Whether you like pepperoni and vegetables or mushrooms and anchovies, your pizza topping preferences say a lot more about you than you may realize.

According to a study by Alan Hirsch, director of the Chicago-based Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, there is a direct correlation between pizza topping preferences and personality.

What does it all mean? For Northwestern students looking for love, the answer may lie in their lunches.

“When we go out on a date, the pizza toppings give a little clue of what our date is really like,” said Hirsch during a phone interview after a Jan. 20 press conference at a Domino’s Pizza restaurant in Chicago. The interviews were originally to be held at the Domino’s at 1168 Dodge Ave. but the property’s management would not permit the satellite trucks.

According to the study, people who prefer traditional one-topping vegetable pizzas are ideal spouses, whereas those who prefer many vegetables on their pizzas are trustworthy team players who tend to avoid the spotlight.

One-topping meat-eaters are argumentative procrastinators who are resentful and envious of others. Those who like many different meats on their pizzas are dramatic extroverts who thrive in the spotlight, wear designer clothes and demonstrate strong emotional displays.

Finally those who prefer less traditional toppings like pineapples and onions are aggressive, achievement-oriented people who are competitive and ambitious. They demand only the best from their work and personal relationships and are romantically compatible with other less traditional topping eaters.

“These people won’t take no for an answer,” said Hirsch. “They like to work hard and play hard and are easily irritated by life’s inconveniences.”

The study, funded by Domino’s Pizza, examined 1,000 English-speaking adults from the Chicago area, ranging in age from 18 to 59. First, the subjects completed comprehensive personality tests. Then they were asked to choose their favorite toppings.

“Students love pizza and the results of our study would definitely have people talking,” said Ramon De Leon, owner of the Evanston Domino’s and several others in Chicago.

Hirsch’s foundation has studied many different foods, including fruit, ice cream and desserts, in relation to personality. But there are limitations.

“We know that these correlations exist for Chicago and the suburbs, but it’s possible that these preferences do not exist in other areas, places where people have different food preferences,” he said. “And we did this with normal people, not with people who have psychiatric disorders.”

As far as the pizza study goes, Hirsch said the results are accurate for Chicago residents 95 percent of the time.

“After we finished the study, I changed my pizza topping preference so I would look better on paper,” joked Hirsch. “But I think I’ll stick with who I am.”

Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].