The amazing history of pizza: from poor man's food to fine dining. History of pizza

If you ever had a question How did pizza come about, then, most likely, like most people, you decided that pizza is a purely Italian dish and it was invented in Italy. However, it is not. Pizza, like many dishes, was not first invented in the country to whose national cuisine it now belongs, that is, Italy.

The prerequisites for the appearance of pizza can be seen in the Ancient Greeks, who first began to bake large, round and flat bread, which they generously oiled, seasoned with spices, herbs and all kinds of dishes. In those distant times, tomatoes were not yet discovered, or more likely, they were simply not used in cooking.

In the 18th century, the idea of ​​flat bread came to Italy. On the streets and markets of the city, flat cakes called "Pizzas". These cakes were flat bread, without any seasonings and toppings. Since they were very cheap, tasty and satisfying, they were mainly popular among the poor of Naples. The appearance of tomatoes among the Neapolitans and the visit of the queen to the streets of the city contributed to the emergence of the very pizza that we know and love today!

In 1889 Queen Margaret accompanied by her husband, King Umberto I, toured her kingdom of Italy. During her travels in Italy, she saw many people, especially peasants, who ate these large and flat cakes with pleasure. The queen ordered one of these cakes to be brought to her. It is said that Queen Margherita was a great lover of bread. However, she ate it alone, as it was not proper for the queen to consume "peasant food". Therefore, in front of the people, she did not dare to try the cake.

However, the queen was very fond of bread, and her desire to try the cake surpassed her so much that she decided to invite a cook Rafael Esposito to the palace. Queen Margherita ordered him to bake several types of pizza. The chef tried so hard to please the queen that he prepared a special pizza for her. Tomatoes, Mozzarella cheese and fresh basil were used in this pizza, which completely repeated the colors of the Italian flag: white, red and green.

According to legend, this special pizza surpassed all expectations of the queen and became her favorite. She even let me call her by her name - Pizza Margherita, thereby laying the foundation for a whole culinary tradition that has spread and become popular around the world to this day. There is a legend that in this way Queen Margarita tried to get closer to the people.

History does not know whether the chef Raphael began to sell his creation to the masses, but it is known that pizza in the form that we know now spread among the Italian people. Different types of pizza began to appear in different parts of Italy. In Bologna, for example, they began to add meat to pizza. Neapolitan pizza with garlic, crumbly Neapolitan cheese, herbs, fresh vegetables and spices has gained particular popularity. By this time, the idea of ​​baking pizza in special brick ovens appeared. And pizza dough, like today, consisted of flour, vegetable oil, salt and yeast.

Pizza began to spread throughout America, France, England and Spain, but it really became popular in these countries only after the Second World War. While occupying Italian territories, many American and European soldiers tasted pizza for the first time. It was love at first bite!

Today you can find many variations of pizza, both in shape and in filling. For example, in addition to round pizza, there is also a square pizza - Sicilian pizza with anchovies. There is a pizza "envelope" - calzone. One of the traditional ingredients for calzone is the traditional Italian dairy product ricotto.

Some interesting pizza facts:

The Guinness Book of Records has repeatedly recorded several of the largest pizzas in the world:

. The largest round the pizza was baked on December 8, 1990 in a hypermarket in the city of Norwood (South Africa). Its diameter was 37.4 meters, and its preparation took: 4500 kg of flour, 90 kg of salt, 900 kg of tomato puree and 1800 kg of cheese! The African pizza was only 3.5 meters in diameter larger than its predecessor, a pizza baked by Pizza Hut in Singapore in 1990.

. longest pizza was taken in Israel on November 3, 2003. Its length was 100 meters. Pizza was prepared by 25 chefs during the day, and they ate it in seconds in Tel Aviv's central park.

American and Canadian citizens consume an average of 23 pounds of pizza per person per year. Their favorite pizza is pepperoni (a spicy type of salami) and cheese pizza, second only to hamburgers in popularity.

As you can see, pizza has come a long way from antiquity to the present day. And it became popular thanks to Queen Margarita. So the next time you bite into a juicy piece of pizza, remember Queen Margherita, who did not dare to try pizza in front of the people.

