The history of one of Italy’s most popular dishes: pizza, from Italy to the world

According to legend, pizza was invented in Naples in the 18th century by the baker Raffaele Esposito, when Queen Margherita of Savoy, wife of King Umberto I, herself sat at his table. The chef prepared her 3 dishes for her. The first uses lard, basil, pecorino her cheese and pepper as a base, the second uses tomatoes, anchovies, garlic, oregano and oil, and the third later became known as Pizza Her Margherita. Based on tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, it pays tribute to the colors of the Italian flag. The latter liked the queen so much that she wrote the chef a letter of her thanks, and the recipe for the dish spread throughout Italy.

Also read: Pizza Margherita. The easiest Italian pizza recipe.

As expected, the legend about the origins of delicious pizza has had many challengers.No one really knows who invented pizzaMeditation culture has early variations rooted in diet, but similar variations have been found in Egypt, Babylon, and the Persian empire. [wikipedia]Also, according to ancient texts, people in ancient Greece ate flat round breads with various spices and fillings on them.

The theory that pizza is of Mediterranean origin has also been disproven by Scandinavian ethnologists who claim that modern pizza originated from fish and vegetable breads traditionally eaten by Nordic sailors.

Etymology of “pizza”

Some say that the word pizza comes from the Latin word picea, which means baking bread in the oven, or from the Italian word pizzicare, which means “to pull”, and that the pizza is pulled. pointing to the facts. from the oven.

Pizza’s predecessor was probably focaccia, another Italian specialty in the form of a flatbread that the ancient Romans called panis focaccius. This bread was traditionally served with various toppings, usually spices and herbs, to enhance its flavor.

Focaccia turned into pizza in the 16th century after the discovery of the Americas when tomatoes were brought from the New World.

The world’s first pizzeria opens in Naples

If pizza was originally a street food purchased from a street vendor, restaurant-style pizzerias would not have appeared until the 19th century. As expected, the Italian claims the world’s first pizzeria opened in Naples in his 1830s. L’Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, still in business today, dates back to his 1738.

Little by little, pizza conquered the palate, spreading beyond the borders of its home city towards the end of the 19th century, but later becoming famous. This is thanks to Italian immigrants in the United States. The first pizzeria in the United States he seems to have opened in New York in 1905, followed by other locations established by immigrants in every major American city.

Pizza from Italy to the world

After World War II, in the era of mass tourism, others also discovered the deliciousness of this special “bread” that cannot be enjoyed without olive oil, basil, mozzarella, parmigiano and tomatoes.

And to understand just how seriously Italians take this dish, they launched the Veridice Napolitan Pizza Association, an association with strict rules regarding the preparation of authentic Neapolitan pizza. . According to the manual, the pizza should be baked in a vaulted wooden oven, the dough should be kneaded and flattened by hand without tools, and the diameter of each pizza should not exceed 35 centimeters. and the fabric cannot be thicker than that. 1/3 cm in the middle.

Of all the types of pizza that exist today (including ham, seafood and even pineapple), the classic recipe from Pizza Margherita is still an Italian favourite. Download the eatzz app and try a Pizza Margherita, Pizza Cardinale or Pizza Napoletana prepared by professional chefs from restaurants that deliver in your area.

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