And like two college roommates, we were sharing old pizza…not that old, but it was a refrigerated week-old. And it was sooooo good!
Now, you’re thinking, of course, it was good, Chip; you were drunk and high. But, trust me, there is real-life science behind it all. According to the Science Focus website, leftover pizza tantalizes our taste buds because “a night in the fridge gives the delicious pizza flavors time to merge and mellow in a satisfying way. The pizza keeps its structure when cold, and the tomato layer prevents fat in the cheese topping from seeping into the dough base.”
Okay, now you have some evidence-based reasoning for your late-night “jonesing” for a pizza. Of course, being the aging aficionado (slash weirdo!) that I am, I reflected on what an old slab of pizza has to do with my old slab of life. What do old people and old pizzas have in common? Google was no help, so here’s my theory, which I have italicized to make it feel much more scientific:
“An old pizza is a healed pizza. The etymology of the word ‘heal’ has Germanic roots and comes from ‘to make whole.’ There’s something about the mixing of flavors a day or two later (or maybe a week later) in which the pizza isn’t trying so hard to impress. All the flavors are symphonically aligned in a way they weren’t a day or two earlier.”
– Chip Conley
Yes, my friends, a hot slice of pizza directly out of Tony’s oven here at MEA is a sublime journey. It’s why some alums come back time and again. However, this coming Thursday, I’m going to do something blasphemous. I’m going to take two slices of Tony’s pizza and let them age in the fridge for a couple of days and see what they taste like. I’m betting it’s going to taste like pure bliss.
What do you think? What makes old pizza tasty, especially if you’re NOT high like I am as I’m writing this? LOL.