To my memory, Jets "square pizza" has always been rectangular, for as long as I remember. We regularly get them for family parties/etc.. and as I said, I often get a small one on Sat night (although, ironically, last night I did not LOL). I don't remember them ever being an actual "square", even though - admittedly - we do call it "square pizza". so I tend to think that your 8" x 10" is probably correct for the small.
At this point - is there anything I can do to help further the project. What "eyewitness" info do you need? I can walk in pretty much anytime, there are 3 locations within 3 miles of my house (one of those being 'the original party store location') and in fact next Sat I'm planning on getting one anyways.
Tommy,
Thank you for your offer to help.
I will accept whatever information you can provide. I believe that you are correct that the small square Jet's pizza is made in an 8" x !0" pan.
The kind of information that would be most useful is the dimensions and weight of a basic small square pan pizza from Jet's and also any information on the amount of sauce and cheese used. The dimensions would be the dimensions of the top and bottom surfaces of the pizza and its depth (measured on either on a slant or vertically), and the weight would be the weight of the baked pizza. The easiest pizza to analyze from a reverse engineering and cloning standpoint is a plain cheese pizza, simply because it has the fewest ingredients. Next would be a pepperoni pizza provided that the number of pepperoni slices are counted. Measuring the diameter of a typical pepperoni slice would also be helpful. To facilitate the measurements, I usually advise that the pizza purchased be uncut.
I would prefer that the weight of the pizza be taken as soon after purchase as possible although if you live near the Jet's store that should be OK since the loss in weight of a just baked pizza is quite small over a short travel distance. For reasons of accuracy, I prefer that the weight be in grams if possible.
Getting an idea as to the amount of sauce and cheese used on a given pizza is one of the hardest parts of the exercise. I typically watch the utensils used to measure out pizza sauce, like Spoodle or similar portioning control devices, and I note the color of the handle if such a device is used since many such devices are color coded as to the bowl volume. Asking a worker how much sauce and cheese is used on the pizza is also a good idea (like: "Out of curiosity, how much sauce and cheese do you put on a small square pepperoni cheese pizza?" and "How many pepperoni slices are you supposed to put on a small square pizza?") and you might get an answer if the worker has been properly trained. Or if you are in a position to observe the pizza being assembled, you might use your best estimate as to the amounts of sauce and cheese used.
Whenever I am in a pizza establishment trying to gather information, I pay close attention to what the people are doing and how they make the pizzas. I might even try to time the duration of the bake although workers will often tell you what that time is if asked. I also look at what equipment and other items are on hand, including coolers, mixers, bags of flour, cans of tomatoes, etc. Of course, often these items are not in the view of customers.
Peter
