After hearing about how the water in our region is the main reason for New York's awesome pizza for years I decided to finally do some myth-busting.

I have had pizza in several states and nothing compares to here in New York.

If you're like me and believe that New York has the best pizza then you're in good company. According to Food & Wine, New York took 3rd place in having the best pizza in the entire country. We were just behind Connecticut and New Jersey. We were robbed if you ask me but that's beside the point.

What is it that makes pizza in New York so good? It can't be the toppings, right? Unless it's fresh you can pretty much get those anywhere. It could be the sauce but even then the recipe can be replicated pretty easily. So what is it that makes New York pizza the gold standard across the country?

A large majority of the New Yorkers firmly believe that reason behind New York's pizza is the dough. Not just the dough but what's in the dough. Not yeast or flour, but water. Water? As someone who is not from here, I was shocked when first heard about this. That's the secret ingredient? Isn't it all the same?

As it turns out water isn't the same everywhere and there's a scientific reason our water supply is linked to delicious pizza dough and bagels.

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According to Food & Wine, most of NYC's water comes from the Watershed in the Catskills. The water must travel through extremely old pipes and on the way it collects several added minerals and compounds before treatment. Some of these minerals can help form stronger gluten in the dough.

There is scientific evidence that Hudson Valley water makes better dough but it's not exactly definitive.

I worry about the pizza industry if we ever fix those pipes.

 

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