Pizza is one of the most favorite foods in the United States, which is not surprising. Americans consume 350 slices of pizzas per second every day. Ninety-three percent of Americans eat one pizza a month.
The popularity of the oven-baked, flat, disc shaped bread dates back to the ancient Greeks. The Greeks supposedly ate a flat round bread baked with an assortment of toppings.
After Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, Italy, on Aug. 24, 79 A.D., a flat flour cake was found among the ruins. In later excavations of the city, there was also evidence of shops resembling pizzerias.
When the Spanish Conquistadors brought tomatoes back from Peru and Ecuador during the early part of the 16th century, Europeans thought the fruit was poisonous. That didn’t seem to concern the poor people living in Naples, Italy. They combined tomatoes with their yeast dough, creating what is considered the first simple pizza. Flour, olive oil, lard, cheese and herbs were the only ingredients used.
Pizza Gains Popularity
Naples attracted visitors during the 17th century, primarily because of pizza, which the Italians called “pizzaioli.” By the 18th century, pizza was eaten not only by Italian peasants, but also by royalty. A special oven was built in Capodimonte, the summer palace of King of Naples, Ferdinando IV, and his wife, Queen Maria Carolina d'Asburgo Lorena. The queen had their chef make pizza for her and her guests.
Antica Pizzeria Port Alba was the world's first pizzeria. The restaurant, which opened in Naples in 1738, cooked pizza in an oven that used lava from Mount Vesuvius.
In 1889, Umberto I, King of Italy, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia, were visiting Naples. They called Raffaele Esposito, the popular pizza chief in the city, to bring his specialties to the palace. Esposito provided the king and queen with three kinds of pizzas. One pizza was made with pork fat, cheese and basil. Another had garlic, oil and tomatoes. The third pizza included mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, which were in the colors of the Italian flag. The queen liked the third pizza so much that Esposito called it “Pizza Margherita” in honor of her. Esposito established what has become the standard of today’s pizza.
Interest in Pizza Grows
Pizza, topped with mushrooms and anchovies, was sold in the streets of Naples at breakfast, lunch and dinner during the last 19 century. Soon pizza stalls were established throughout the city. People would congregate at these open-air places, where they talked, drank and ate pizzas with various toppings.
Italians emigrated to the U.S. in the latter half of the 19th century. They brought with them the recipe for making pizzas. In Chicago, a peddler walked up and down Taylor Street with a metal washtub of pizzas on his head, which was the traditional way pizza was sold in Naples.
By the 20th century, the first American pizzas were called tomato pies by Italian-Americans. Tomato pies were made differently than pizzas. Cheese was placed on the oven-baked bread, followed by the toppings and the sauce.
Other pizza facts
The first pizzeria in the U.S. was supposedly open by Gennaro Lombardi in New York City in 1905. Lombardo is known as America’s “Patriaca della Pizza.”
Ike Sewell, who own a bar and grill called Pizzeria Uno, in Chicago, created the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in 1943. The pizza has a flaky crust that rises an inch or more above the plate and is surrounded deep piles of toppings.
Pizza gain popularity when American soldiers stationed in Italy returned to the U.S. after World War. They told relatives and friends about a food they enjoyed eating – pizza.
Frank A. Fiorello produced the first commercial pizza-pie mix, called “Roman Pizza Mix,” in Worcester, Mass., in 1948.
The Celentano Brothers marketed the first frozen pizzas in 1957.
In its Dec., 2009 ruling, the European Union made Neapolitan pizza part of Europe’s food heritage. The ruling called for all pizzerias supplied and made with the real Neapolitan pizzas to comply to strict traditional standards regarding ingredients and preparation.
Author Paul Linus
The popularity of the oven-baked, flat, disc shaped bread dates back to the ancient Greeks. The Greeks supposedly ate a flat round bread baked with an assortment of toppings.
After Mount Vesuvius erupted in Pompeii, Italy, on Aug. 24, 79 A.D., a flat flour cake was found among the ruins. In later excavations of the city, there was also evidence of shops resembling pizzerias.
When the Spanish Conquistadors brought tomatoes back from Peru and Ecuador during the early part of the 16th century, Europeans thought the fruit was poisonous. That didn’t seem to concern the poor people living in Naples, Italy. They combined tomatoes with their yeast dough, creating what is considered the first simple pizza. Flour, olive oil, lard, cheese and herbs were the only ingredients used.
Pizza Gains Popularity
Naples attracted visitors during the 17th century, primarily because of pizza, which the Italians called “pizzaioli.” By the 18th century, pizza was eaten not only by Italian peasants, but also by royalty. A special oven was built in Capodimonte, the summer palace of King of Naples, Ferdinando IV, and his wife, Queen Maria Carolina d'Asburgo Lorena. The queen had their chef make pizza for her and her guests.
Antica Pizzeria Port Alba was the world's first pizzeria. The restaurant, which opened in Naples in 1738, cooked pizza in an oven that used lava from Mount Vesuvius.
In 1889, Umberto I, King of Italy, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia, were visiting Naples. They called Raffaele Esposito, the popular pizza chief in the city, to bring his specialties to the palace. Esposito provided the king and queen with three kinds of pizzas. One pizza was made with pork fat, cheese and basil. Another had garlic, oil and tomatoes. The third pizza included mozzarella, basil and tomatoes, which were in the colors of the Italian flag. The queen liked the third pizza so much that Esposito called it “Pizza Margherita” in honor of her. Esposito established what has become the standard of today’s pizza.
Interest in Pizza Grows
Pizza, topped with mushrooms and anchovies, was sold in the streets of Naples at breakfast, lunch and dinner during the last 19 century. Soon pizza stalls were established throughout the city. People would congregate at these open-air places, where they talked, drank and ate pizzas with various toppings.
Italians emigrated to the U.S. in the latter half of the 19th century. They brought with them the recipe for making pizzas. In Chicago, a peddler walked up and down Taylor Street with a metal washtub of pizzas on his head, which was the traditional way pizza was sold in Naples.
By the 20th century, the first American pizzas were called tomato pies by Italian-Americans. Tomato pies were made differently than pizzas. Cheese was placed on the oven-baked bread, followed by the toppings and the sauce.
Other pizza facts
The first pizzeria in the U.S. was supposedly open by Gennaro Lombardi in New York City in 1905. Lombardo is known as America’s “Patriaca della Pizza.”
Ike Sewell, who own a bar and grill called Pizzeria Uno, in Chicago, created the Chicago-style deep-dish pizza in 1943. The pizza has a flaky crust that rises an inch or more above the plate and is surrounded deep piles of toppings.
Pizza gain popularity when American soldiers stationed in Italy returned to the U.S. after World War. They told relatives and friends about a food they enjoyed eating – pizza.
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Frank A. Fiorello produced the first commercial pizza-pie mix, called “Roman Pizza Mix,” in Worcester, Mass., in 1948.
The Celentano Brothers marketed the first frozen pizzas in 1957.
In its Dec., 2009 ruling, the European Union made Neapolitan pizza part of Europe’s food heritage. The ruling called for all pizzerias supplied and made with the real Neapolitan pizzas to comply to strict traditional standards regarding ingredients and preparation.
Author Paul Linus
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