In the back streets of Naples, in the eighteenth century, the now world renowned pizza was conceived. Known then as the food of the poor, it consisted basically of bread topped with tomato and olive oil. The dish was so delicious, it brought tourists to the city to get a piece of the pie. Many years after its inception, the first pizzeria was opened in 1830 to immediate success.
In order to preserve the authentication of the traditional pizza, the ‘Associazone Verace Pizza Napoletana’ has been created. This governing body dictates what specifications the chef must stick to in order to be accepted as an authentic Italian. These rules include the temperature it must be cooked (450 degrees Celsius), the thickness; at an eighth of an inch, and the method by which the dough is made; solely by hand.
At the same time, throughout the rest of the world pizza was developed in a variety of ways. From Turkey came the lahmacun, which directly translated means meat with bread. These consist of a finely chopped pieces of beef or lamb atop a piece of flat bread.
Similarly this transmuted to the United States of America where it has turned presently into a multimillion dollar food industry. In New York the style was large and flat, with an abundance of cheese and less emphasis on the sauce. In Detroit they experimented with the shape, developing the square pizza crammed with a variety of toppings. With Greeks emigrating to the states also, a further style developed whereby the pie was cooked in a pan, as opposed to the surface of the oven. The country wide epidemic has since amalgamated to form the global idea that most hold of pizzas nowadays.
This evolution of the basic pie has been a global exercise. Delicacies from all corners of the planet have been experimented with and used as toppings. From tuna to truffles and sweet corn to salmon, the base of bread and tomato sauce has become a blank canvas for chefs and amateurs alike to try out all possible combinations.
The Japanese, for instance, enjoy topping theirs with eel and squid, whereas the Russians prefer red herring. Separately the Australians opt for covering theirs in pineapple and prawns. Whereas, on the Indian subcontinent, those in Pakistan choose the spiciness of curry. In America, however, the preference is for pepperoni, where they consume a staggering 250 million pounds of the stuff each year.
Further experimentation with the classic has lead to many new waves of enjoying a meal. Some places stuff the crusts with a wide range of ingredients, from extra pepperoni, to garlic cheese and even wild mushrooms. There are also restaurants that now offer a double decker pizza, where the customer effectively gets two for the price of one.
Pizza is now such a globally recognized food that no matter where you are on the planet, you’re guaranteed to be able to grab a pie. In the States over a 100 acres of are consumed daily, equating to around 350 slices each and every second! In total revenue this amounts to over $30 billion a year.
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