The Evolution of Pizza
A survey of over 2,000 Americans has recently revealed that America’s favorite food is Pizza. A whopping 21% of Americans chose pizza as their favorite food and there’s little surprise as to why. Pizza is a huge part of American, and even global, culture but how did this great dish come to be? Although one would assume this story starts in Italy, it actually begins in ancient times. Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks all ate some form of flatbread with toppings.
This influence carried over to Naples, the birthplace of modern pizza. Much of Naples’ population in the 1700s and 1800s consisted of low-class workers who needed food that was both cheap and easy to consume. Thus, the perfect food for these low-class citizens was flatbreads with toppings of the consumer's choice. Some time later in 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples and wanted to experience some new food. Of the food she tried, her favorite was mozzarella pizza topped with red tomatoes and basil. Despite being given great praise by a royal figure, pizza failed to spread to other parts of Italy until the 1940s. On the other side of the world, however, pizza was starting to creep into America. Italians from Naples were migrating to the East Coast in search of factory jobs and they were bringing their cultural flatbread with them. Over time, this food caught the attention of everyday Americans and this caused Italians to start opening pizzerias.
These pizzerias became wildly popular and fast food chains arose in order to meet the people’s demands. Soon, pizza chains were opening locations internationally and adapting the local culture into their menus. From squid in Japan to coconuts in Costa Rica, pizza toppings have grown to reflect the cuisines of multiple cultures. With pizza continuing to spread across the globe, it's important to keep in mind just how this dish started.
Source:
https://www.history.com/news/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages
