Stop Blotting Away The Grease On Your Pizza - Your Tastebuds Will Thank You

The first time I saw someone blot off the grease on a slice of pizza was when my sister started doing it. I was around seven years old, which meant she would have been eight, and I recall her taking close to a dozen of those flimsy little pizza parlor napkins out of the metal holder, just to make sure her two slices had next to no grease on them. Even at the time, I found this behavior somewhat mystifying, not least because I had never seen her do it before. Even now that I'm used to the idea, I don't see the point of it. Some grease can stand to be blotted away, sure, but not all of it — that's where the flavor lives.

The grease on top of a pizza slice is essentially just fat, from the cheese as well as any meaty toppings that might be on top of your slice. And as anyone who's enjoyed a rich, fatty piece of wagyu steak will tell you, fat equals flavor. We make use of fats like oil and butter all the time when it comes to adding flavor to our foods (although Italians don't really dip bread in olive oil), so why would we deny these pleasures when we're eating pizza, one of the most pleasurable foods on the planet?

There are, admittedly, some reasons why you might want to dab off the excess grease on a slice of pizza. There are health benefits, sure — blotting off the excess fat could reduce the calorie count of your slice of pizza by as many as 77 calories — and nobody wants to eat a slice that's absolutely saturated to an unpleasant extent. Some fat is welcome, but if your slice of pizza has enough oil to pique the interest of Daniel Day-Lewis in "There Will Be Blood," it's more than reasonable to take a paper towel to it.

But don't go overboard with your blotting, we implore you. Sure, maybe a bit of grease will add to the calorie count. But do you complain when your steak is too juicy? Do you send back your lobster because it's too tender, too delicious when dipped in butter? Of course you don't — you enjoy it to its fullest. Why shouldn't you do the same for pizza? And if you'd like a healthier option for your next meal, you can take a look at this list of our best salad recipes.