The history of pizza | CNN Reis

(CNN) – What do you think of first when you think of Italy?

For some, it is the Renaissance art on display in every corner of the country. For others, it is ancient Rome – perhaps the magnificent Colosseum. But for many, it’s another big, round and extremely photogenic Italian icon: a wheel pizza.

Colorful, comforting and infinitely delicious, it’s no wonder pizza is one of the world’s most beloved dishes. It’s a food that has transcended its Italian origins to find new tasks – from pizzas with pineapples to deep-fried Chicago-style pies.

No wonder it devoted the whole world to it – from January’s World Pizza Day to National Pizza Day, which takes place every February 9 in the United States.

But while we see it as a global phenomenon in the 20th century, pizza did not just start traveling when it crossed the Atlantic. In fact, it undertook its first cross-cultural journey some 2,000 years earlier.

“The ancient Greeks had ‘pissa’ or ‘pita’, and a recent study linked the term ‘pizza’ to the various ‘pita’ that exist all over the Mediterranean. The concept is therefore very old – but [ancient pissa] was bread, sometimes fried and sometimes baked, possibly with spices on it. ‘

The food reappeared – this time as ‘pizza’ – in 997 CE. A rental document for a house in Gaeta, north of Naples, promised to pay pork and pizza to the owner – but even then, Zancani, would have been the mysterious ‘pizza’ pieces of bread.

Fast forward to 1570, and the pope’s head chef had a recipe for pizza – but it was ‘essentially a cake’, says Zancani, made with almonds and sugar.

When pizza became pizza

Finally, 700 years after its debut as a rental dispensation, savory pizza arrived in Naples in the early 18th century. But the original form – baked bread cut in lard (and later olive oil) with cheese on top – does not sound like the kind of food the world can conquer.

Enter the humble tomato. In 1760, fresh tomatoes arrived in Naples – and what we recognize as pizza entered the streets.

Visitors to the city began spreading the news about this new street food. Alexandre Dumas, author of “The Three Musketeers.” wrote excitedly about the various additions, while Carlo Collodi, the creator of Pinocchio, spoke out against it. Samuel Morse, inventor of Morse Code, hated pizza. However, he seems to have been a minority – the Bourbon king of Naples, Ferdinand, even had a brick pizza oven installed in his summer home. “It was a food for the poor, but he obviously enjoyed it,” says Zancani.

Then came that breakthrough moment we had all heard about. The king and queen of the newly united Italy visited Naples in 1889 and Queen Margarita wanted to try the local specialty.

‘She contacted the best pizzaiolo [pizza-maker] in Naples and he offered her three kinds: white with lard, caciocavallo cheese and basil; olive oil and anchovies; and tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, ”says Zancani.

“According to the story, the queen chose the third because it reminded her of the Italian flag.”

The pizza Margherita was born.

“Then it started in a very big way,” says Zancani.

Naples, still pizza-central

The dish not only rose worldwide, but put Naples on the map for numerous visitors who wanted to eat a “real” pizza.

“As I like to say, Neapolitan pizza has no inventors, fathers or owners – it stems from the ingenuity of the Neapolitan people. Pizza is Naples and Naples is pizza.”

“Pizza belongs to Naples,” he says, comparing the Neapolitan art of pizza-making to the football skills of Maradona, who played for Napoli from 1984 to 1991.

“He did not have the technique on his own, but he had football in him – he was a genius with a magical touch. In Naples the pizzaioli was [pizza-makers] have the same magical touch. ‘

Immigration made it travel

After gaining the royal seal of approval, pizza was officially here to stay, but rather than it being Queen Margherita who fueled the global trend, it was the poorest immigrants from Italy who made it popular around the world.

At the beginning of the 19th century, mass migration from southern Italy to the United States took place. And of course, they took their recipes with them.

“Americans say pizza was created by Napolitans but was given to the world by Americans. I agree,” says Diego Zancani.

She compares the evolution of pizza in the US to the movie “Big Night”, in which two first generation Italian immigrants (played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci) open a restaurant on the Jersey Shore and do not agree on whether they should adjust their food . according to American taste.

Ristaino also mentions another important community in the popularization of pizza: American troops.

