Type | Flatbread |
---|---|
Course | One course meal |
Place of origin | Italy |
Region or state | Naples, Campania |
Serving temperature | Hot or warm |
Main ingredients | Dough, sauce (usually tomato sauce), cheese (typically mozzarella) |
Variations | Calzone, panzerotti |
Part of a series on |
Pizza |
---|
Pizza [a] [1] is an Italian dish typically consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
The term pizza was first recorded in the year 997 AD, in a Latin manuscript from the southern Italian town of Gaeta, in Lazio, on the border with Campania. [2] Raffaele Esposito is often credited for creating the modern pizza in Naples. [3] [4] [5] [6] In 2017, the art of making Neapolitan pizza was included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. [7]
Pizza and its variants are among the most popular foods in the world. Pizza is sold at a variety of restaurants, including pizzerias (pizza specialty restaurants), Mediterranean restaurants, via delivery, and as street food. [8] In Italy, pizza served in a restaurant is presented unsliced, and is eaten with the use of a knife and fork. [9] [10] In casual settings, however, it is typically cut into slices to be eaten while held in the hand. Pizza is also sold in grocery stores in a variety of forms, including frozen or as kits for self-assembly. Store-bought pizzas are then cooked using a home oven.
In 2017, the world pizza market was US$128 billion, and in the US it was $44 billion spread over 76,000 pizzerias. [11] Overall, 13% of the US population aged two years and over consumed pizza on any given day. [12]
The oldest recorded usage of the word pizza is from a Latin text from the town of Gaeta, then still part of the Byzantine Empire, in 997 AD; the text states that a tenant of certain property is to give the bishop of Gaeta duodecim pizze (lit. 'twelve pizzas') every Christmas Day, and another twelve every Easter Sunday. [2] [13]
Suggested etymologies include:
A small pizza is sometimes called pizzetta . [20] A person who makes pizza is known as a pizzaiolo. [21]
The word pizza was borrowed from Italian into English in the 1930s; before it became well known, pizza was called "tomato pie" by English speakers. Some regional pizza variations still use the name tomato pie. [22]
Records of pizza-like foods can be found throughout ancient history. In the 6th century BC, the Persian soldiers of the Achaemenid Empire during the rule of Darius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields [23] [24] and the ancient Greeks supplemented their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese. [25] [26] An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in the Aeneid , when Celaeno, queen of the Harpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). In Book VII, Aeneas and his men are served a meal that includes round cakes (such as pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the "tables" prophesied by Celaeno. [27] In 2023, archeologists discovered a fresco in Pompeii appearing to depict a pizza-like dish among other foodstuffs and staples on a silver platter. Italy's culture minister said it "may be a distant ancestor of the modern dish". [28] [29] The first mention of the word pizza comes from a notarial document written in Latin and dating to May 997 AD from Gaeta, demanding a payment of "twelve pizzas, a pork shoulder, and a pork kidney on Christmas Day, and 12 pizzas and a couple of chickens on Easter Day". [30]
Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century. [31] Before that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese. It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims, [31] although it certainly could not have been before the 16th century and the Columbian Exchange. Pizza was sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries until about 1830, when pizzerias in Naples started to have stanze with tables where clients could sit and eat their pizzas on the spot. [32]
A popular contemporary legend holds that the archetypal pizza, pizza Margherita, [33] was invented in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo ('pizza maker') Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the queen strongly preferred a pizza swathed in the colors of the Italian flag—red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this type of pizza was then named after the queen, [34] with an official letter of recognition from the queen's "head of service" remaining to this day on display in Esposito's shop, now called the Pizzeria Brandi. [35] Later research cast doubt on this legend, undermining the authenticity of the letter of recognition, pointing that no media of the period reported about the supposed visit and that both the story and name Margherita were first promoted in the 1930s–1940s. [36] [37]
Pizza was taken to the United States by Italian immigrants in the late 19th century [38] and first appeared in areas where they concentrated. The country's first pizzeria, Lombardi's, opened in New York City in 1905. [39] Italian Americans migrating from East to West brought the dish with them, and from there, the American version was exported to the rest of the world. [40]
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (lit. 'True Neapolitan Pizza Association') is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 with headquarters in Naples that aims to promote traditional Neapolitan pizza. [41] In 2009, upon Italy's request, Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) dish, [42] [43] and in 2017 the art of its making was included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. [7]
Pizza is sold fresh or frozen, and whole or in portion-size slices. Methods have been developed to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough, and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self-rising crusts.
