- What makes New York city pizza so special?
Oh, my God!
To find out, I smuggled New York City tap water
over the border and into my kitchen
to see if my friends could tell the difference.
- Ooh!
- It tastes pizza-y.
- Thank you to Google
for sponsoring a portion of today's video.
I'm gonna start off this video by saying I love pizza.
I think I start a lot of my videos off
by saying I love the thing that I'm talking about.
But truly, how can you not love pizza?
And apparently, New York City
has some of the best pizza in the world,
and I wanna know why.
Is this just an excuse to go to New York
and eat a whole bunch of pizza?
Maybe, but it's all for the name of science.
So in this video,
let's figure out why New York pizza is so good.
I think this is gonna be the best research montage ever.
(upbeat music)
Can I just get one slice of cheese pizza, please?
Thank you.
You want a slice?
Hi, can I just get one slice of cheese pizza?
One slice of cheese pizza, please.
Can I just get one slice of cheese pizza?
Made it just in the nick of time
to get the last slice.
I've already had a bite
and I can say it is good.
I tried a lot of pizza places
and talked to as many people as I could
to figure out why New York pizza is so good.
- We're at West 4th in New York City
and we're talking about our best pizza spots.
- This is a thin crust.
You're not cutting it with a knife and fork.
- It's crisp, but it's also chewy.
It just gives you a perfect pie.
- That's what New York is about.
- One of best places for food in the world.
- You come in, you take a slice to go.
- I'm a New Yorker now.
Oh, my God!
It's so good.
So I got myself some ice cream
because I need a break from pizza,
while we thank Google
for sponsoring this portion of today's video.
So I'm in New York
and I've been trying to find small pizza businesses,
'cause honestly, it's easier to get interviews.
But seriously, I like supporting small businesses
because you can actually get to know the people
that you're buying from,
like female restaurateurs
in a traditionally male-dominated field,
or store owners who make it clear that everyone is welcome.
And if that sounds like something you like too,
I've got some good news for you.
The team at Google have made it a goal
to help people better find businesses they wanna support.
Here's two of my favorites.
In the US, businesses can identify as Black-owned,
Latino-owned, and/or women-owned,
which can make it easier
for us to support diverse entrepreneurs.
And you can find these badges on Google Maps,
Search, and Shopping.
Businesses can also share
if they have gender neutral bathrooms,
and if they're safe spaces for trans people.
I just think that these things are a neat thing
to look out for.
If you wanna learn more about these features
and how Google is helping build a world
where everyone can belong,
visit belonging.google.
Thanks again to Google
for sponsoring this portion of the video.
I'm gonna go get some more pizza and some water.
Okay, bye!
Look at that bad boy.
So what about New York pizza?
- New York is known for pizza and bagels.
You know, you have to use quality cheese, quality tomatoes.
- You know, we use very fresh ingredients.
- You know what you're doing,
I guess you can make it.
- [Melissa] As the week went on,
I noticed that when I asked people
what made New York pizza so special,
something kept coming up.
- Can you hear that?
When you bite the slice,
you have to hear that.
(crust crunches)
And this, we believe, is in water.
- The New York City water really does play a huge part.
- They claiming it's the water.
- It's the water.
Allows the crust to rise differently.
- So I'm back from New York. (horn honks)
Doesn't feel like I'm back from New York.
Same old honking.
And I can confirm that New York pizza is delicious.
Everyone that I talked to seemed to mention the water.
Now, what is this mysterious water bottle you might ask?
I smuggled New York City tap water over the border
for the content,
more specifically, for the pizza.
So I wanted to know,
what makes New York City tap water so special?
90% of New York City's tap water
actually comes from the Catskill/Delaware watersheds.
And that provides notably soft water.
For our purposes,
water hardness basically refers to the amount
of dissolved calcium and magnesium in the water.
New York City's can be around 30 milligrams per liter,
but Toronto's, where I'm from,
is around 117 milligrams per liter.
Now, there isn't anything dangerous about this.
Both of these are within safe ranges
for us to eat and drink.
But according to some articles that I found
and basically everyone in New York City,
the mineral composition can actually change the way
that the dough tastes.
So, I'm gonna make two pizzas,
one with my smuggled tap water
and the second, tap water from Toronto.
And then we're gonna see
if we can taste the difference.
To make a New York style pizza,
you need thin, crispy crust,
tomato sauce, and cheese.
Let's start with the dough.
The fluffy and chewiness of a pizza crust,
and you have those little air pockets under the sauce,
that is all caused by gluten in the dough.
And gluten is formed when you mix flour and water,
and it forms this web that you can kind of manipulate
by kneading the dough with these pushes and pulls
that you see I'm doing here.
But another thing that impacts this web is water hardness.
Water that's really soft leads to weak gluten development.
And then you'll get a dough
that's kind of droopy and sticky.
And then if you have water that's too hard,
it tightens the gluten,
and it makes it chewy and kind of rubbery.
So apparently, New York City tap water
is this perfect in-between.
It should result in a tender, but chewy, crust.
Okay, so these doughs need to rest.
Let's move on to the other parts of the pizza.
For the cheese,
we're gonna be using some low-moisture mozzarella.
Some people like to add a little bit
of Pecorino or Parmesan on top.
I think it's controversial.
I liked it with it.
It's gonna be good regardless.
We are here to test the dough.
I'm gonna make some homemade tomato sauce
and it's apparently gotta be slightly sweet.
So, it is day two and I've got my pizza dough here.
It is risen.
And I've got all my ingredients to assemble this pizza.
But I've got some friends 'cause...
Well, hold on.
- New York pizza! - Hey, I'm here
for the New York Pizza! - We want some pizza!
This is too intense. - I came all the way
from London. - I can't!
- I'm here for the pizza!
