World of Pizza

History of The Pizza

(photo from Romereports.com)

The Pizza was born in Naples in the South of Italy. Originally, pizza was the staple diet of the poor, sold by street vendors from open air stalls to those that had no baking facilities of their own at home. In 1830, the very first pizzeria opened in the centre of Naples in Port`Alba. It had a wood burning oven for cooking pizza, and the pizzeria became popular and frequented by students, artisans, workmen and poets. Some poets and writers, such as Salvatore di Giacomo even dedicated their works and poems to the pizza !

In 1889, the infamous Pizza Margherita was officially born. In this year, Queen Margherita of Italy and Savoia and her husband King Umberto of Italy spent the summer at the Capodimonte Royal Palace in Naples. Queen Margherita, having heard about pizza, but not having ever eaten one decided she would like to try one. Being Royalty, it wasn't very appropriate to go and visit a pizzeria, so a well known pizza chef, Raffaele Esposito from Pizzeria Brandi (in the Chiaia area of Naples), was called upon to make one for the Queen. Esposito made three different types of pizza for the Queen to try, one of those being a pizza representing the colours of the Italian flag, red, white and green; dressed with mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce. Queen Margherita decided that this one was her favourite pizza, and Esposito's creation from that day was named the Pizza Margherita.

Pizzeria Brandi is a pizzeria with great historical significance in the world,(who knows if without Esposito we would even be eating pizza as much as we do...) and is still in business today, so make sure to go and visit for a Margherita when you go to Naples! Don't think Raffaele Esposito still works there though....

Since it was discovered, The Pizza has become many people's favourite choice of food, all around the world, and has encountered many different variations in the way it is cooked and dressed. However:

• The true Neapolitan Pizza is cooked in a wood burning oven
• Temperatures can reach around 1200 degrees, and can cook a pizza in 30-60 seconds
• The classic Neapolitan Pizza is similar to the Margherita, but has anchovies aswell
• The true Neapolitan pizza has a very thin and light base, NOT a thick and 'bread like' one

So, bear that in mind, the next time you are digging out that pineapple pizza from your deep freeze to cook in your fan oven for half an hour........

Even squirrels like pizza!   (photo from scarysquirrel.com)

To see more silly pictures scroll down to visit our Pizza Gallery 

Links

Pizza Festival Naples has a yearly 'Pizzafest', and for around 8 euros, you can eat lots of pizza, drink limoncello and enjoy music from the specially put on concerts. It last usually for around 10 days in September. Check details for next Pizzafest on their official website .

Pizza.it - the official Italian pizza website...find lots of fun and interesting pages on here, including detailed history of the pizza, recipes, info on pizzerias around Italy. visit site

Sweet pizza recipes

Pizza events around Italy

How the Pizza arrived in the USA

Pizza
by: Kirsten Hawkins

The pizza pie is an ubiquitous symbol of both Italian cooking and Americana. Oven-baked, thin-crust or deep-dish, round or square, it is a common favorite throughout the United States, with a wide number of regional variations.

The most traditional pie is the pizza Napolitano, or Neapolitan pizza. Made of strong flour, the dough is often kneaded by hand and then rolled flat and thin without a rolling pin. The pizza is cooked in an extremely hot wood-fired stone oven for only sixty to ninety seconds, and is removed when it is soft and fragrant. Common varieties of Neapolitan pizza include marinara, made with tomato, olive oil, oregano, and garlic, and margherita, made with tomato, olive oil, fresh basil leaves, and mozzarella cheese.

New York was home to the first pizza parlor in the United States, opened in Little Italy in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi. It is not surprising, then, that New York-style pizza dominates in the Northeastern part of the country. It is thin-crusted, and made with a thin layer of sauce and grated cheese. The dough is hand-tossed, making the pie large and thin. As a result, it is served cut into slices, traditionally eight, which are often eaten folded in half. It can be served with any number of toppings, including pepperoni, the most popular topping in the United States, or as a “white pizza”, which includes no tomato sauce and is made with a variety of cheeses, such as mozzarella and ricotta.

Chicago is also home to a major variety of pizza.The Chicago-style pizza is deep dish, meaning it is made in a pan with the crust formed up the sides, or even with two crusts and sauce between, a so-called “stuffed” pizza. The ingredients are “reversed” in a Chicago pizza, with cheese going in first, and then sauce on top. This particular form of pizza was invented in 1943 at Uno’s Pizzeria in the River North neighborhood of Chicago.

The Midwest also plays host to the St. Louis style pizza. This thin-crust delicacy is made using local provel cheese instead of mozzarella, and is very crispy. Heavily seasoned with oregano and other spices, with a slightly sweet sauce, it is difficult to fold because of the crust and is often cut into squares, instead of served in slices.

A Hawaiian pizza is an American invention that has nothing to do with Hawaii save that one of the main ingredients is pineapple. The pineapple is put atop the pizza, along with Canadian bacon, giving a rather sweet taste very different from pizzas closer to the Italian original. Hawaiian pizza is very common in the Western United States.

In fact, a number of esoteric pizzas are common on the West coast, and “gourmet” pizza is often referred to as “California-style” pizza. This is an example of fusion cuisine, and many of the pizzas go far beyond the common tomato sauce and cheese. Thai pizza, for example, can include bean sprouts and peanut sauce, while breakfast pizza, as the name implies, may be topped with bacon and scrambled eggs. As a “gourmet” food, California pizzas are often individual sized, serving two people at most, and are not cut in slices like other common types of pizza pie.

Pizza is as diverse as America itself, with almost infinite variations – all of them delicious.