Pineapple on Pizza and 15 Other Polarizing Foods

Posted on May 5th, 2021 in Surveys

Pineapple on pizza: yum or yuck? Depending on who you are, you might feel very strongly about your answer! How about other foods, like cilantro? Do you add it to your food like it’s going out of style, or when you think of it, do you grimace and wonder why people just don’t understand it tastes like soap? In some cases (like with cilantro!), the taste of certain foods is based on genetics. In other cases, there is no genetic component whatsoever: we just know which foods we love and which ones we hate! 

Disgusted woman

POLARIZING FOODS: PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA, CILANTRO, SEAFOOD…

At LEO, we were curious about whether Canadians and Americans love or hate certain foods that are often quite polarizing! After all, it’s just your opinion, but we listen to you. 😉 In early April, we surveyed over 1,500 Canadians and over 1,000 Americans to ask whether they love, hate, or are indifferent/don’t know how they feel about each of the following: 

  • Onions  
  • Mushrooms  
  • Pickles  
  • Seafood  
  • Avocado  
  • Olives  
  • Beets  
  • Pineapple on pizza  
  • Brussels sprouts  
  • Cilantro  
  • Bologna  
  • Kale  
  • Black licorice  
  • Blue cheese  
  • Tofu  
  • Anchovies 

What did they tell us? Keep reading to find out!

THE MOST LOVED FOODS: ONIONS, MUSHROOMS, PICKLES, AND SEAFOOD 

Among both Canadians and Americans, onions, mushrooms, and pickles were the most loved foods on our list of polarizing foods, with more than seven-in-ten Canadians and more than six-in-ten Americans saying they love each one. In the United States, seafood (tied with pickles for second place) was also one of the most loved foods.  

Which polarizing foods are the most loved?

THE MOST HATED FOODS: ANCHOVIES, BLACK LICORICE, BLUE CHEESE, AND TOFU

Among both Canadians and Americans, anchovies (56% of Canadians hate them, and 58% of Americans hate them) and black licorice (46% of Canadians hate it, 49% of Americans hate it) made the list of the top 3 most hated foods. Among Canadians, blue cheese also made the top 3 most-hated list, while among Americans, tofu was also in the top 3 (tied with black licorice for second place).  

Which polarizing foods are the most hated?

BUT WAIT…WHAT ABOUT PINEAPPLE ON PIZZA? 

Given how certain people we know have behaved when we’ve brought up ordering a pizza with pineapple at a party (remember how those used to be a thing pre-COVID-19?), we were surprised to see that pineapple on pizza didn’t make the most-loved or most-hated lists! In fact, 54% of Canadians say they love pineapple on pizza, while 28% say they hate it (and 18% are indifferent). Among Americans, opinions are more polarized: 43% say they love pineapple on pizza, while 36% say they hate it (and 22% are indifferent).  

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SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This web survey was conducted from April 23 to 25, 2021, with 1,548 Canadians and 1,003 Americans, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel. The data was analyzed and weighted by our statisticians using 2016 Census reference variables (for the Canadian data) and 2010 US Census reference variables (for the American data) to render it representative of the opinions of Canadians and Americans.

WHICH FOOD FROM OUR LIST ABOVE DO YOU LOVE THE MOST, AND WHICH ONE DO YOU HATE THE MOST? TELL US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE OTHER MAY BLOGS ON LEO:

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