History of pizza

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Related articles List of pizza chains List of pizza franchises Pizza cheese Pizza theorem
Similar dishes Pizza bagel Calzone Coca Cong you bing Farinata Flammkuchen Focaccia Garlic fingers Lahmacun Manakish Panzerotti Paratha Pastrmajlija Pissaladière Quesadilla Sardenara Sausage bread Scaccia Stromboli Uttapam

The word "pizza" was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta,^[1] Italy, and successively in different parts of Central and South Italy.

The precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flat bread known to the Romans as "panis focacius",^[2] to which toppings were then added.^[3]

Origins

Foods similar to pizza have been made since the neolithic age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history.

• In Sardinia, French and Italian archaeologists have found bread baked over 7,000 years ago. According to Professor Philippe Marinval, the local islanders leavened this bread.^[4]
• The Ancient Greeks had a flat bread called plakous (πλακοῦς, gen. πλακοῦντος - plakountos)^[5] which was flavored with toppings like herbs, onion, and garlic.

Like pizza, these flatbreads are from the Odyssey area. Other examples of flatbreads that survive to this day from the ancient Mediterranean world are focaccia (which may date back as far as the ancient Etruscans), coca (which has sweet and savory varieties) from Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, the Greek Pita, Lepinja in the Balkans, or Piadina in the Romagna part of Emilia-Romagna in Italy.^[6]

Foods similar to flatbreads in other parts of the world include the Indian Paratha (in which fat is incorporated), the Central and South Asian Naan (leavened) and Roti (unleavened), the Sardinian Carasau, Spianata, Guttiau, Pistoccu and Finnish Rieska. Also worth note is that throughout Europe there are many similar pies based on the idea of covering flat pastry with cheese, meat, vegetables and seasoning such as the Alsatian Flammkuchen, German Zwiebelkuchen, and French Quiche.

In 16th century Naples, a Galette flatbread was referred to as a pizza.^[7] Known as the dish for poor people, it was sold in the street and was not considered a kitchen recipe for a long time.^[8] This was later replaced by oil, tomatoes (after Europeans came into contact with the Americas) or fish. In 1843, Alexandre Dumas, père, described the diversity of pizza toppings.^[9] An often recounted story holds that on 11 June 1889, to honour the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, the Neapolitan pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito created the "Pizza Margherita", a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colours of Italy as on the Italian flag.^[10][11][12]

Pizza is now a type of bread and tomato dish, often served with cheese. However, until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, the dish was sweet, not savory, and earlier versions which were savory more resembled the flat breads now known as schiacciata.^[13] Pellegrino Artusi's classic early twentieth century cookbook, La Scienza in cucina e l'Arte di mangiar bene gives three recipes for pizza, all of which are sweet.^[14] However, by 1927, Ada Boni's collection of regional cooking includes a recipe using tomatoes and mozzarella.^[15]

Innovation

The innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. For some time after the tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, it was believed by many Europeans to be poisonous (as are some other fruits of the nightshade family). However, by the late 18th century, it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began. The dish gained in popularity, and soon pizza became a tourist attraction as visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.

Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries, and pizzerias keep this old tradition alive today. It is possible to enjoy paper-wrapped pizza and a drink sold from open-air stands outside the premises. Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba in Naples is widely regarded as the city's first pizzeria.^[16]

Purists, like the famous pizzeria “Da Michele” in Via C. Sersale (founded 1870),^[17] consider there to be only two true pizzas — the Marinara and the Margherita — and that is all they serve. These two "pure" pizzas are the ones preferred by many Italians today.

The Marinara is the older of the two and has a topping of tomato, oregano, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. It is named “marinara” because it was traditionally the food prepared by "la marinara", the seaman's wife, for her seafaring husband when he returned from fishing trips in the Bay of Naples.

The Margherita is topped with modest amounts of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. It is widely attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito, who worked at "Pizzeria di Pietro," established in 1880. Though recent research casts doubt on this legend,^[18] the tale holds that, in 1889, he baked three different pizzas for the visit of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Queen's favorite was a pizza evoking the colors of the Italian flag — green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes).^[19] According to the tale, this combination was named Pizza Margherita in her honor. Although those were the most preferred, today there are many variations of pizzas.

"Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana"^[20] ("True Neapolitan Pizza Association"), which was founded in 1984, has set the very specific rules that must be followed for an authentic Neapolitan pizza. These include that the pizza must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven; that the base must be hand-kneaded and must not be rolled with a pin or prepared by any mechanical means (i pizzaioli — the pizza makers — make the pizza by rolling it with their fingers) and that the pizza must not exceed 35 centimetres in diameter or be more than one-third of a centimetre thick at the centre. The association also selects pizzerias all around the world to produce and spread the verace pizza napoletana philosophy and method.

There are many famous pizzerias in Naples where these traditional pizzas can be found like Da Michele, Port'Alba, Brandi, Di Matteo, Sorbillo, Trianon and Umberto (founded: 1916).^[21] Most of them are in the ancient historical centre of Naples. These pizzerias will go even further than the specified rules by, for example, only using "San Marzano" tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius and only drizzling the olive oil and adding tomato topping in a clockwise direction.

The pizza bases in Naples are soft and pliable. In Rome they prefer a thin and crispy base. Another popular form of pizza in Italy is "pizza al taglio" which is pizza baked in rectangular trays with a wide variety of toppings and sold by weight.

In December 2009, the pizza napoletana was granted Traditional Speciality Guaranteed status by the European Union.^[22]

In 1990 the world's largest pizza was made in South Africa at the Norwood supermarket, the pizza weighed 12.9 tons.^[23]

Pizza in Canada

Canada was first introduced to pizza in the late 1950s, with the first pizza ovens entering the country.^[24] It gained popularity throughout the 1960s, with many pizzerias and restaurants opening across the country. Pizza was mostly served in restaurants and small pizzerias. Most pizza restaurants across Canada also serve popular Italian cuisine in addition to pizza, such as pasta, salad, soups and sandwiches. Fast food pizza chains also provide other side options for customers to choose from, in addition to ordering pizza, including chicken wings, fries and poutine, salad, and calzones. Pizza chains across Canada can be found in shopping centres, schools, and neighbourhood plazas, with the majority of these chains offering a sit-and-dine facility for customers.

There are two distinct pizzas that are identifiable to Canadians: the “Canadian bacon” pizza and the poutine pizza. A “Canadian bacon” pizza is usually prepared with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese,and bacon making this pizza recipe well known by its name worldwide. Many variations of this pizza exist, but the two standout ingredients that makes this pizza distinctly Canadian are bacon and mushrooms (Note that the bacon refers to streaky bacon rather than Back bacon that's also commonly referred to as Canadian bacon). The poutine pizza is a recent creation that has become a Canadian phenomenon since its introduction. This pizza is a spin on the classic Canadian dish, which traditionally includes cheese curds and gravy over french fries. Pizza Hut first introduced the pizza alternative into Canada for a limited time in June 2013.^[25] Many local pizza chains have since adapted the invention as a regular menu item across Canada. The toppings for this pizza include cheese curds, french fries, gravy, and shaved beef.

In Canada, pizza is served on a variety of crust types, including a traditional-style pan crust, a thin crust, multi-grain crust, whole-grain crust, and a gluten-free crust. Stuffed-crust pizza is also a popular pizza alternative for Canadian customers. It contains pizza toppings of the customer’s choice on a mozzarella-filled crust.

Some of Canada’s successful pizza brands include: Boston Pizza, Pizza Pizza, and Vanelli’s. Boston Pizza, also known as BP’s in Canada, and "Boston's—the Gourmet Pizza" in the United States and Mexico, is one of Canada’s largest franchising restaurants.^[26] The brand has opened over 325 locations across Canada and 50 locations in Mexico and the US.^[26] The first Boston Pizza location was opened in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1964, and operated under the name "Boston Pizza & Spaghetti House". Today, Boston Pizza is recognized as Canada’s top casual dining brand, with locations still opening across the nation. It is the first Canadian restaurant to introduce the heart-shaped pizza on Valentine’s Day, a 22-year tradition, where a dollar from each pizza ordered supports Boston Pizza Foundation Future Prospects.^[27] Pizza Pizza, and its subsidiary chain Pizza 73 in Western Canada, is one of Canada’s largest domestic brands based in Ontario. To date, they have over 500 locations nationwide, and fill more than 29 million orders annually.^[28] Vanelli’s is an international pizza chain that is based in Mississauga, Ontario.^[29] The chain first opened in 1981, serving both pizza and other fresh Italian cuisine, such as pasta and Italian sandwiches.^[29] In 1995, the brand opened its first international location in Bahrain and became an international success. The brand continued to open additional locations across the Middle East, with chains now opened in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Morocco.^[30] There are over 110 locations worldwide; making Vanelli’s the first pizza brand in Canada to open locations internationally.

