Well I had just reviewed Mama Cozzi’s own Italian Meat take and bake pizza, and called it one of the best I’ve had from the supermarket chain. How was I to know that it would be topped just a couple of nights later?
Also a Special Buy, in that once it’s sold out, it’s gone, Mama Cozzi’s Take and Bake Hawaiian pizza is just what you would expect from such a pizza, except for one semi-odd thing: Instead of pizza sauce, it has barbecue. Now for me, that wasn’t much of a big deal, as I rarely eat Hawaiian pizzas. But my wife, who has eaten a few in her day, was a lot more apprehensive of the sauce switch.
The unique thing about this pizza, is at a quick glance, you’re not going to see any pineapple on it whatsoever. That’s because there isn’t any on it. Instead, it comes in a separate plastic container, and you put it on yourself right before baking. This prevents the pineapple from getting too mushy, or getting everything else too soggy. It also keeps the pineapple fresh, to the point that it tastes like a freshly-cut pineapple. I was expecting it to be more akin to canned pineapple, but even once it’s cooked, it’s very sweet, very juicy, and very flavorful.
The ham appears in paper-thin chunks, yet is still the perfect counter to the sweetness of the pineapple. In fact, the ham’s thinness is actually a good thing, as it avoids the taste of being overly salty, something that plagues a lot of Aldi’s take and bake meat pizzas (and a lot of meaty pizzas in general). The cheese is standard stuff; good, but nothing spectacular to write home about. However, the addition of the barbecue sauce is a truly inspired moment, as the sweetness of the barbecue perfectly compliments the sweetness of the pineapple. Even my wife was impressed, giving this pizza surprisingly high marks, and obliterating her skepticism of trading pizza sauce for barbecue.
This pizza is also only available in thin crust, so those that enjoy their pizzas a little more traditional and thick, might want to think twice before purchasing. However, much like the Italian Meat pizza, it only took about 14 minutes to get a perfect crisp on the cracker-thin crust, and I felt the crispiness made the pizza even more enjoyable. If you see this one, and aren’t opposed to pineapple on your pizza, I strongly urge you to pick this one up!
Overall: 8.5/10. A delicious Hawaiian pizza that replaces pizza sauce with barbecue. Wisely, the pineapple is left off the pizza, and included in a separate plastic pouch, which keeps it fresher, and from getting everything else too soggy. Tastewise, the sweetness of the barbecue mixes perfectly with the sweetness of the pineapple, while the paper-thin ham chunks provide just the perfect amount of salty to balance everything out (while preventing it from being too salty, like many other Aldi take and bakes are). One of the best of Aldi’s take and bakes, and we’ve tried just about all of them!