- [Sabrina] What are we doing?
- Let's make some pizza.
- [Sabrina] Some pizza!
- Pizza!
- Look at these doughs!
- [Sabrina] So this is the New York one.
(Sabrina gasps)
Toronto water bad, Toronto dough bad.
- [Melissa] Oh no, this isn't supposed to happen.
- I'm gonna poke it.
Oh!
Ugh, this is not what I expected!
- This is what Tony did.
He, like, put flour on top,
and then he, like, pushed out a crust.
So much flour.
That looks pretty good!
That's a big... - That's a big lump.
- Oh no!
It's not gonna be round anymore.
Guys, I'm so excited for you to try this sauce.
It's actually delicious.
This is a gigantic slice of cheese
and we're just gonna slap it on there.
- [Sabrina] Can you describe the odor of the cheese?
- It smells like cheese to me.
- [Sabrina] Can you describe the odor of the cheese?
- I can't smell it.
- [Sabrina] Come down here.
- Oh. (Sabrina laughs)
It smells sad.
- Sad?
- [Sabrina] Kind of like a foot that's been at some place.
- Yeah.
- [Sabrina] It's so bland and smells of feet.
- Well, we're gonna bake it now.
In like a pizza oven,
it's like 500 to 600 degrees.
This is dough number two.
This is Toronto dough.
It's a little bit harder to stretch.
Did you know that New York pizzas
are supposed to be 18 inches big?
What oven can fit an 18-inch pizza at home?
- A 19-inch oven.
- [Melissa] I just do that.
Boom.
- [Taha] This looks so sad.
- Ready for the oven.
Alrighty, now we wait.
- So hungry.
She made us watch her make these pizzas for four hours.
- [Melissa] I have two waters for you.
- So I just need to figure out which one's New York.
- Okay, and this is the only thing that's different
between the pizzas.
- [Melissa] Yes.
- I'm so worried I'm gonna get this wrong.
- It tastes of water.
Tastes of pipes.
- It's wet. - Do I have to guess?
- Calling it!
Toronto, New York.
- Well, I think this is New York water.
- No?
New York, your water is terrible.
- Toronto water is whack.
- [Melissa] So we couldn't tell the difference
between the way New York water and Toronto water tastes.
But what about the pizzas?
All right, now I present to you, pizza.
- Okay.
- [Melissa] You may eat it.
- On looks alone,
I definitely cannot tell the difference
between these two pizzas.
They could plausibly be two slices
from the same pizza.
This is firmer.
This feels more confident as a pizza.
This has some, like, grit to it.
This has some New York grit, you know?
It's like, "Hey, I'm walking here."
This is like, "Oh, sorry.
I'll get out of your way."
I did not like how this one chewed.
- [Sabrina] Mm!
- This one definitely chews nicer.
I think this is New York pizza.
- [Sabrina] Why?
- It tastes better.
No, it tastes pizza-y.
This is more pizza-y and this is more bread-y.
Do I know which one is New York and which one isn't?
Absolutely not.
But did I enjoy this one more?
Absolutely.
- [Melissa] The one you enjoyed more was the New York pizza.
- Yes!
Yeah.
This was nicer.
With the sauce and the cheese,
I couldn't really tell the difference.
- [Melissa] All righty, you ready for pizza?
- Yes!
This one seems greasier,
seems like it absorbed a lot more oil.
These are both pizzas.
Oh, I'm gonna test the floppiness.
Ooh!
Look at that, that's a perfect arch.
Look at this, uneven.
ASMR.
(crust crinkles)
Seems bubblier.
This crust seems a lot fluffier than this one
which is kind of like flat.
It doesn't seem like it's risen as much.
It's so cold.
It's good.
It was so room temperature.
The sauce is good.
The flavor of the cheese
is, like, so dominant on both of these
that I can't get a flavor difference.
Now we're going to the crust.
Needed to pull it.
Very chewy.
This one has higher potential.
It feels like a premium breadstick, you know?
You go to the good Olive Garden.
I've never had a New York slice before.
Never been to New York.
Love the accent, hate the water.
By my knowledge, harder water,
which I know that Toronto has,
tends to like increase the toughness in the dough.
So just based off of, like, the structure of this bread
and just like the toughness of eating it,
I'm assuming this one is the Toronto one
and this is the New York one.
Yes!
Okay, I'm gonna eat both of these now, goodbye!
- What are guys doing back there and giggling?
All righty, pizza!
- [Taha] Here are your pizzas.
- [Sabrina] Based off looks alone,
which one's which? - Okay.
I made both of them.
They look the same.
Okay, this one feels softer.
I really destroyed this crust.
It looks like...
It looks like an animal came to attack it.
They look exactly the same.
You're right, it was cold.
Very room temperature.
They tastes exactly the same.
- [Taha] Hey, Melissa, I have something to admit to you.
They are the same pizza.
- They were the same pizza?
Pizza.
I know which one it is.
- Oh, you do? - Which one?
This one is the New York pizza
and this one's the Toronto pizza.
It's because I recognize the cheese pattern.
- [Sabrina] She's a little freak!
- Does this taste like New York pizza?
No, they both taste good,
but none of them taste like New York pizza.
I feel like there's so much more than just the water
that makes New York pizza what it is.
There's the sauce, cheese, I guess?
The ovens that they cook it in.
They're so hot.
The recipes that have been passed down
and the people who are just out there
making pizza every day.
- What make a difference
is everybody try to do better and better.
So if you got competition,
that's what makes things better.
That's what I believe.
- I think at the end of the day,
if you want some New York pizza,
you just gotta go there
and try it for yourself.
- [Sabrina] Come on, fellow gremlin.
(Taha laughs)
- [Taha] Pizza, pizza, pizza.