Publication date: 02 Apr 2012

It is not known for certain which people became the inventor of this dish. which, in the process of long transformations and improvements, became known as classic Italian pizza. The Etruscans, Greeks,
Romans, Phoenicians and many others. Also, the date of invention has not been preserved, it is only known that before the delicious Italian pizza appeared, in warm countries like Egypt and India they made cakes with anything. The “age” of such cakes is several thousand years.

The history dates back to ancient Egypt, where they made cakes from sour yeast bread. Sometimes aromatic algae from the Nile were added to the dough. The shape of the cakes resembled a modern pizza, or the sun, which the Egyptians worshiped and with which many rituals were associated. Many of Egypt's culinary inventions have spread throughout the world, including the Zoroastrian pita and other pizza-like dishes.

Also, there is a version that one of the dishes of Ancient Greece became the prototype of pizza. The Greeks were very rational people, so they baked bread with various seasonings, which included almost everything that could be eaten. Plakuntos is a Greek pizza which means "flat baked bread". Cheese, herbs, olives, butter, garlic and onions were very often laid out on it. Even Plato in his work "Republic" described cakes with a similar seasoning, which was washed down with a large amount of wine, after which various hymns were sung with redoubled zeal.

Some historians believe that when the Roman legions returned from Palestine, they brought with them the recipe for the "pizza" dish, from which. possibly happened. Others believe that the Romans borrowed their “plakuntos” from the Greeks, changing the name to “plakea”.

And although many culinary specialists agree that pizza is a purely Italian invention, some scientists are ready to argue with this. For example, Astrid Rybergolz, a Norwegian ethnologist, believes that the prototype of pizza was invented by the Vikings. As evidence, she cites the finds of frying pans, which were probably used to bake bread seasoned with vegetables, meat or fish.

A direct relative and progenitor of the modern version of pizza, as well as pita bread and pita, is the focaccio flatbread. The method of its preparation is similar to pizza, however, focaccia does not have a specific filling. Previously, it was the daily food of peasants and warriors. And the history of pizza itself has about 200 years. It is believed that in one of the largest cities in Europe at that time, Naples, bakers began to prepare stuffed cakes for the poor to save time. As a filling, they were sprinkled with tomatoes, oregano or dried marjoram on top, poured with vegetable oil and could be lightly covered with cheese.

This is how delicious Italian pizza was born. Wandering merchants often put it in copper boxes, and, carrying them on their heads, offered pizza to passers-by on the street. Sometimes the buyers were very poor and could not pay for the treat immediately, but gave the money back within a week. So, pizza began to be called "eight-day".

There are two types of classic Neapolitan pizza: "Margherita" and "Marinara". Marinara owes its name to the fishermen for whom it once served as a daily breakfast. And "Margarita" has a very interesting history. The royal court was in their summer residence and became interested in the local dish. The royal chefs went to Vesuvius to find out more about the recipe for this wonderful dish, and got a couple. Returning to court, they were glad to report their successes to the nobility. And although they failed to bring thin Italian pizza to the royal menu, the court was simply delighted with the variety of dishes. They even invited pizzaiolo Rafaele Esposito and his wife to court. Together they prepared three types of pizza, one of which was especially liked by the queen. It was filled with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella - the colors of the flag of Italy. Pizzaiolo decided to name this type of pizza after the Queen - Margherita. It is this pizza that is considered the most exquisite and often serves as the basis for all kinds of options in which everything that is available is placed on the dough. Together with "Margarita", the "Four Seasons" and "Marinara", which existed back in 1660 and 1800, respectively, were served to the royal court. This is the story of pizza! Bon appetit!

Who hasn't ordered pizza at least once? Or did you not bake it, desperately trying to roll out the dough to the desired thickness? A holiday has come, a new season of your favorite series has come out, you are too lazy to cook or you just want something tasty - there are many reasons, as well as varieties of pizza. Hot, with lingering cheese… perhaps this was the legendary food of the gods?

Jokes aside, pizza has never been the food of the gods. More like the food of the poor. In ancient Egypt and Persia, peasants baked open cakes, laying vegetables and meat on their surface; The Egyptians sometimes added algae to the dough, which gave the sour yeast dough a pleasant aroma. The ancient Greeks also had their own pizza - cheese, olives, herbs, garlic and onions served as toppings. This dish was called "plakuntos"; it was he who was later borrowed, slightly modified, by the ancient Romans, which gave reason to call them the inventors of the first more or less similar to modern pizza. By the way, it was the Romans who took the first step towards turning pizza into a delicacy: these dishes were consumed by both plebeians and discerning patrician gourmets.

