The History of Pizza

Pizza was invented by George Washington. After he had become the first president of the United States he got really hungry and.... Just Kidding !

There is a much more interesting story behind the history of pizza then you really think. Pizza goes way back, we don't know exactly when it originated or where? Some people say Italy, some others say Greece. Egypt perhaps?The pizza could have been invented by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, Romans, or anyone who learned the secret of mixing flour with water and heating it on a hot stone.

What we do know is that that pizza dates back to at least the 1st Century B.C. The word pizza is believed to be from an Old Italian word meaning "a point," which in turn became the Italian word "pizzicare," which means "to pinch" or "pluck."At the height of the Persian Empire, it is said that the soldiers of Darius the Great (521-486 B.C.), accustomed to lengthy marches, baked a kind of bread flat upon their shields and then covered it with cheese and dates. The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The first major innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. It was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began.

It was believed that modern pizza was first made by baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples. In fact, a popular urban legend holds that the archetypal pizza, Pizza Margherita, was invented in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pie swathed in the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.

Immigrants to the United States from Naples were replicating their trusty, crusty pizzas in New York and other American cities, including Trenton, New Haven, Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. The first documented United States pizzeria was G. (for Gennaro) Lombardi’s on Spring Street in Manhattan, licensed to sell pizza in 1905.As Italian-Americans, and their food, migrated from city to suburb, east to west, especially after World War II, pizza’s popularity in the United States boomed. No longer seen as an “ethnic” treat, it was increasingly identified as a fast, fun food. And what a yummy fun fast food that is. Pizzas eventually including California-gourmet pizzas topped with anything from barbecued chicken to smoked salmon. Pizza was such a big hit that it even has its own special day called

"National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day " which is on November 12. Around the world, pizza toppings vary greatly, reflecting regional tastes, local foods, and cultural preferences. Here is a rundown of the different types of topping that are put on everyday day pizzas .

1. India -- pickled ginger, minced mutton, and paneer (a form of cottage cheese)

2. Russia -- mockba (a combination of sardines, tuna, mackerel, salmon, and onions), red herring

3. Brazil -- green peas

4. Japan -- eel, squid, and Mayo Jaga (mayonnaise, potato, bacon)

5. France -- flambée (bacon, onion, fresh cream)

6. Pakistan -- curry

7. Australia -- shrimp, pineapple, barbecue sauce

8. Costa Rica -- coconut

9. Netherlands -- "Double Dutch" -- double meat, double cheese, double onion

10. United States -- pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, green pepper, onion, and extra cheese

It doesn't matter who or what invented pizza, we might never exactly know. One thing that is for sure is that whether pizza came from Italy or from america, it was a pretty darn good invention . And i think that is something t that we can all agree on. I mean the average american will devour at least 6,000 slices during the course of a lifetime. That is a lot of pizza. What is your favorite pizza topping ? Leave a comment bellow .