, then little squares are a good idea. If you are serving up a meal, heartier wedges are in order.
Close
Chef Jim tells Fannie, LaLee and Carissa his recipe for pizza. Make a Pizza From Scratch!
LaLee (center), age 13, is glad that Jim's recipe lets you "make your crust thick the way I like it!"
First turn on the oven to 400 degrees, and then make the dough. Here's Chef Jim's pizza dough recipe:
- 1 TBSP warm water;
- 1 packet (1 tsp.) yeast;
- 1/2 tsp. honey or sugar;
Mix the above ingredients in a medium-size bowl, and let it sit, covered with a slightly damp clean dish towel, in a warm place for 5-10 minutes. Add:
- 1/2 c. warm water;
- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour;
- 1/2 tsp salt.
Stir in the flour, then start adding more, 1/2 cup at a time until the dough starts to form. Turn the sticky dough out onto a clean table top and knead, using small amounts of flour until the dough is smooth, not sticky. Cover it with the damp dish towel. Let the dough sit for 60-90 minutes.
In a sauce pan, gently heat the following ingredients to make Chef Jim's pizza sauce:
- 7 ounces (1/2 of a 15-ounce can) of crushed tomatoes;
- Salt, pepper and oregano to taste (try 1/2 tsp. at a time). Other seasonings could include garlic, basil, fennel, thyme, and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper.
Use your fingers (or a rolling pin) to push (or roll) your dough into a shape for the crust. Make the crust the same shape as the pan. Make it as thick or thin as you like. Use a small amount of oil or butter to "grease" the pan. If you want, you can sprinkle a small amount of cornmeal on top of the grease. Place your crust on the pan.
Start layering toppings onto your crust, beginning with the tomato sauce. Over the sauce, spread your choice of cheese and meat toppings. Other popular toppings include mushrooms, onions, olives, and even pineapple!
Bake your pizza for 11-13 minutes.
CloseWhile they're writing down their evaluations of the first two, the Papa Murphy's take-and-bake, and Chef Jim's homemade pizzas are ready.
Within a few minutes, the DiGiorno pizza comes out of the oven.
The testers have written numbers on the plates for each different pizza to help them keep track of their slices for rating.
This is a serious job! As they taste, the testers debate the merits of the different pizzas.
The winners
The ratings:
Cynthia says, "host your own food challenge!" Host a Your own Food Challenge
Pizza's not the only thing your friends will like to taste-test. For your own food challenge, choose the:
- Food you will taste-test;
- Friends will invite to the challenge;
- Method you'll use to rate the food you taste.
Cynthia, age 15, says the Googolplex Teenage Pizza Challenge is like a party!
Get the food preparation underway before your friends arrive. Hide the brand names and packages that go with the food samples.
Give each food sample a number. Then write the numbers on the undersides of small paper plates. For example, if you have six tasters, label six paper plates #1 for food sample #1, and so forth. That way the tasters only have a number to identify the food, not a brand name.
Time it so your friends arrive while the food is cooking, cooling, or heating up (depending on the food). Explain the evaluation form to them.
Use an evaluation form that includes a line for the taste tester's name, and a chart similar to the one in the story—but not filled in.
First impressions are important, so have the taste testers fill out the rating sheet while they are eating. They don't have to eat a big portion to sample each food. A few bites will do!
CloseThe testers rate the pizzas on a scale of 1 to 5. A “5” means “excellent.” A “1” means “poor.”
In the table, pizza slices show the averages of their scores. The overall averages are in the very last row.
Click here for highlights and more details of the evaluations.
Highlights and Details of the Evaluations
Jim's pizza is rated best overall.
- Chef Jim's homemade pizza is the overall favorite. It's also the least expensive pizza and is one of two pizzas with the lowest calorie count. It requires the most preparation.
- Even though Chef Jim's homemade pizza is the overall favorite, if you average the scores for all seven categories, the pizza with the highest average score is a frozen pizza: Red Baron Classic.
- Papa Murphy's Take-and-Bake costs almost as a restaurant pizza delivered to your door!
- Kraft Jack's Original is the only pizza that doesn't win in any category. Price alone is not a good way to buy a pizza, unless you're broke!
Rate This Pizza!
(5 = excellent; 1 = poor) | Pizza #1
| Pizza #2
| Pizza #3
| Pizza #4
| Pizza #5
| Pizza #6
|
| Visual appearance | 3.3 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
| Flavor: Crust | 2.8 | 2.0 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 3.2 |
| Flavor: Sauce | 3.1 | 2.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 3.0 |
| Flavor: Cheese | 4.4 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 3.7 |
| Flavor: Pepperoni topping | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.6 |
| All flavors combined | 3.9 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
| Overall favorite | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
| Average overall rating | 3.4 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 |
ClosePizza everyday and anyway
What's your pizza style? Pizza Style: Chicago vs. New York
Chicago has a style of pizza all its own. They place mozzarella cheese on the bottom, use a thick crust, and add heavy toppings. Everything oozes together. Even one slice of gooey Chicago-style pizza is a filling meal.
A restaurant owner created the dish at his Chicago bar and grill, Pizzeria Uno. The pizza was so popular he soon opened another place nearby called Pizzeria Due. That was in 1943. Today it's everywhere!
In New York City, pizza slices from neighborhood pizza parlors are wider and the crust thinner than those served in Chicago.
They toss the crust in the air and twirl it to stretch it into a circle. The thin crust cooks fast and can't handle many heavy toppings. A slice of New-York-style pizza is very large!
ClosePizza is great for parties or for a simple meal when no one feels like cooking. It's an every-day food for our tasters, available at their schools for lunch. But about the school pizza, Fannie says, “it's bad.”
After the Teenage Pizza Challenge, the taste testers are going to make Chef Jim's pizza at home!
True or False: Andrew Jackson was against slavery and actively campaigned to abolish it.
Click Andrew's head for the answer.
FALSE: Jackson was not against slavery and in fact owned slaves at his mansion, the Hermitage.
contributed by
Sarah
Madison, WI
09/11/09
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