REFERENCE: It would seem that Ancient Rome is the point after which you can safely talk about Italy - after all, such a historical transition is quite logical. But no, it's time to intervene harsh Scandinavian sailors: it turns out that the Vikings had their own pizza. Norwegian scientist Astrid Rybergolz is of the opinion that the frying pans found during the excavations were used for baking bread stuffed with meat, fish or vegetables.

In a word, pizza is an ancient and mysterious dish. In Italy, it is one, in America it is different, and in our cafe it is completely third. We need to figure out how it happened.

Italian pizza originated in Naples. Its predecessor was focaccia, baked without any filling. However, in 1522 in Europe appeared ... tomatoes. The "devil's berry" did not immediately take root on the tables of Europeans, but over time - already in the 17th century - the peasants decided that tomatoes were not only harmless, but even very tasty, which means that they would come in handy for stuffing their favorite cakes. So in Naples, almost modern pizza appeared - fast food for the poor, snacking on the go.

REFERENCE: At first, the bakers themselves carried the pizza through the streets, and the pizza dough was kneaded ... with their feet.

It was this that almost prevented her from getting to the royal table - but everything has its time. In the meantime, people who buy pizza are so poor that they can't pay for their snack every day. They have to eat on credit, promising to pay at the end of the week - and therefore the pizza is called "eight-day".

Briefly about the creation of Marinara

REFERENCE: Meanwhile, pizza, which was carried through the streets by the then pizzaiola, was destined to become a classic of the genre. It was Pizza "Marinara", so named either because it was willingly bought up by sailors who returned after night fishing, or because of the sauce of tomato, onion, herbs and garlic. It was very well kept, which the sailors took advantage of; later, the name of the sauce gave the name to the hot cake flavored with it.

Interesting facts about the origin of Margarita

Time passed, the year 1772 came. The first pizzerias began to appear everywhere. The king who ruled at that time, Ferdinand I, walking around Naples, looked into one of them and was so pleased that he decided to immediately introduce a new dish to the royal menu. However - do you remember the dough? If so, then don't be surprised that the queen was against it. Only a nobleman named Gennaro Spadacchini managed to overcome this prejudice: he came up with a special whisk for whipping dough. Yes, and now pizza was supposed to be eaten with a fork - all according to etiquette!

REFERENCE: shortly thereafter appeared Pizza "Margherita": according to legend, the baker Rafaele Esposito created three different types of pizza for Margherita of Savoy. One of these pizzas was stuffed with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, making it look like the flag of Italy. The queen was incredibly pleased, and the pizza was named after her.

The introduction of the classic Four Seasons

So, a simple dish of sailors and peasants gained popularity in high society. What's next? Of course, pizza for lovers of variety - "Four Seasons". Its occurrence is due to the fact that one chef came up with the idea to diversify the pizza toppings. He decided to fill the pizza with seafood, tomatoes, ham and mushrooms. All products were good, but laid out on one cake, they were an indistinct vinaigrette. What to do? I had to divide the pizza into sectors, laying out their toppings on each. Each sector was associated with a resourceful baker with some season, so the pizza got the appropriate name - "Four Seasons".

4 cheeses - a favorite for children and adults

What else is four when it comes to pizza? Of course, cheese. Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan and Emmental - the names of the cheeses alone make you salivate. Pizza "Four cheeses"- This is one of the most "Italian" pizzas. And even if no one knows who exactly came up with the idea to multiply the main ingredient of any pizza by four, Quattro Formaggio remains the favorite of many generations.

How was Diablo's pizza invented?

Perhaps the last pizza that is worth talking about before talking about how this dish took root and changed in America and in our homeland is "Diablo". A piece of this delicious pizza - and in your mouth like a hellish fire lights up. Mozzarella, tomatoes, salami or pepperoni plus hot peppers and olive oil - that's the “devil's” pizza for you. Enjoy!

Pepperoni is a masterpiece of Italian cuisine

REFERENCE: In fact, "Diablo" is the closest relative of another famous pizza - "Pepperoni". This is one of the early varieties of pizza, which appeared thanks to the Italian sausage of the same name, the name of which comes from the word pepe - pepper. Moreover, it was "Pepperoni" in Italy that was called the "devil's pizza" for its sharpness; Obviously, "Diablo" as a separate variation appeared a little later.

