Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/16/new-york-water-coming-to-a-pizza-near-you.html
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I have absolutely no idea of the chemistry required to make a great pizza, but — as much as any tap water can taste great — NYC’s water tastes great. I grew up on it, and when I visit back there, NYC tap water is what’s sitting in the fridge chilling for my pleasure. Certainly better tasting than the hard eggy-tasting “water” here in Santa Clarita, CA.
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We have Brooklyn Water Bagel here in South Florida which uses a similar process. Fairly decent bagels.
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the whole “it’s the NYC water” thing has been debunked SO MANY TIMES. it’s just a east-coast/west coast thing. all pizza is good pizza, and only lame hipsters call it “'za”.
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I’m glad this is the first comment. 
Pretty sure the water/bagel/pizza thing had been put to bed a long time ago.
Some of the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life has been here in my town and in Phoenix.
Someone just has to want to make a good pie with good ingredients.
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I just use Brita water.
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This reminds me of some pseudo-science device (in the back of Discover magazine, of all places) that claims to change the angle of the two hydrogen atoms and thus passing on benefits. Complete woo.
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And rightly so. I also don’t think it has anything to do with the water. There’s some really fabulous pizza in SoCal, even with the lousy water here, but one has to look. It’s a drive for us, but when visiting in the San Fernando Valley, we pick up a pie at the Mulberry Street pizzeria in Sherman Oaks. And (believe it or not) our local Whole Foods market makes a surprisingly decent classic NY style pizza.
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So if water is so important, why not replicate the water of Naples instead?
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I believe the molecular structure of water in Naples is just plain H2O. It must be something else there like your nonna’s hands.
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… “better tasting” water may be more acidic — which may make it better at transferring lead from our water pipes into our bodies
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Stop.
Chemical engineer here. You can say he uses filtration and mineralization to alter the water’s composition. But if you alter the water’s molecular structure, it stops being water. And you absolutely can’t do that with filtration or mineralization.
As you were.
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People usually say that more alkaline water, with higher mineral content, AKA harder water, is better tasting. Minerals typically being dissolved limestone in water.
I grew up in a soft water area so I don’t really get that.
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Pretty sure that should should read something like “… to alter the what chemicals are in the water” but the author’s brain slipped and fell into a puddle of pseudoscience.
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Munich has hard water, meaning until water softeners were available in the early 1900s typical Munich beer was dark. The lighter colored malt wasn’t good for fermentation, the yeast needed the more acidic dark malt. So I can see the water’s pH value playing a role in making the dough from my experience as a brewer.
So in the end it’s basically the entrepreneurs have simply found a new angle for selling water softener equipment to pizzerias, by describing the softer water as “New York” water? I can see that.
They could just as well call it Neapolitan water, or Sicilian, since volcanic bedrock makes for softer water in the water tables. I guess the marketing for New York was better.
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Brewers in England often alter the alkalinity and mineral content, to get the supposedly best beer-making water profile, which is Burton on Trent…
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Yes @nick_warr and @fnordius but that’s old hat. These guys are altering the molecular structure of water which is galaxy brain stuff.
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Well, TBF, his machine can replicate water from anywhere supposedly, which is a bit more than hand mixing a recipe… but obviously, nothing to do with molecular structures as you said.