In the US, another form of pizza is available from take and bake pizzerias. This pizza is assembled in the store, then sold unbaked to customers to bake in their own ovens. Some grocery stores sell fresh dough along with sauce and basic ingredients, to assemble at home before baking in an oven.
In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with fire bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven, or, in traditional style in a wood or coal-fired brick oven. The pizza is slid into the oven on a long paddle, called "peel", and baked directly on hot bricks, a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum), or whatever the oven surface is. Before use, a peel is typically sprinkled with cornmeal to allow the pizza to easily slide on and off it. [44] When made at home, a pizza can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce some of the heating effect of a brick oven. Cooking directly on a metal surface results in too rapid heat transfer to the crust, burning it. [45] Some home chefs use a wood-fired pizza oven, usually installed outdoors. As in restaurants, these are often dome-shaped, as pizza ovens have been for centuries, [46] in order to achieve even heat distribution. Another variation is grilled pizza, in which the pizza is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Some types, such as Sicilian pizza, are baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.
Most restaurants use standard and purpose-built pizza preparation tables to assemble their pizzas. Mass production of pizza by chains can be completely automated.
The bottom of the pizza, called the "crust", may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand-tossed Neapolitan pizza or thick as in a deep-dish Chicago-style. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese. The outer edge of the pizza is sometimes referred to as the cornicione. [47] Some pizza dough contains sugar, to help its yeast rise and enhance browning of the crust. [48]
Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by American pizza chain Papa John's Pizza in 1984 and has since been adopted by some when eating pizza, especially the crust. [49]
Mozzarella is commonly used on pizza, with the buffalo mozzarella produced in the surroundings of Naples. [50] Other cheeses are also used, particularly burrata, Gorgonzola, provolone, pecorino romano , ricotta, and scamorza . Less expensive processed cheeses or cheese analogues have been developed for mass-market pizzas to produce desirable qualities such as browning, melting, stretchiness, consistent fat and moisture content, and stable shelf life. This quest to create the ideal and economical pizza cheese has involved many studies and experiments analyzing the impact of vegetable oil, manufacturing and culture processes, denatured whey proteins, and other changes in manufacture. In 1997, it was estimated that annual production of pizza cheese was 1 million metric tons (1,100,000 short tons) in the US and 100,000 metric tons (110,000 short tons) in Europe. [51]
A great number of pizza varieties exist, defined by the choice of toppings and sometimes also crust. There are also several styles of pizza, defined by their preparation method. The following lists feature only the notable ones.
Image | Name | Characteristic ingredients | Origin | First attested | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pizza Margherita | Tomatoes, mozzarella, basil. | Naples, Italy | June 1889 | The archetypical Neapolitan pizza. | |
Pizza marinara | Tomato sauce, olive oil, oregano, garlic. No cheese. | Naples, Italy | 1734 | One of the oldest Neapolitan pizza. | |
Pizza capricciosa | Ham, mushrooms, artichokes, egg. | Rome, Lazio, Italy | 1937 | Similar to pizza quattro stagioni, but with toppings mixed rather than separated. | |
Pizza quattro formaggi | Prepared using four types of cheese (Italian: [ˈkwattroforˈmaddʒi] , 'four cheeses'): mozzarella, Gorgonzola and two others depending on the region. | Lazio, Italy | Its origins are not clearly documented, but it is believed to originate from the Lazio region at the beginning of the 18th century. [52] | ||
Pizza quattro stagioni | Artichokes, mushroom, ham, tomatoes. | Campania, Italy | The toppings are separated by quarter, representing the cycle of the seasons. | ||
Pizza pugliese | Tomatoes, onion, mozzarella. | Apulia, Italy | |||
Seafood pizza | Seafood, such as fish, shellfish or squid. | Italy | Subvarieties include pizza ai frutti di mare (no cheese) and pizza pescatore (with mussels or squid). |