Description of the cooking process in America

America is a country where products change beyond recognition. Recall even macaroni and cheese, which has turned from an Italian delicacy into a fast food dish, beloved by children. So the pizza, which Americans tired after a working day order for dinner, bears little resemblance to Italian. American pizza is baked with vegetable oil, not olive oil. The dough becomes thick and the sides are high, which allows you to add more toppings - and the most diverse, which makes the pizza more like a thin pie. This pizza appeared in the forties. Prior to this, Italian emigrants baked pizza according to their own recipes - as in the first American pizzeria that opened in 1905.

By the way, we owe the appearance of “American pizza” and the spread of this delicacy around the world to American soldiers, who brought home from the fronts of the Second World War not only pain and terrifying memories, but also a love for Italian cuisine, which they immediately adapted to their needs.

REFERENCE: By the way, we owe America another invention that once again turned pizza into an extremely democratic dish: it was in America in 1957 that semi-finished pizzas appeared. It's no surprise when you consider how busy Americans are addicted to time-saving fast food! According to the stories of emigrants from various countries, semi-finished products in their stores occupy entire departments!

How did it appear in Russia?

In Russia, pizza is a dish that occupies a wide range in the culinary hierarchy. With the advent of the first pizza delivery in the nineties, the Italian delicacy quickly took over the food service. Now it is served everywhere - from gourmet restaurants diligently approaching authentic Italian cuisine - or, on the contrary, inventing new recipes for "craft" pizza, to simple student cafes. Supermarket refrigerators are overflowing with frozen pizzas that need to be reheated in the oven or microwave, and food magazines offer recipes ranging from “true Italian” thin pizzas to near-pie with kefir dough.

REFERENCE: It is interesting that these recipes may well date back to years more distant than the nineties: even before the appearance of the first pizza delivery, housewives exchanged recipes for treats adapted to the range of products available in the store. Now, the “classic” recipe for toppings for Russian pizza will be: any smoked sausage, olives, ketchup, possibly mushrooms, and - finally - hard Russian cheese grated on top, not at all like Italian Mozzarella, but familiar to each of us from childhood.

June 29th, 2014

In the picture here is such a version of pizza: Pizza cake. Let's see what unusual pizza you can come up with ...

Pizza with scorpions

Thanksgiving Pizza (with turkey, sweet potatoes and corn)

Pizza with cheese and pasta

Pizza with ramen

pizza cocktail

pizza burger

Pizza flavored beer

pancake pizza

Pizza flavored ice cream

Pizza cupcake

Pizza with beef cutlets

Pizza with nuggets

hot dog pizza

Pizza with cicadas

sushi pizza

Pizza "Double Pleasure"

Pizza with cuttlefish ink

Pizza in a bread cup

Pizza and chicken

Pizza with alligator and python meat

Let's take a look at the history of this dish.

The history of the appearance of pizza goes back thousands of years and is almost as old as the entire history of mankind. As soon as the ancient man learned to bake stuffed cakes, this can already be considered the beginning of the history of pizza. Indeed, almost all the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean region have used the method of baking bread cakes on stones over a layer of coal since ancient times. The flat cake was flavored with olive oil and seasonal vegetables. In addition, in those ancient times, such a cake was convenient because it simultaneously served as a plate.

Historians still have not come to a consensus about which of the ancient peoples can claim the title of inventor of this famous and popular dish all over the world.

The prototype of pizza can be called cakes baked in ancient Egypt about six thousand years ago, when yeast and sour dough appeared there.

There are references that back in the 5th century BC, Persian warriors on long military campaigns prepared a kind of flour cake with the addition of cheese and dates on combat flat shields. The legendary Etruscans, judging by the historical sources that have come down to us, also baked a similar dish.

But it was in ancient Greece that the method of making cakes was first used, which was later in demand in the preparation of pizza already familiar to us. The ancient Greeks laid out cheese, onions, various herbs and vegetables on raw dough, poured olive oil on it, and only then baked it. Such a flat round bread with all sorts of ingredients in the language of the inhabitants of Hellas was called "plakuntos". Even in the writings of Plato, a similar cake with cheese is mentioned when describing a festive feast.