With pizza gaining popularity across the nation, major American pizza chains such as Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza and Little Caesars have expanded their locations in Canada, competing against the domestic Canadian brands. The major American pizza chains have brought their signature classic pizza recipes and toppings into their Canadian chains, offering their traditional classic pizzas to Canadian customers. However, the American chains have also created Canadian specialty pizzas that are available only in Canada. Pizzas that have been made exclusively for Canada by the American chain Pizza Hut for a limited time, included the following:

• Hot Dog Stuffed Crust Pizza: an angus beef hot dog, placed inside a stuffed crust, served in a medium or large pizza, with toppings of the customer’s choice.^[31]

• Grilled Chicken Club: a spin on Canada’s popular sandwich that is served with an alfredo sauce, grilled chicken strips, bacon, diced tomatoes, lettuce, mozzarella cheese and a pepper mayo sauce.^[31]
• Smokey Maple Bacon Pizza: a pizza served with Alfredo sauce, maple bacon strips, bacon crumble, sliced mushrooms, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese.^[31]

Pizza in the United States

Pizza first made its appearance in the United States with the arrival of Italian immigrants in the late 19th century and was very popular among large Italian populations in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Saint Louis. In the late 19th century, pizza was introduced by peddlers who walked up and down the streets with a metal washtub of pizzas on their heads, selling their pizzas at two cents a slice. It was not long until small cafes and groceries began offering pizzas to their Italian American communities.

The first printed reference to "pizza" served in the US is a 1904 article in the Boston Journal.^[32] Giovanni and Gennaro Bruno came to America from Naples, Italy in 1903 to introduce the Neapolitan Pizza. Vincent (Jimmy) Bruno (Giovanni's son) went on to open the first Pizzeria in The Loop in Chicago at 421 S. Wabash Ave, the Yacht Club. Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery store in 1897 which was later established as the "said" first pizzeria in America in 1905 with New York's issuance of the mercantile license. An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero, began making pizza for the store to sell that same year. The price for a pizza was five cents, but since many people could not afford the cost of a whole pie, they would instead say how much they could pay and they were given a slice corresponding to the amount offered. In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. While the original Lombardi's closed its doors in 1984, it was reopened in 1994 just down the street and is run by Lombardi's grandson.

Pizza was brought to the Trenton area of New Jersey with Joe's Tomato Pies opening in 1910, followed soon by Papa's Tomato Pies in 1912. In 1936, De Lorenzo's Tomato Pies was opened. While Joe's Tomato Pies has closed, both Papa's and Delorenzo's have been run by the same families since their openings and remain among the most popular pizzas in the area. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana in New Haven, Connecticut, was another early pizzeria which opened in 1925 (after the owner served pies from local carts and bakeries for 20–25 years) and is famous for its New Haven style Clam Pie. Frank Pepe's nephew Sal Consiglio opened a competing store, Sally's Apizza, on the other end of the block, in 1938. Both establishments are still run by descendants of the original family. When Sal died, over 2,000 people attended his wake, and the New York Times ran a half-page memoriam. The D'Amore family introduced pizza to Los Angeles in 1939.

Before the 1940s, pizza consumption was limited mostly to Italian immigrants and their descendants. The international breakthrough came after World War II. Allied troops occupying Italy, weary of their rations, were constantly on the lookout for good food. They discovered the pizzeria and local bakers were hard-pressed to satisfy the demand from the soldiers. The American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, touted by "veterans ranging from the lowliest private to Dwight D. Eisenhower." Two entrepreneurs, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo, invented Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, in 1943. They opened their own restaurant on the corner of Wabash and Ohio, they wanted to invent pizza nobody’s ever heard of.

Chain restaurants sprang up with pizza's rising popularity. Leading early pizza chains were Shakey's Pizza, founded in 1954 in Sacramento, California, Pizza Hut, founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, and Josey's Pizza founded in Newnan, Georgia in 1943. Later entrant restaurant chains to the dine-in pizza market were Bertucci's, Happy Joe's, Monical's Pizza, California Pizza Kitchen, Godfather's Pizza, and Round Table Pizza.^[33]

See also

• Food history

References

• Article from the Early 1900s regarding Bruno Family
• Early 1900s article regarding Bruno Family

Further reading

• Helstosky, Carol. Pizza: A Global History. London, UK: Berg, 2008.
• Dickie, John. Delizia: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food. New York, US: Free Press, 2010

External links

• What's Cooking America - History of Foods - Pizza
• Pizzeria Brandi - the home of Pizza Margherita - video
• - Bruno's Little Italy History - First Pizza in New York City