Pizza - an international phenomenon

Pizza is one of the food most common around the world. Italy is proud that its national dish has become an international phenomenon. The Italian pizza is different to the rest of the world. Pizza is a very popular dinner for Italians and for tourists, inexpensive and a lighter meal. Italian pizza is customarily baked yeast bread topped with cheese, tomato sauce or tomatoes and herbs. In simple words, a good pizza is a very simple dish based on fresh ingredients on a hand-tossed and thin crust.

Over the years, different thicknesses of crust have been introduced. Italian pizza can now commonly be found with hand-rolled medium thick crusts. . It may be baked in a traditional wood-fired oven or a common kitchen oven powered by gas or electricity.
Pizza, during the history, has inspired many writers and it's from their documents and notes that we know that pizza has truly old origins. Pizza was considered a peasant's meal in Italy for centuries. Pizza appeared in Naples for the first time, long before the discovery of the Americas. The pizza as we know it today was developed after the introduction of the tomato sauce original from the Andes. Pizza Margherita was the first type of pizza with topping every made.
According to historians Pizza Margherita was said to be very patriotic because it "resembled to the Italian flag" having green (basil), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes).
In 1830 what is believed to be "the world's first true pizzeria," Antica Pizzeria Port' Alba, opened. This pizzeria is still in business today at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples!
The most authentic pizza is Pizza Napoletana (Neapolitan Pizza) made with fresh mozzarella, tomato home-made and fresh herbs. Truly great pizza dough is made only with flour, natural yeast or brewers yeast, salt and water. It must be kneaded by hand or mixers which do not cause the dough to overheat, and the dough must be punched down and shaped by hand.


In the latter half of the 19th century, pizza migrated to America with Italian immigrants. The first true U.S.A. pizzeria was opened in 1905 in New York City.
In the 1950's, in U.S.A., appeared the brand Pizza Hut and, also packaged pizzas to prepare at home from Chef Boyardee
Today, pizza is consistently within the top 3 foods eaten in Europe, but the highest consumption isin the U.S.A. Pizza consumption in the United States is estimated at 400 slices per second.