The ancient Romans called this dish, borrowed from the Greeks, "placenta". The Romans somewhat complicated and diversified the recipe for "flat bread". In addition to cheese, olives and onions, any vegetables, bay leaves and even honey were placed on Roman cakes. The famous Roman writer Cato the Elder, who lived in the 2nd century BC, in his treatise "On Agriculture" described a cake made from dough with herbs and honey, smeared with olive oil and baked on stones.

True, there is another interpretation of the appearance of the prototype of pizza in the territory of Ancient Rome. There is a legend that the recipe for unleavened bread with vegetables, called "pitea", was brought from Palestine by Roman legionnaires.

Confirmation of the Mediterranean theory of the origin of pizza can be one of the first collections of culinary recipes "De Re Coquinaria", which was compiled during early Christianity by Mark Gavius ​​Apicius. One of the recipes in translation sounds something like this: “place olive oil, chicken pieces, cheese, nuts, garlic, mint, pepper on the dough and bake. Then cool in the snow - and serve. By the way, the remains of such a culinary masterpiece were discovered in the ash-covered city of Pompeii (near modern Naples).

Opponents of the "southern" origin of pizza in our time were Scandinavian ethnographers. Thus, the Norwegian scientist A. Rydbergolts, who studies the culture of the Vikings, concludes on the basis of archaeological finds that the frying pans of northern sailors were used to make flatbreads with vegetables, meat or fish, from which modern pizza originated.

But, regardless of the origin of such cakes, for a long time this unpretentious dish was considered the food of the poor. So, in Italy, rustic pizza is called "fokazzia". The real story of the formation of pizza as a dish for both the nobility and the common people began with the appearance of tomatoes in Europe. Exotic tomatoes were brought to Europe from the New World by conquistadors in 1522. At first, tomatoes were considered a poisonous "devil's berry", however, after a while, the peasants tasted that they were not only edible, but also very tasty. The Neapolitan poor began to use tomatoes as a filling for traditional bread cakes.

In the 17th century, round cakes made of flour with olive oil, topped with tomatoes, bacon and herbs, became a very popular dish among Neapolitan peasants and sailors. They were prepared by special masters, who were called (and are still called) "pizzaioli". Usually, the bakers started preparing pizza in the early morning, which was then bought up by the sailors returning from the night's fishing. The classic pizza of the time was made with fresh tomatoes, anchovies, olive oil and garlic.

In the 18th century, the first pizzerias appeared, very similar to modern ones - a hearth, a marble bench for preparing pizza, a shelf with seasonings, tables for visitors and a showcase with pizza for sale that you can take away with you. By this time, pizza had already ceased to be exclusively "village" food, they even began to serve it to the royal table. By order of the wife of the King of Naples, Queen Maria Carolina d'Asburgo Lorena (1752-1814), a special pizza oven was even built in her summer residence, which was treated to royal guests.

But this was not yet the final victory of pizza and its conquest of high society. The small Neapolitan kingdom was not a trendsetter in culinary fashion throughout Italy, fragmented into many dwarf states. The triumphal procession of real pizza began only after the unification of Italy in 1870.

Many sources tell us about how the most famous and most popular pizza, Margherita, was born. In 1889, King Umberto I of Italy and his wife Margherita of Savoy, while vacationing in Naples, wanted to try a signature Neapolitan dish - pizza. Raffaelle Esposito, the most famous pizzaioli at that time, was invited to make pizza. Going out of his way to please the royals, the baker made three different pizzas at once. One pizza was with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, another with cheese, bacon and basil, and for the topping of the third pizza, the master chose products of the same colors that are painted on the Italian flag - scarlet tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese and green basil. Margherita was so delighted with the "patriotic" pizza that she left a letter of thanks to the pizzaioli. Flattered, Esposito gave his culinary masterpiece the name of the queen. Margherita wished that the dish she liked so much was cooked exclusively in her palace, after which Margherita pizza earned the fame of the most exquisite food in Italy. Together with "Margarita", the pizzas "Marinara" and "Four Seasons" received recognition.