Image | Name | Characteristics | Origin | First attested |
---|---|---|---|---|
Calzone | Pizza folded in half turnover-style. | Naples, Italy | 1700s | |
Deep fried pizza (pizza fritta) | The pizza is deep fried (cooked in oil) instead of baked. | Italy | ||
Pizzetta | Small pizza served as an hors d'oeuvre or snack. | Italy | ||
California-style pizza | Distinguished by the use of non-traditional ingredients, especially varieties of fresh produce. | California, U.S. | 1980 | |
Chicago-style pizza | Baked in a pan with a high edge that holds in a thick layer of toppings. The crust is sometimes stuffed with cheese or other ingredients. | Chicago, U.S. | c. 1940s | |
Colorado-style pizza | Made with a characteristically thick, braided crust topped with heavy amounts of sauce and cheese. It is traditionally served by the pound, with a side of honey as a condiment. | Colorado, U.S. | 1973 | |
Detroit-style pizza | The cheese is spread to the edges and caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan, giving the crust a lacy, crispy edge. | Detroit, U.S. | 1946 | |
Grandma pizza | Thin, square, baked in a sheet pan, "reminiscent of pizzas cooked at home by Italian housewives without a pizza oven". [53] | Long Island, U.S. | Early 1900s | |
Greek pizza | Proofed and baked in a shallow pan; the crust is light and similar to focaccia. | Connecticut, U.S. | 1955 | |
Italian tomato pie | Made from thick dough covered by tomato paste; a variation on Sicilian pizza. Also called "pizza strips" (when cut as in the image), gravy pie, church pie, red bread, party pizza, etc. | U.S. | Early 1900s | |
Jumbo slice | Very large slice of pizza sold as street food. | New York and Washington, D.C., U.S. | 1981 | |
Tavern-style pizza | A crust firm enough to have a noticeable crunch and slices cut into squares. Also called "Milwaukee-style pizza". | Milwaukee or Chicago | 1940s | |
New York–style pizza | Neapolitan-derived pizza with a characteristic thin foldable crust. | New York metropolitan area (and beyond) | Early 1900s | |
St. Louis–style pizza | The style has a thin cracker-like crust made without yeast, generally uses Provel cheese, and is cut into squares or rectangles instead of wedges. | St. Louis, U.S. | 1945 |
Authentic Neapolitan pizza (Italian: pizza napoletana) is made with San Marzano tomatoes, grown on the volcanic plains south of Mount Vesuvius, and either mozzarella di bufala campana , made with milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio, [55] or fior di latte . [56] Buffalo mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin (PDO). [55] Other traditional pizzas include pizza marinara, supposedly the most ancient tomato-topped pizza, [57] pizza capricciosa, which is prepared with mozzarella cheese, baked ham, mushroom, artichoke, and tomato, [58] and pizza pugliese, prepared with tomato, mozzarella, and onions. [59]
A popular variant of pizza in Italy is Sicilian pizza (locally called sfincione or sfinciuni), [60] [61] a thick-crust or deep-dish pizza originating during the 17th century in Sicily: it is essentially a focaccia that is typically topped with tomato sauce and other ingredients. Until the 1860s, sfincione was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily, especially in the Western portion of the island. [62] Other variations of pizzas are also found in other regions of Italy, for example pizza al padellino or pizza al tegamino, a small-sized, thick-crust, deep-dish pizza typically served in Turin, Piedmont. [63] [64] [65]
The first pizzeria in the US was opened in New York City's Little Italy in 1905. [66] Common toppings for pizza in the United States include anchovies, ground beef, chicken, ham, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, pepperoni, pineapple, salami, sausage, spinach, steak, and tomatoes. Distinct regional types developed in the 20th century, including Buffalo, [67] California, Chicago, Detroit, Greek, New Haven, New York, and St. Louis styles. [68] These regional variations include deep-dish, stuffed, pockets, turnovers, rolled, and pizza-on-a-stick, each with seemingly limitless combinations of sauce and toppings.
Thirteen percent of the United States population consumes pizza on any given day. [69] Pizza chains such as Domino's Pizza, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's, pizzas from take and bake pizzerias, and chilled or frozen pizzas from supermarkets make pizza readily available nationwide.
