The Popularity of Pizza
- ciara garza
- May 23, 2023
- 4 min read
By Ciara Garza
When you think of an Italian food, what is your first thought? Pizza. Pizza is one of the most popular Italian foods throughout the world ranging from countries such as Sweden, Turkey, and America. Pizza may be universally known; however, each country puts their own take on the well-known food. But even after years of improvements and changes to the recipes and types, one of the most made pizzas is the Margherita Pizza.
In Italy, they make many pizzas throughout the day. Matteo Abbamonte, a server at Berbere Pizzeria, speaks about the busiest time of day to make pizzas. He says, “now we are working more dinner, but there is some weeks that we work more at lunch and less at dinner. It depends.” He also says that “there are 400 pizzas made all day.” The popularity of pizza not only branches out into different countries, but it also is a popular cuisine in its country of origin with nearly 63,000 pizzerias throughout Italy.
History
The word pizza has been around longer than the idea of modern pizza. The word pizza was originally used as a word to refer to round shaped breads and desserts. Although modern pizza is originated in Naples, Italy, it really started in the 8th century BC. In the 8th century BC, Etruscans migrated into Italy, which brought flatbreads to Italy. It was discovered that they used ground grains to make a think dough topped with herbs, oils, and other ingredients that were available at the time. They would cook the dough beneath hot ashes, which led the Romans to start calling them ash cakes.
Laura Iaccarino, a tour guide in Pompeii, talks about how they used to make pizzas back then. She says, “Normally even if they had a big house the kitchen was always small. It was made out of stonework. They lit the fire on top of the flat surface. On top of which they put a tripod holding supporting a pot they coupled it this way. And underneath it there was that
arch, the cavity, to store the firewood.” She compares the pizza ovens in use today saying, “It’s exactly like the oven they have in there now. Brick oven using wood to make the fire.” Pizza ovens throughout the world are used similarly to how they used to cook pizzas back then. The use of brick ovens in pizzerias during modern times keeps a part of history alive. Laura Iaccarino also says, “The pizza normally take 2 or 3 minutes. Because the temperature is so high, it’s about 500 degrees. It only needs to stay inside the oven for a couple of minutes and then it’s ready.”
Margherita Pizza
It has been around for many years and has continuously been improving throughout the years. But even after hundreds of years, Margherita Pizza is one of the most popular pizzas in the world, beaten only by Napoletana Pizza. Yisneidy Terry, a server at La Habana says, “the most popular pizza is Margherita.”
While Matteo Abbamonte also says, “There is not only one, but the classic Margherita or the Bufala are the most popular.” Two different places, with many different options, say that the most popular pizza is the Margherita Pizza. In Berbere Pizzeria, it has a framed photo of the Margherita Pizza, showing the popularity of the pizza itself.
Raffaele Esposito was the most famous pizza maker in Naples in the 1800’s. In 1889, Raffaele Esposito created the Margherita Pizza. Queen Margherita and King Umberto 1 visited Naples and commissioned Esposito to make 3 different pizzas for her. She didn’t approve of the first 2 pizzas that he made, but when it came to the third 1, she approved. It was named after the queen of Savoy, Queen Margherita. Raffaele Esposito wanted to honor the visit to Naples of Queen Margherita and King Umberto 1. The Margherita Pizza is made with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. It was created with those ingredients to match the colors of the Italian Flag.
Pizza Around the World
Pizza is a universally beloved food. The well-known food migrated in the 19th century when the immigrants traveled to the new world. It ranges in countries such as the United States, Australia, Japan, and Iceland. There is even a differentiation in pizza in Italy itself. Northern and southern Italy both have a different take on pizza. In northern Italy, the crust of the pizza is very thin and crisp. While the pizza crust in southern Italy is soft and pliable.
Pizza is currently the most popular Italian food in the United States of America. It has created new variations of pizza such a Hawaiian, Chicago Deep Dish, New York, and more. Throughout the other countries you can find different types as well. In countries such as Japan you can find fried okonomiyaki with various toppings, in Argentina you can find fugazza, and in Iceland you can find banana pizza, these are just some of the different pizzas throughout the world but there are so many more.
Pizza has been around since the 8th century BC, and it still remains popular today. Pizzerias are cooking their pizzas in a stone oven, the same way that they were back in the 8th century BC. It is bringing a more authentic cooking strategy to modern pizza. Raffaele Esposito created one of the most popular pizzas ever known in 1889 for the Queen of Savoy and then named it after her. This pizza is known as Margherita Pizza.
With many different combinations of ingredients and toppings, pizza has become the most popular Italian food worldwide. Every country has different combinations of toppings for pizza, but they are all the same when it comes to Margherita Pizza. Margherita pizza is made up of 3 ingredients, basil, mozzarella cheese, and tomatoes. These ingredients were chosen to match the colors of the Italian flag. Pizza throughout time has changed and will continue to change, due to location and resources, but it will always remain one of the most popular Italian foods in history.
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