At the end of the 19th century, pizza became the most beloved dish in all of Italy, and pizza with anchovies and mushrooms was considered especially delicious. The expansion of pizza around the world began with the United States, where it penetrated along with a wave of Italian emigration at the turn of the century. In the "city of pizza" Chicago, it was sold on the streets for two cents a piece. In New York, in 1905, the "patriarch of pizza" Gennaro Lombardy opened the first pizzeria in America, which still operates today. In the forties, the United States also has its own "American pizza", the high edges of which allow you to add much more toppings.

After World War II, returning from the Italian theater of operations, American soldiers brought home and love for Italian cuisine. Pizza in the United States has gone beyond the Italian emigration and has become popular among all Americans. This was also facilitated by show business figures with Italian roots, the most famous of which was Frank Sinatra. And Dean Martin sang his song, which for Americans became an ode to pizza - "When the moon shines right in your eyes, like a big pizza."

So, having gone through a centuries-old path from a plain tortilla with filling to a star of the first magnitude in the culinary sky, pizza has conquered the whole world. Paying tribute to the role of the United States in popularizing pizza, it should be recognized that after all, Italy remains its homeland and the place where they cook the most delicious pizza in the world. Moreover, the scale of pizza baking per year in the Apennines is so great that every third person in the world, including babies, could get pizza from Italy. True, of the two and a half billion pizzas, only one and a half billion are exported outside of Italy, more are consumed within the country. Italians are so reverent about pizza that there are often lawsuits against unscrupulous or non-compliant producers, who are accused of encroaching on the “national treasure”.

In 1957, they began producing pizza in the form of semi-finished products that could be prepared very quickly and easily at home. The popularity of such a delicious and quick breakfast, lunch and dinner has grown to planetary proportions. According to surveys, about 80% of Internet users named pizza as their favorite dish. There are more than two hundred types of pizza, but the imagination of culinary specialists has no limits, and more and more new recipes are born, sometimes, in the conditions of national traditions, very exotic. So, in Japan, okonomiyaki pizza is popular, the main recipe of which is that everything “what you like” serves as additives - any seafood and vegetables, but, most importantly, all this should be sprinkled with dry tuna chips on top, which stirs from a couple of hot pizzas.

The variety of pizza recipes forced the Italian government to define the criteria for "real pizza" and introduce the quality mark for pizza - D.O.C. In the list of criteria, in the first place is the method of preparing the dough - only with your hands, throwing up and rotating, without the help of a rolling pin. Real pizza is baked only on wood at an oven temperature of 200-215 degrees.

Let's dive back into the depths of the centuries and follow the interesting changes that the recipe of the well-known pizza has undergone.

    Already the ancient Greeks ate thinly baked cakes with various fillings (olives and spices). They were called plankuntos. Maybe they borrowed them from Babylonian cuisine.

    The ancient Egyptians celebrated the pharaoh's birthday with herb tortillas.

    Roman and Greek peasants had been eating pizza for centuries before it gained popularity among the aristocracy.

    For the first time the word "pizza" began to be used around 997 in Italy. Most likely, it comes from the Latin word "picea", which the Romans called a loaf of bread in the oven.

    "Pizzaioli" is the Italian definition for a person who makes pizza.

    Tomatoes, which were initially considered poisonous, were brought to Italy from Mexico and Peru by the Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Now it is an integral part of pizza.

    The original mozzarella cheese was made from the milk of Asian buffaloes already in the 7th century. It appeared in Italy in the 17th century.

    In the XVI century. at the royal court of Sforza, during the celebration of the wedding of Queen Bona with the King of Poland, Zygmunt the Old, court chefs presented a round cake with cheese, meat and various spices. This dish caused surprise and approval of the guests. This version of the "royal" pizza came to the newlyweds to taste.

    The first pizzeria in the world was called Antica Pizzeria Port Alba. It appeared in 1830 in Naples and still exists on Via Port Alba, 18.

    In 1889, the Neapolitan Rafaele Esposito, owner of Pizzeria di Pietro e Basta Cosi, prepared a special pizza (tomato sauce, white mozzarella and basil pasta) for King Umberto I and his wife Queen Margherita, which became their favorite dish. In honor of the queen, the most popular pizza in the world is called Margherita.

    The first pizzeria in the United States originated in 1895 in New York. It was founded by Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi.

    Pizza Hut was founded in 1958. It was opened in a small wooden house in Wichita, Kansas, USA, by the Carney brothers. Now Pizza Hut is the world's largest chain of restaurants offering fresh pizza every day.