Argentine pizza is a mainstay of the country's cuisine, [70] especially of its capital Buenos Aires, where it is regarded as a cultural heritage and icon of the city. [71] [72] [73] Argentina is the country with the most pizzerias per inhabitant in the world and, although they are consumed throughout the country, the highest concentration of pizzerias and customers is Buenos Aires, the city with the highest consumption of pizzas in the world (estimated in 2015 to be 14 million per year). [74] As such, the city has been considered as one of the world capitals of pizza. [72] [74] The dish was introduced to Buenos Aires in the late 19th century with the massive Italian immigration, as part of a broader great European immigration wave to the country. [72] Thus, around the same time that the iconic pizza Margherita [75] was being invented in Italy, pizza were already being cooked in the Argentine capital. [76] The impoverished Italian immigrants that arrived to the city transformed the originally modest dish into a much more hefty meal, motivated by the abundance of food in Argentina. [74] [77] In the 1930s, pizza was cemented as a cultural icon in Buenos Aires, with the new pizzerias becoming a central space for sociability for the working class people who flocked to the city. [77] [76]
The most characteristic style of Argentine pizza—which almost all the classic pizzerias in Buenos Aires specialize in—is the so-called pizza de molde (Spanish for 'pizza in the pan'), characterized by having a "thick, spongy base and elevated bready crust". [72] This style, which today[ when? ] is identified as the typical style of Argentine pizza—characterized by a thick crust and a large amount of cheese—arose when impoverished Italian immigrants found a greater abundance of food in then-prosperous Argentina, which motivated them to transform the originally modest dish into a much more hefty meal suitable for a main course. [74] [77] The name pizza de molde emerged because there were no pizza ovens in the city, so bakers resorted to baking them in pans. [78] Since they used bakery plates, Argentine pizzas were initially square or rectangular, a format associated with the 1920s that is still maintained in some classic pizzerias, especially for vegetable pizzas, fugazzetas or fugazzas. [78]
Other styles of Argentine pizza include the iconic fugazza and its derivative fugazzeta or fugazza con queso (a terminology that varies depending on the pizzeria), [72] or the pizza de cancha or canchera (a cheese-less variant). [79] Most pizza menus include standard flavor combinations, including the traditional plain mozzarella, nicknamed "muza" or "musa"; the napolitana or "napo", with "cheese, sliced tomatoes, garlic, dried oregano and a few green olives", not to be confused with Neapolitan pizza; [72] calabresa, with slices of longaniza ; [80] jamon y morrones, with sliced ham and roasted bell peppers; [72] as well as versions with provolone, with anchovies, [80] with hearts of palm, or with chopped hard boiled egg. [72] A typical custom that is unique to Buenos Aires is to accompany pizza with fainá , a pancake made from chickpea flour. [81]
The terms dessert pizza and sweet pizza are used for a variety of dishes resembling a pizza, including chocolate pizza and fruit pizza. [82] [83] Some are based on a traditional yeast dough pizza base, [84] while others have a cookie-like base [85] and resemble a traditional pizza solely in having a flat round shape with a distinct base and topping. Some pizza restaurants offer dessert pizzas. [86] [87]
Some pizzas mass-produced by American pizza chains have been criticized as having an unhealthy balance of ingredients. Pizza can be high in salt and fat, and is high in calories. The USDA reports an average sodium content of 5,100 mg per 14 in (36 cm) pizza in fast food chains. [88] [89] [90]
Media related to Pizzas at Wikimedia Commons
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust "tavern-style" pizzas. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared either this way or stuffed. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner, crispier crust than other thin-crust styles, and the pizza is cut in squares instead of slices.
Calzone is an Italian oven-baked turnover, made with leavened dough. It originated in Naples in the 18th century. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in an oven and stuffed with prosciutto or salami, mozzarella or ricotta, and Parmesan or pecorino, as well as an egg. Different regional variations in or on a calzone can often include other ingredients that are normally associated with pizza toppings. The term usually applies to an oven-baked turnover rather than a fried pastry, although calzones and panzerotti are often mistaken for each other.
Farinata, socca, farinata di ceci, torta di ceci, fainé, fainá,cecìna or cade is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour.
Italian tomato pie is an Italian-American and Italian-Canadian baked good consisting of a thick, porous, focaccia-like dough covered with tomato sauce. It may be sprinkled with Romano cheese or oregano. It is not usually served straight from the oven, but allowed to cool and then consumed at room temperature or reheated. Like Sicilian pizza, tomato pie is baked in a large rectangular pan and usually served in square slices, although in Rhode Island it is cut into rectangular strips like pizza al taglio. Tomato pie descends from and resembles the Italian sfincione, although it is not the same dish. For instance, sfincione may have toppings, is usually served hot, and has a crust more like brioche than focaccia.
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. Traditional toppings are simply tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. This was a popular meal among poor Italian Americans due to the ratio of product from the limited produce.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, commonly known as Frank Pepe's or simply Pepe's, is a popular pizza restaurant in the Wooster Square neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut, at 163 Wooster Street and originator of New Haven-style pizza. Opened in 1925, it is one of the oldest and best known pizzerias in the United States.
New Haven-style pizza is a style of thin-crust, coal-fired Neapolitan pizza common in and around New Haven, Connecticut. Locally known as apizza, it originated in 1925 at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and is now served in many other pizza restaurants in the area, most notably Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza. This geographically limited pizza style has been favorably regarded by national critics.
Pizza Margherita or Margherita pizza is a typical Neapolitan pizza, roundish in shape with a raised edge and garnished with hand-crushed peeled tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and extra virgin olive oil. The dough is made by mixing water, salt, and yeast with flour.
The history of pizza began in antiquity, as various ancient cultures produced flatbreads with several toppings. Pizza today is an Italian dish with a flat dough-based base and toppings, with significant Italian roots in History.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, crisp, chewy crust. It is traditionally topped to the edges with mozzarella or Wisconsin brick cheese, which caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan. Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. It was developed during the mid-20th century in Detroit, Michigan, before spreading to other parts of the United States in the 2010s. It is one of Detroit's most famous local foods.
Uruguayan cuisine is a fusion of cuisines from several European countries, especially of Mediterranean foods from Spain, Italy, Portugal and France. Other influences on the cuisine resulted from immigration from countries such as Germany and Scotland. Uruguayan gastronomy is a result of immigration, rather than local Amerindian cuisine, because of late-19th and early 20th century immigration waves of, mostly, Italians. Spanish influences are abundant: desserts like churros, flan, ensaimadas yoo (Catalan sweet bread), and alfajores were all brought from Spain. There are also various kinds of stews known as guisos or estofados, arroces, and fabada. All of the guisos and traditional pucheros (stews) are also of Spanish origin. Uruguayan preparations of fish, such as dried salt cod (bacalao), calamari, and octopus, originate from the Basque and Galician regions, and also Portugal. Due to its strong Italian tradition, all of the famous Italian pasta dishes are present in Uruguay including ravioli, lasagne, tortellini, fettuccine, and the traditional gnocchi. Although the pasta can be served with many sauces, there is one special sauce that was created by Uruguayans. Caruso sauce is a pasta sauce made from double cream, meat, onions, ham and mushrooms. It is very popular with sorrentinos and agnolotti. Additionally, there is Germanic influence in Uruguayan cuisine as well, particularly in sweet dishes. The pastries known as bizcochos are Germanic in origin: croissants, known as medialunas, are the most popular of these, and can be found in two varieties: butter- and lard-based. Also German in origin are the Berlinese known as bolas de fraile, and the rolls called piononos. The Biscochos were re-christened with local names given the difficult German phonology, and usually Uruguayanized by the addition of a dulce de leche filling. Even dishes like chucrut (sauerkraut) have also made it into mainstream Uruguayan dishes.
Neapolitan cuisine has ancient historical roots that date back to the Greco-Roman period, which was enriched over the centuries by the influence of the different cultures that controlled Naples and its kingdoms, such as that of Aragon and France.
Neapolitan pizza is the version of the round pizza typically prepared in the Italian city of Naples and characterised by a soft, thin dough with high edges. The tomatoes are traditionally either San Marzano tomatoes or pomodorini del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, and the cheese is traditionally mozzarella di bufala campana or fior di latte di Agerola. Pizza napoletana is a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG) product in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the art of its making is included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.
Pizza marinara, also known as pizza alla marinara, is a typical Neapolitan pizza seasoned with tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, oregano, and garlic. It is supposedly the oldest tomato-topped pizza.
Argentine pizza is a mainstay of the country's cuisine, especially of its capital Buenos Aires, where it is regarded as a cultural heritage and icon of the city. Argentina is the country with the most pizzerias per inhabitant in the world and, although they are consumed throughout the country, the highest concentration of pizzerias and customers is Buenos Aires, the city with the highest consumption of pizzas in the world. As such, the city has been considered as one of the world capitals of pizza.
Fugazza con queso, or simply fugazza, is a common type of Argentine pizza, originating in Buenos Aires, that consists of a thick pizza crust topped with onions, cheese, and sometimes olives. It is derived from a combination of Neapolitan pizza with Italian focaccia bread.
Canada has many of its own pizza chains, both national and regional, and many distinctive regional variations and types of pizza resulting from influences of local Canadian cuisine.
In the evening we often used to go eating pizza in some rooms at the Piazza della Carità.