History of the Pizza

 

The history of pizza can be traced back to the greek colonies of Magna Graecia (southern Italy).

In the 3rd century B.C., the first history of Rome, written by Marcus Porcius Cato, mentions a "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones". Further evidence is found in 79 A.D. from the remains of Pompeii; archeologists excavated shops that closely resemble a present day pizzeria.

However, although several kinds of flat bread made with flour, often cooked with oil and spices, weren't uncommon to ancient Romans and popular in all the Mediterranean area, these could be the ancestors of pizza somehow, but can't be considered pizza. The tomato was still unknown in Europe and the Indian water buffalo, whose milk is used to make the real mozzarella cheese, had not yet been imported to Campania, the area around Napoli (Naples).

The tomato was first believed to be poisonous (as most other fruits of the nightshade family are), when it came to Europe in the 16th century. However, by the late 18th century even the poor of the area around Naples added it as an ingredient to their yeast-based flat bread, and the dish gained in popularity. Pizza became a tourist attraction, and visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty.

The first dynasties of neapolitan pizzamakers ("pizzaioli") originate in these years: modern pizza is attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. In 1889, Raffaele Esposito who worked in the pizzeria "Pietro... e basta così" (literally "Peter... and that's enough", estabilished in 1780 and still in activity: is now called "Pizzeria Brandi" - Via Chiaia, Salita S. Anna di palazzo, 1-2 - Napoli - [www.brandi.it] ) baked a special pizza especially for the visit of the King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The pizza was very patriotic and resembled the Italian flag with its colors of green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes), and was named Pizza Margherita in honor of the Queen and set the standard by which today's pizza evolved and spread worldwide. Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and street vendors out of pizza bakeries (including "Pietro... e basta così"), but then the world's first true pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, opened in Naples and is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18.

Pizza met the aristocratic taste (the King of Naples Ferdinando II of Borbone greatly enjoyed the pizza made by 'Ntuono Testa at Salita S. Teresa) and an even more decided popular favour, pizza establishes itself as a daily course, dinner and supper of the neapolitans.

An Italian immigrant to the US in 1897 named Gennaro Lombardi opened a small grocery store in New York's Little Italy. An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero (also an Italian immigrant) began making pizza for the store to sell. Their pizza became so popular, Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in 1905 at 53 1/3 Spring Street, naming it simply Lombardi's (which then reopened at 32 Spring Street)). In 1924, Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana opened in New Haven in 1925. Boston was introduced to pizza in 1926 by Anthony Polcari when he opened Pizzeria Regina in Boston's North End. At this point in time in the U.S., pizza consumption was still limited mostly to the Italian immigrant crowd.

The international breakthrough came after World War II. Although the birthplace of modern day pizza is Naples, local bakers were at a loss to satisfy the demand from American soldiers. While the American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, the millions of Italians called to help rebuild the damaged economy introduced their cuisine to the rest of Europe.

With the rising popularity in the 1950s, especially in the U.S., pizza became a component of the growing chain-restaurant industry. Some leading early pizza chains in the United States were Shakey's Pizza (which invented the term pizza parlor; formerly, the term pizzeria was preferred) and Pizza Hut (now owned by Yum! Brands, Inc.), both founded in 1954, the former in Sacramento and the latter in Wichita. Some later entrants to the dine-in pizza market were Happy Joe's, California Pizza Kitchen, and Round Table Pizza. The pizza business today (mostly in the U.S.) is dominated by companies that specialize in home delivery (or serve it that way exclusively), including Domino's Pizza, Little Caesar's, and Papa John's Pizza. Even Pizza Hut has shifted its emphasis away from pizza parlors and toward home delivery. These national pizza chains often coexist with locally owned and operated pizza chains and independent restaurants. Because pizzas can be made quickly and are easily transported, most pizza restaurants in the United States offer call-in pizza delivery services. The lack of such delivery services at the time in England was the focus of an extended passage in the Douglas Adams novel The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.

In most developed countries, pizza is also found in supermarkets as a frozen food. Considerable amounts of food technology has gone into the creation of palatable frozen pizzas. The main challenges include preventing the sauce from combining with the dough and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. Modified corn starch is commonly used as a moisture barrier between the sauce and crust; traditionally the dough is somewhat pre-baked and other ingredients are also sometimes pre-cooked; lately, frozen pizzas with completely raw ingredients have also begun to appear.