History
Flat breads are an ancient tradition round the Mediterranean. Perhaps of ancient Persian origin, such bread was introduced to Magna Graecia (southern Italy) by its earliest Greek colonists.
In the 3rd century B.C., the first history of Rome, written by Marcus Porcius Cato, mentions a "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones". Further evidence is found in 79 A.D. from the remains of Pompeii, archeologists excavated shops that closely resemble a present day pizzeria.
The tomato was first believed to be poisonous (as most other fruits of the nightshade family are), when it came to Europe in the 16th century, but by the late 18th century even the poor of the area around Naples added it as an ingredient to their yeast-based flat bread and the dish gained in popularity. Pizza became a tourist attraction and visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local speciality.
The earliest pizzeria opened in 1830 at Via Port'Alba 18 in Naples and is still in business today. Pizza was still considered "poor man's food" in 1889 when Rafaele Esposito, the most famous pizzaiolo of Naples, was summoned before King Umberto I and Queen Margherita to prepare the local speciality. It is said that he made two traditional ones and additionally created one in the colours of the Italian flag with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. The Queen was delighted and "pizza Margherita" was born.
An Italian immigrant to the US in 1897 named Gennaro Lombardi opened a small grocery store in New York's Little Italy. An employee of his, Antonio Totonno Pero, also an Italian immigrant, began making pizza for the store to sell. Their Pizza became so popular, Lombardi opened the first US pizzeria in 1905, naming it simply Lombardi's. In 1924 Totonno left Lombardi's to open his own pizzeria on Coney Island called Totonno's. At this point in time Pizza was still limited mostly to the Italian immigrant crowd.
The international breakthrough came after World War II. Although the birthplace of modern day pizza is Naples, local bakers were at a loss to satisfy the demand from American soldiers. While the American troops involved in the Italian campaign took their appreciation for the dish back home, the millions of Italians called to help rebuild the damaged economy introduced their cuisine to rest of Europe.
With the rising popularity in the 1950s, especially in the US, several major corporations became chiefly engaged in the commercial production of pizza, notably Pizza Hut (owned by Yum! Brands, Inc), Domino's Pizza, Little Caesar's, California Pizza Kitchen, Round Table Pizza and Papa John's Pizza. These pizza chains often coexist with locally owned and operated pizza chains.
Because pizzas can be made quickly and are easily transported, most pizza restaurants in the United States offer call-in pizza delivery services. The lack of such delivery services at the time in England was the focus of an extended passage in the Douglas Adams novel The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.
In most developed countries, pizza is also found in supermarkets as a frozen food. Considerable amounts of food technology has gone into the creation of palatable frozen pizzas. The main challenges include preventing the sauce from combining with the dough, and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. Traditionally the dough is somewhat pre-baked and other ingredients are also sometimes pre-cooked; lately frozen pizzas with completely raw ingredients have also begun to appear.
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