[Sca-cooks] 16th Century Pizza

[Terry Decker]

Hmmm, how did tomatoes from Peru reach Spain (much less Naples) by 1522, 
when Pizzaro didn't begin his conquest of the region until 1532?  The first 
recorded encounters with tomatoes were in Mexico with Cortez but they 
probably didn't reach Spain before 1527-1528.

Attributing the adoption of the tomato pizza to Naples may be correct, as 
Naples was under Spanish control from 1505 into the 18th Century, but likely 
unprovable.

And how did they miss the first U.S. pizzeria at 53 1/2 Spring St. in New 
York in 1895 (unverified, possibly apochryphal, just like their history of 
pizza).

Bear


> Here's something akin to 'they spiced rotten meat and ate it'...
>
> Pizza dates to 1522 according to whatscookingamerica.net.
> This date is now being cited all over the web as the authentic date
> for pizza with tomatoes.
>
> * 16th Century*
>
> *1522* - Tomatoes were brought back to Europe from the New World (Peru). 
> Originally they were thought to be poisonous, but later the poorer people 
> of Naples added the new tomatoes to their yeast dough and created the 
> first simple pizza, as we know it. They usually had only flour, olive oil, 
> lard, cheese, and herbs with which to feed their families. All of Italy 
> proclaimed the Neapolitan pies to be the best. At that time, the Tavern of 
> the Cerrigloi was a hangout for the Spanish soldiers of the Viceroy. It is 
> said that they flocked there to feast on the specialty of the house - 
> pizza.
>
>
> * 17th Century*
>
> By the 17th Century, pizza had achieved a local popularity among visitors 
> to Naples who would venture into the poorer sections to taste this peasant 
> dish made by men called "pizzaioli."
>
> http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Pizza/PizzaHistory.htm
>
> Johnna