Handmade Pizza

Popular belief holds that pizza originated in Italy. for history is the and a bit more complex than that. The very first pizzas used bread as their foundation. For thousands of years, people have produced and consumed bread. In particular, flatbread even existed in Ancient Egypt. As well, the Ancient Greeks the flatbread topped with herbs and spices. This approximated pizza-like food.

Archaeologists discovered compelling evidence that people in Pompeii also consumed pizza-like food prior to 27 C.E. Mount Vesuvius erupted in that year to entomb the city beneath hot ash and lava. Pompeii remained frozen in time until scientists started digging. They explored the remains of the city to find brick ovens similar to ones people use to bake modern pizza. They also uncovered pizza-like remnants and utensils appearing suitable for cooking pizza. Hence, considerable evidence suggests that variations of pizza have existed throughout the centuries.

In Medieval Europe, most peasants seldom found access to good food. Especially in what is present-day Italy, enterprising citizens commonly set up carts and tables for selling flatbread along the streets. Citizens could afford this food even when they were of modest means. Vendors sometimes topped these flatbreads with available spices and herbs, but they often sold them without any toppings other than salt and olive oil.

Europeans lacked one of today’s most popular pizza toppings until the 16th century. At that time, merchants imported tomatoes from the New World. The European public skeptically accepted this fruit because many people thought it might be poisonous. But chefs eventually used tomatoes frequently as a topping for the common flatbread. This practice largely advanced progress toward what we know as modern pizza.

THE FIRST DELIVERY WAS FIT FOR A QUEEN

A very popular story tells that an important modern pizza standard emerged in 1889. As the story goes, the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, took a tour of her country in that year. Along her way, she noticed throngs of people consuming the popular flatbreads in the city streets. She had rarely entered public areas and had never seen the common people’s eating habits. Thus, the sight of people dining on flatbreads in the open air aroused her curiosity. When Queen Margherita desired more information about her new observation, she sent one of her servants to bring some of it to her. The servant happened to ask Raffaele Esposito, an experienced pizza chef, and successful entrepreneur, to produce a sample for the queen.

Esposito owned one of the more-popular stone-oven “pizza” stands and happily honored the request.

Esposito produced three special pizzas for the queen. He topped one of them using mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and marinara sauce. He intentionally used this combination to match the colors of the Italian flag; red, white, and green. He suspected that this pizza’s appearance would charm the queen. He was correct, and this pizza pleased the queen so much that it was given the name Pizza Margherita.

Pizza Margherita is indeed one of modern Italy’s national-pride symbols. In that country, this style of pizza requires strict preparation according to a nationally prescribed standard. An Italian chef may not call it “Pizza Margherita” if it is not prepared in this way. Another version of Italian pizza, Pizza Napolitano, also requires strict, nationally standardized preparation.

DELIVERY TO THE NEW WORLD

Historians believe that immigrants brought their pizza recipes from Europe to the United States in the late 19th century. The Boston Journal documented one of the earliest American pizzas in 1904. Since then, pizza has followed a similar, yet shorter, the route to popularity in the United States as it did in Europe. That is, street vendors first sold it as a very inexpensive snack for everyday workers. Then, pubs and restaurants eventually served it.

Pizza would become one of the American cuisine’s most popular items. Americans have invented pizza variations that differ dramatically from Italy’s official Pizza Margherita. They include thin-crust, thick-crust, deep-dish, and stuffed-crust, among many others. As well, the toppings’ variety extends across the human diet’s spectrum – from steak and cheese to pineapple and asparagus. If someone has imagined it, then they have probably put it on a pizza.

Most of the popular pizza centers still reside in New England, although some cities across the United States boast great pizza reputations, including San Diego and Chicago. The latter of those two is arguably the best city for pizza, but a less fortunate author might have a different opinion. One might prefer to consult the opinion of a real Wize Guy.