#pizza #foodie
Pizza has the oldest written memory in Virgil’s 19th century epic Aeneid, and yes, just like us, Aeneas, the Roman hero, feasted on a spread of fruits on flat bread that served not only as a table top but also food! Sounds like a fruit pizza to us!
The history of pizza lies in various ancient cultures produced basic flatbreads with several toppings. In Italy, pizza breads as old as 7000 years have been found by archaeologists.
Some commentators have suggested that the origins of modern pizza can be traced to pizzarelle, which were kosher for Passover cookies eaten by Roman Jews after returning from the synagogue on that holiday. Abba Eban has suggested that modern pizza “was first made more than 2000 years ago when Roman soldiers added cheese and olive oil to matzah”.
Pizza saw incredible popularity with the addition of tomato as toppings. For some time after the tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, it was believed by many Europeans to be poisonous. However, by the late 18th century, it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flatbread, and so the pizza began.
The most popular pizza, Margherita, holds a political space in history of cuisine. In 1889, Italian Queen Margherita was once traveling across her kingdom and noticed that peasants were munching on that large piece of bread. She became curious and tasted it. She liked it so much that every time she visited her subjects, she ate the bread. Because it was considered to be peasants’ food, the Queen dining on it was not usual and this created anxiety and dismay in Court Circle!
Raffaele Esposito baked three different pizzas for the visit of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Queen’s favourite was a pizza evoking the colours of the Italian flag — green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes).[26] According to the tale, this combination was named Pizza Margherita in her honour.
Naples, the home to modern pizza, has strict rules that every pizza-maker adhere to, authentic Neapolitan pizza demands wood stove, dome oven, 35 cm diameter and hand rolled dough.
Pizza actually reflects various episodes of history within its own history of deliciousness. Hawaiian pizza, popularized by Hawaii, is nothing like Hawaii. In a marketing strategy to sell an exotic tropical island, Hawaii, which grows way less pineapple than many other developed countries, was symbolized by pineapple pizza. Hawaii’s natural flavours being suppressed, her invaders associated Hawaii with an exotic tropical fruit! In fact, Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada!
The world’s largest pizza was made in Rome and it was measured to be 1261.65 square metres in area.
Need a reason to cheat on your diet? Here’s one: The risk of oesophageal cancer is reduced significantly if pizza is consumed at least once a week.
The next time you visit Pizza Hut, remember, it’s world’s first pizza chain, dating back to 1958!
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