ITALIAN CUISINE
JUNE 5, 2021
Delicious history of pizza : from meal of the poor to royal family favorite
Wherever we go around the world, we can find this delicious Italian food. Pizza is tremendously popular meal and globally known. But did you know that delicious history of pizza had history from street food and associated with poverty ?
Pizza is the one of the world’s favorite food. Around three billions pizza are sold annually in the United States alone, that’s 46 slices per person each year in average. But the global dominance of this Italian meal came up from long history of migration, technology and economics.
In the beginning, however, the origin of pizza is much disputed. Italians claiming it derives from focaccia bread with tasty toppings. On the other hand Greeks also claimed for this popular meal. They had traditional large, flat, round bread topped with any kind of edible components. But the Italians make them better and well served.
In the late 18th century the pizza as we now know it today came into being in the city of Naples, Italy. Under the Bourbon kings Naples became one of the largest cities in Europe. Pizza was sold not in shops but by street vendors carrying huge boxes under their arms. The meal would be cut to meet customer’s budget or appetite. This made customers free to pick their size of pizza according to their needs, inexpensive yet still tasty.
The most simple pizza was topped with only garlic, lard and salt. Others included caciocavallo (cheese from horse’s milk), cecenielli (whitebait) or basil. Some variants had tomatoes on top of it. In fact, it was their unpopularity and the low price that made it attractive.
The world’s fist pizzaria opened in Italy in 1830. The oven used to bake pizzas was lined with lava from a local volcano. This ensuring the oven was always hot and the pizzas were cooked in seconds. A pizza from a real Italian restaurant, thin base and melted cheese.
At the time, pizzas were frequently associated as poverty and scorned by food writers, especially by foreign visitors. Even the first cookbooks dedicated to Neapolitan cuisine ignored pizza in the late 19th century.
But it all changed after Italian unification. In 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margeritha got tired of the complicated French dishes served for them, while on a visit to Naples. Then the pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito, prepared to serve some local specialities and he cooked three sorts of pizza for the queen. One with lard, caciocavallo and basil; another with cecenielli; and a third with tomatoes, mozzarella and basil topping.
The queen was impressed, especially for the last one. It was then named pizza margherita to honor her and it is the classic topping of pizza, a global standard for all pizza. This also marked the important shift for pizza. From street food eaten by lower class economy to something a royal family could enjoy. Not just that, it also transformed pizza from local meal to national dish – a genuinely Italian food, as well as pasta and polenta.
Today many variants of pizza are created around the world. The toppings had varied over the years, like the weirdest one from Japanese topping consists of squid and Mayo Jaga (a mix of mayonnaise, potato and bacon). The most expensive pizza ever made cost $2.745 and the meal was topped with edible gold.
Whether you prefer a big cheesy American-style pizza or a thin and crispy Italian pizza, it’s undeniable that this meal is delicious and hugely popular, added up to the delicious history of pizza. Everyone loves it !
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