    The well-known and loved in the whole world branded dough of Pizza Hut-Pan restaurants appeared in 1980.

It is impossible to imagine modern cuisine without pizza, which, adapting to different tastes, has won the recognition of the peoples of the whole world.

sources

http://www.incrediblethings.com/lists/wild-pizzas/- Konstantin Semenov

http://kedem.ru/history/20080623-pizza/

http://pizzahut.spb.ru/istoriya_piccy

Here are some more interesting topics about unusual food: for example, but here is the answer to the question. See what and how they might look. For example, you don’t know, and you probably haven’t seen The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

The history of the appearance of pizza goes back thousands of years and is almost as old as the entire history of mankind. As soon as the ancient man learned to bake stuffed cakes, this can already be considered the beginning of the history of pizza. Indeed, almost all the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean region have used the method of baking bread cakes on stones over a layer of coal since ancient times. The flat cake was flavored with olive oil and seasonal vegetables. In addition, in those ancient times, such a cake was convenient because it simultaneously served as a plate.

Historians still have not come to a consensus about which of the ancient peoples can claim the title of inventor of this famous and popular dish all over the world.

The prototype of pizza can be called cakes baked in ancient Egypt about six thousand years ago, when yeast and sour dough appeared there.

There are references that back in the 5th century BC, Persian warriors on long military campaigns prepared a kind of flour cake with the addition of cheese and dates on combat flat shields. The legendary Etruscans, judging by the historical sources that have come down to us, also baked a similar dish.

But it was in ancient Greece that the method of making cakes was first used, which was later in demand in the preparation of pizza already familiar to us. The ancient Greeks laid out cheese, onions, various herbs and vegetables on raw dough, poured olive oil on it, and only then baked it. Such a flat round bread with all sorts of ingredients in the language of the inhabitants of Hellas was called "plakuntos". Even in the writings of Plato, a similar cake with cheese is mentioned when describing a festive feast.

The ancient Romans called this dish, borrowed from the Greeks, "placenta". The Romans somewhat complicated and diversified the recipe for "flat bread". In addition to cheese, olives and onions, any vegetables, bay leaves and even honey were placed on Roman cakes. The famous Roman writer Cato the Elder, who lived in the 2nd century BC, in his treatise "On Agriculture" described a cake made from dough with herbs and honey, smeared with olive oil and baked on stones.

True, there is another interpretation of the appearance of the prototype of pizza in the territory of Ancient Rome. There is a legend that the recipe for unleavened bread with vegetables, called "pizza", was brought from Palestine by Roman legionnaires.

Confirmation of the Mediterranean theory of the origin of pizza can be one of the first collections of culinary recipes "De Re Coquinaria", which was compiled during early Christianity by Mark Gavius ​​Apicius. One of the recipes in translation sounds something like this: “place olive oil, chicken pieces, cheese, nuts, garlic, mint, pepper on the dough and bake. Then cool in the snow - and serve. By the way, the remains of such a culinary masterpiece were discovered in the ash-covered city of Pompeii (near modern Naples).

Opponents of the "southern" origin of pizza in our time were Scandinavian ethnographers. Thus, the Norwegian scientist A. Rydbergolts, who studies the culture of the Vikings, concludes on the basis of archaeological finds that the frying pans of northern sailors were used to make flatbreads with vegetables, meat or fish, from which modern pizza originated.

But, regardless of the origin of such cakes, for a long time this unpretentious dish was considered the food of the poor. So, in Italy, rustic pizza is called "fokazzia". The real story of the formation of pizza as a dish for both the nobility and the common people began with the appearance of tomatoes in Europe. Exotic tomatoes were brought to Europe from the New World by conquistadors in 1522. At first, tomatoes were considered a poisonous "devil's berry", however, after a while, the peasants tasted that they were not only edible, but also very tasty. The Neapolitan poor began to use tomatoes as a filling for traditional bread cakes.

In the 17th century, round cakes made of flour with olive oil, topped with tomatoes, bacon and herbs, became a very popular dish among Neapolitan peasants and sailors. They were prepared by special masters, who were called (and are still called) "pizzaioli". Usually, the bakers started preparing pizza in the early morning, which was then bought up by the sailors returning from the night's fishing. The classic pizza of the time was made with fresh tomatoes, anchovies, olive oil and garlic.

