The plastic stand that keeps a pizza-box lid from touching the cheese is called a pizza saver. Usually placed in the center of the pie, this small device supports the lid and helps prevent cheese and toppings from sticking to the cardboard during delivery.
A pizza saver commonly has three legs and a flat top, which gives it the appearance of a tiny table or stool. It is often made from heat-resistant plastic, including polypropylene, and is normally discarded after one use. The device protects the pizza when a box flexes, is stacked, or becomes softened by steam.
The design has more than one inventor associated with it. In 1974, Claudio Daniel Troglia of Argentina patented a three-legged pizza separator called SEPI. In the United States, Carmela Vitale patented a similar device in 1985 under the name "package saver." The term pizza saver later became the most widely used name.
Pizza table, pizza stool, package saver, and box tent are all names readers may encounter. "Pizza tent" is especially easy to confuse with the correct term, but pizza saver is the standard canonical answer.