History Of Pizza

Pizza - the fast food that has today become one of the most popular snacks of youngsters! You will find pizza parlors or ‘pizzerias’ in almost each and every market, including the local ones. I’m sure even you like to eat pizza, if not on a daily, then on an occasional basis. Have you wondered how the pizza came into being i.e. what is the history and origin of the delicious snack? Pizza has a very colorful and interesting history attached to it and with the information given below, you can find all about its background.

 

It is believed by almost every person in the world that pizza was invented by the Italians, making it an Italian recipe. However, one can trace the origin of the snack back to the ancient times. As per the earlier records, Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern people used to eat a flat, un-leaven bread, which was cooked in mud ovens and had an appearance somewhat similar to the pizzas we eat today.

 

There are also evidences to suggest that the ancient Mediterranean people, like Greeks, Romans and Egyptians, used to eat their flat bread, after topping it with seasonings like olive oil and native spices. Pizza is believed to have pervaded the lower class of the Naples (Italy) in a similar fashion. There is also a story, dating back to around late 19^th century, about an Italian baker called Raffaele Esposito, who created a new dish for the visiting royalty.

 

King Umberto, the Italian monarch, was touring the area where the baker lived, along with his consort, Queen Margherita. To create a favorable impression on the King and the Queen, Raffaele made flat bread and topped it with red tomato, white mozzarella cheese and green basil, the color of the toppings representing the colors of Italy (red, white and green). The king and queen were very impressed by it and soon, the news spread to the masses.

 

The popularity of the flat bread, topped with seasonings, reached such a height that other bakers started imitating it and thus, was born the pizza as we know of today. Pizza is believed to have made its entry in the United States around the beginning of the 20^th century. The immigrants, mainly in the cities of New York and Chicago, can be credited with the making the people of USA aware of the existence of pizza.