Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!!! I simply had to have a slice of a yummy and filling pepperoni Pizza snd kept nagging my last Tuesday that I drove my hubby crazy. Strangely it was when I was helping myself to a pizza that I wondered about the history of pizza as food cos I really wanted to know who  invented this delicious treat. Did you know that pizza was actually considered food that was for the poor and not for royalty and the pizza base was actually an oven temperature testing tool for bakers.  Here is some interesting information about the history of Pizza:
 
 

 

The word Pizza could have been derived from the word "pita” which is a type of flat bread that existed in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines
 
We can safely assume that the foundations for today’s Pizza was made by the Greeks who were the first to bake large round flat breads that were served topped with oil, herbs, spices and Dates.
 
A flat bread that was referred to as pizza was also found in Naples, Italy in the 16th century. The pizza was a baker's tool, where the dough was shoved into the oven to verify the internal temperature. The pizza was then sold to poor people, often through street food vendors.
 
By the 17th century, white sauce covered the pizza and slowly the topping started to change. Tomato came from America to Europe in the 16th century but wasn’t used for a long time in cuisines as it was feared to be poisonous. By the 18th century the tomato was also used by the poor and was added as a topping to the pizza and thus the foundation for the modern day pizza was laid. Soon the toppings were experimented with and oil, cheese, tomatoes, anchovies and fish became popular.
 
The pizza became a local specialty and gained popularity as the poor man’s food in very little time. But it was still considered that the royalty should stay away from but the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy changed that the day she got a taste of the pizza. In 1889 the Queen while taking a tour of Italy with her husband happened to see the pizza and took a taste of it. She fell in love with pizza and to the consternation of other royalty kept getting herself the “poor mans food”. Then she ordered Chef Rafaelle Esposito to make pizzas exclusively for her. The Chef prepared three different types, but the queen chose the one topped with tomatoes, Mozarella Cheese, and fresh Basil. Thus was born the popular Margherita.  It was no coincidence that the topping, red white and green reflected the colors of the Italian flag.
 
The next most popular pizza is the Marinara that has a topping of tomato, oregano, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. It was called Marinara because it was made by a seaman's wife, for her sea faring fisherman husband when he returned.
 
The toppings varied even more from then and in Bologna even meat was added as topping and then came different kinds of cheese, herbed, vegetables, spices and flavorings!  So the evolution of pizza as a remarkably addictive food can be credited to Italy and Queen Margherita.
 
Though in time Pizza did spread to America, France, England and Spain it was not that well-known but the end of WW II changed that. The soldiers brought back with them a desire to eat the saucy treat they had tasted while occupying Italian territories and in no time the popularity of pizza reached heights. Today pepperoni pizza is the most ordered pizza in America.
 
Today Pizza comes in different forms such as Calzones, Pan Pizza, Stuffed Crust Pizza, thin crust Pizza, whole wheat crust or bagel crust pizza and so on. You can even make them at home, especially when you get ready made pizza bases! Here are a few pizza recipes for you.
 
Pizza Trivia
 
Feb 9 is celebrated as International Pizza Day
 
Image Credit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreaminofbeadin/