SC - FWD: Pizza Origins
L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt
liontamr at postoffice.ptd.net
Wed Apr 30 08:28:48 PDT 1997
In light of the recent Pizza Discussion, I forward this post from
rec.food.historic. I don't necessarily agreewith all the findings, but
there are a few interesting facts towards the end and a high-school type
bibliography.
Aoife
"Adam Nolley" <nolley.deerfields at worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>(Note: this is the paper I wrote for English class on the subject that I
>promised I'd post. There was more to it, but I've only posted the
>important part.)
>
>_The Origin Of Pizza_
> I'll start with the things that are certain. Pizza originated in Naples,
>Italy. The word pizza means pie in Italian, referring to any type of pie.
>The dish we refer to as pizza is really pizza alla Napoletana, pizza
>Americana, or pizza Margherita.
> That is about all the historical information about pizza that is known for
>sure. Most of the other evidence about the origin of pizza is largely
>speculative. The majority of it was put together by Neapolitan (the people
>of Naples) chauvinists. However, since there is no better source of
>evidence, it's what we have to use.
> Pizza probably evolved from the Greek wafer bread laganon. In fact, the
>term laganon survives today in Greece as a name for a type of pizza. The
>idea of baking thin yeast breads like laganon has been around for thousands
>of years. These breads are first cousins of pizza.
> When pizza is made, the thin wafery bread becomes a portable meal.
>Toppings are added, and the crust enables it to be eaten by hand. It can
>be thought of as the first fast food!
> To think of pizza brings to mind, at the very least, tomato sauce and
>cheese. The original pizzas, known as pizza bianca were rather plain and
>resembled a garlic bread. The tomato wasn't central to the pizza bianca
>because of its fairly late arrival in Italian cooking. In fact, the plain
>pizza can still be found all over Italy today.
> The traditional date for the invention of what we regard as basic pizza is
>1889. Raffaele Esposito, a famed pizza maker, was invited to the palace of
>King Umberton I of Savoy and made three different types of pizza for Queen
>Margherita. She preferred the pizza with tomato, mozzarella, and basil.
>It was named after her (pizza Margherita) and is still called by this name
>in Italy.
> Pizza became really popular in America during the 1950s. It is now a
>staple food for people of all ages, races, and cultures. Pizza has become
>an integral part of our culture, and many new ideas have come from this,
>like Mexican pizza and others. Pizza, no matter where it came from, is
>here to stay.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_Bibliography_
>
>Bromey, Haworth. Email interview. March 21, 1997. rec.food.historic.
>
>"Food." The World Book Encyclopedia. v 7. 1993.
>
>Isaacs, Howard. Email interview. March 23, 1997. rec.food.historic.
>
>Moss, Tim. Email interview. March 21, 1997. rec.food.historic.
>
>"Naples." The World Book Encyclopedia. v 14. 1993.
>
>Nielson, Susan. Email interview. March 26, 1997. rec.food.historic.
>
>"Pizza." Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking. v 9. 1966.
>
>Shein, Barry. Email interview. March 21, 1997. rec.food.historic.
>
>Slokolov, Raymond. "The Pizza Connection." Natural History. February,
>1989.
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