In the 18th century, the first pizzerias appeared, very similar to modern ones - a hearth, a marble bench for making pizza, a shelf with seasonings, tables for visitors and a showcase with pizza for sale that you can take with you. By this time, pizza had already ceased to be exclusively "village" food, they even began to serve it at the royal table. By order of the wife of the King of Naples, Queen Maria Carolina d'Asburgo Lorena (1752-1814), a special pizza oven was even built in her summer residence, which was treated to royal guests.

But this was not yet the final victory of pizza and its conquest of high society. The small Neapolitan kingdom was not a trendsetter in culinary fashion throughout Italy, fragmented into many dwarf states. The triumphal procession of real pizza began only after the unification of Italy in 1870.

Many sources tell us about how the most famous and most popular pizza, Margherita, was born. In 1889, King Umberto I of Italy and his wife Margherita of Savoy, while vacationing in Naples, wanted to try a signature Neapolitan dish - pizza. Raffaelle Esposito, the most famous pizzaioli at that time, was invited to make pizza. Going out of his way to please the royals, the baker made three different pizzas at once. One pizza was with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, the other with cheese, bacon and basil, and for the topping of the third pizza, the master chose products of the same colors that the Italian flag is painted in - scarlet tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese and green basil. Margherita was so delighted with the "patriotic" pizza that she left a letter of thanks to the pizzaioli. Flattered, Esposito gave his culinary masterpiece the name of the queen. Margherita wished that the dish she liked so much was prepared exclusively in her palace, after which Margherita pizza earned the fame of the most exquisite food in Italy. Together with "Margarita", the pizzas "Marinara" and "Four Seasons" received recognition.

At the end of the 19th century, pizza became the most beloved dish in all of Italy, and pizza with anchovies and mushrooms was considered especially delicious. The expansion of pizza around the world began with the United States, where it penetrated along with a wave of Italian emigration at the turn of the century. In the "city of pizza" Chicago, it was sold on the streets for two cents a piece. In New York, in 1905, the "patriarch of pizza" Gennaro Lombardy opened the first pizzeria in America, which still operates today. In the forties, the United States also has its own "American pizza", the high edges of which allow you to add much more toppings.

After World War II, returning from the Italian theater of operations, American soldiers brought home and love for Italian cuisine. Pizza in the United States has gone beyond the Italian emigration and has become popular among all Americans. This was also facilitated by show business figures with Italian roots, the most famous of which was Frank Sinatra. And Dean Martin sang his song, which for Americans became an ode to pizza - "When the moon shines right in your eyes, like a big pizza."

So, having gone through a centuries-old path from a plain tortilla with filling to a star of the first magnitude in the culinary sky, pizza has conquered the whole world. Paying tribute to the role of the United States in popularizing pizza, it should be recognized that after all, Italy remains its homeland and the place where they cook the most delicious pizza in the world. Moreover, the scale of pizza baking per year in the Apennines is so great that every third person in the world, including babies, could get pizza from Italy. True, of the two and a half billion pizzas, only one and a half billion are exported outside of Italy, more are consumed within the country. Italians are so reverent about pizza that there are often lawsuits against unscrupulous or non-compliant producers, who are accused of encroaching on the “national treasure”.

In 1957, they began producing pizza in the form of semi-finished products that could be prepared very quickly and easily at home. The popularity of such a delicious and quick breakfast, lunch and dinner has grown to planetary proportions. According to surveys, about 80% of Internet users named pizza as their favorite dish. There are more than two hundred types of pizza, but the imagination of culinary specialists has no limits, and more and more new recipes are born, sometimes, in the conditions of national traditions, very exotic. So, in Japan, okonomiyaki pizza is popular, the main recipe of which is that everything “what you like” serves as additives - any seafood and vegetables, but, most importantly, all this should be sprinkled with dry tuna chips on top, which stirs from a couple of hot pizzas.

The variety of pizza recipes forced the Italian government to define the criteria for "real pizza" and introduce the quality mark for pizza - D.O.C. In the list of criteria, in the first place is the method of preparing the dough - only with your hands, throwing up and rotating, without the help of a rolling pin. Real pizza is baked only on wood at an oven temperature of 200-215 degrees.

Elena Unchikova