The Story of Pizza
Whether at home, in restaurants or on street corners, hanging out with loved ones or wandering around, we have been eating this cheesy meal everywhere. An average of 46 slices per person are sold each year in united states. But the true story of how the great pizza came to enjoy such global dominance reveals much about the history of food and taste.
Want to learn a thing or two about the cheesy pie? Here are some interesting facts about the history of pizza. Warning: You're going to want a slice before you get to the end of this article so it would be a great idea to get yourself a piece of flatbread with some extra cheese, tender and mouthwatering toppings cover with herbs and spices that are going to ultimately satisfy your taste buds.
The birthplace of pizza is southwestern Italy. In the 1600s, Naples prepared the first dish to be known as a "pizza". This was a street food sold to the poor Neapolitans who were not rich and spent much of their time outside their small homes. These Neapolitans would purchase slices of pizza and eat it as they walked. During those times Neapolitans required inexpensive food that they could consume quickly. And pizza, which was a flatbread with various toppings sold by street vendors met their requirement of cheap and tasty food.
In 1889, when Italy unified King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Italy and came through Naples. The queen asked for variety of pizza to try as they had grown bored of a constant diet of French cuisine. A baker named Raffaele Esposito of Da Pietro Pizzeria (now known as Pizzeria Brandi) invented a pie presenting the colors of Italian flag, with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella, and green basil. This heavenly mix of ingredients and combination of eye-catching colors quickly won Queen Margherita's heart. Margherita pizza was thus born and became the most desired food across the world.
Even though the Queen gave her royal approval to the pizza, pizza did not become well known outside of Naples until the late 1800s. The journey of pizza in the United States began with Italian immigrants in New York.
In 1905, first pizzeria was opened by Gennaro Lombardi in the United States, located in a booming Italian-American neighborhood.
After the Second World War, a Texan named Ike Sewell brought a new revolution in this journey to attract new customers to his newly opened Uno Chicago Grill by offering a much ‘heartier’ version of the dish, with cheese at the bottom and a mountain of chunky tomato sauce heaped on top of it with a deeper, thicker crust and richer, more abundant toppings.
In the late 1950s, Canada became the next but modern pizza house with the first pizza ovens entering the country. As there were lots of pizzerias and restaurants that opened across the country, our beloved cheesy pie became a popular food throughout the 1960s
Pizza is indeed one of the most wanted meals in the world, most particularly in the United States. In fact, 3 out of 5 billion pizzas bought annually in the united states alone. And today, pizza continues to attract and satisfy hungry foodies.