“When the Americans came to Italy at the end of the war, they found that they liked pizza, and that’s why they brought it back to the USA,” she says.

“Before, it was mainly located in Italian-American culture, but after the war it became a dish that other people would eat. The different types of pizza in the US evolved due to the needs and population in the different areas. Are different “The Italians took pizza from Naples and adapted it for the people in the area. People are very talented at adapting.”

They are also talented at innovating. Zancani – who remembers eating pizza while a student in London as ‘the cheapest way to survive’ – says the American innovation of freezing pizza dough in the 1950s took the food around the world. He reckons that, despite being about Naples, Dean’s 1953 hit “That’s Amore” helped cement it as an American food.

Foreign pizzas are ‘travesty’ – but they are good

But while pizza conquered the world, there was one country where its appeal was more limited: Italy itself.

“Pizza remained a Neapolitan thing for years – before World War II it was barely known north of Rome, and it was not an immediate success. It came with the internal migration of the 1950s and 1960s,” Zancani says.

Today, of course, that has changed – pizza is just as popular in Italy as anywhere, with the Roman variant (a thinner base) competing with the original Naples.

And if you think the Italians are terrified of the global bastardization of their creation, think again.

“This is what happens to all foods – it’s adapted to local tastes,” says Zancani, who acknowledges that his favorite is the Neapolitan origin.

“The American style is just different – the same with the ingredients. The Hawaiian pizza with pineapple is a strange concept, but if you like it, well. Yes, it’s a travesty in a way, but most of it costs money.” a way is a travesty. “

And not even Antonio Pace of the AVPN is angry about deep-fried pizza.

“I can do nothing but respect someone who makes any kind of pizza with dedication and sacrifice,” he says.

‘We have never said that Neapolitan pizza is the best; we just repeat that it is different.

“Our strong point is simplicity and we are pleased that various types of American pizzas have evolved over the past few years from products that were rich in ingredients and not always well composed, to a product with high quality and well-chosen ingredients.”

How to make an authentic Neapolitan pizza

However, if you want real pizza in Naples, AVPN is ready to help. Since 1984, they have been training and recognizing pizza makers around the world and recognizing their true as an authentic Naples style.

“At that time, pizzerias were starting to develop in the rest of Italy and abroad, and we realized that their product was very different from ours. Our fear was that the original Neapolitan recipe would be forgotten by spreading this world.” says Pace, who loves traditional toppings, such as marinara and, his favorite, Margherita.

Their solution? The establishment of the association and the introduction of strict rules for pizza made by their affiliates.

Today, the AVPN’s rules for making real Neapolitan-style pizza extend to 14 pages, covering everything from the flour and the temperature of the water that goes into the dough, to the fermentation time, the shape of the pizza, the sourcing. of ingredients and the cooking prescription only 60-90 seconds on a plate at 380-430 C, or 716-806 F.

Prospective pizzaioli should also submit videos of their pizza preparation process from start to finish – from making and shaping the dough, to adding and baking it. After passing the first stage, they are bought into a mystery by an instructor or a verified pizzaiolo – pretending to be a regular customer and tasting the pizza.

To date, 854 pizzerias in 52 countries are members of the association. “We are particularly proud of the latest affiliate – a pizzeria in Egypt run by a former student of ours,” says Pace. “This is the first in Africa, and it means we are now present on five continents.”

Go to Naples and you will probably be told that no pizza outside the city will ever taste the same – something that has to do with the air, they say or with the water. But while Pace suggests visitors come to Naples and wander the streets of the historic center, smell the freshly baked dough in the air (and even follow a day-long pizza course at AVPN), he says the general perception is not . is not correct.

“Essentially, a real Neapolitan pizza is made with simple ingredients: water, flour, salt and yeast, without added fats or sugars. It must be left to rise for at least 12 hours and cooked in a wood oven for 60 hours. 90 seconds.

“We have always said that the quality of a true Neapolitan pizza is not linked to the dialect or nationality of the pizzaiolo, but to a production method that has no secrets – although many people want you to think so. do, ‘he says.

So, if you are outside Naples, do not be afraid. It can also be a lot.