Whether it's in water, cocktails, or face masks, charcoal seems to be social media's favorite ingredient these days. It's being used in recipes to make Insta-worthy, anti-unicorn foods like black ice cream, charcoal lattes, and now, black pizza.
The burnt-looking crust is actually made with activated charcoal, healthify-ing your favorite junk food (sort of). While available in places like Japan, Indonesia, the U.K., and Canada for the last few years, black pizza has been slower to appear in America.
Olivella Restaurant, located in North Bergen, NJ, is now serving their pizzas with a charcoal crust, as well as activated charcoal mozzarella and pasta.
A restaurant in Miami, 'O Munaciello, opened this March and serves black pizza too. According to a restaurant review, the black crust "imparts a smoky taste but doesn't overwhelm the other flavors." Any of 'O Munaciello's pizzas can be served on regular or black crust.
Interestingly, both the Florida and New Jersey-based chefs are from Naples, Italy. The look is similar to squid-ink pasta, a more traditional Italian dish, and is equally surprising to see in pizza form.
The "goth" trend supposedly comes with health benefits, too — activated charcoal has been used for centuries to aid in digestion, and could help lower cholesterol and help with hangovers. While the research on these benefits isn't fully clear, it is safe to eat. Given its dramatic look, the fad seems unlikely to stop anytime soon.
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