Pizza – its origin and evolution to its popularity

 You settle in for tonight’s football match, and then it hits you: “20 people, no food in the fridge…” so what do you do?  You call Papa Johns to deliver pizza to you at around $18 for a large pizza and a few sides.  Though while going through the ordering process, have you ever once thought, “Where did this pizza come from?”  I do not mean Papa John’s kitchen!  I mean quite literally, where is pizza from, where did it start, and did it have success when it first began?  Well, read on for a history lesson in pizza!  

 Dating Back in Time…

Pizza is not something new to the world. Since the Neolithic age, recipes similar to those found in pizza (imagine caveman walls covered in chalk imprints of a pizza being created) have been documented. Though it has more than one place of origin, it dates back quite some time.  The word itself: “pizza” was first delineated in 997 AD (i.e. 997 years after Christ’s death).

As expected, the word comes from Southern Italy, though other terms have been used to describe it – “focaccia” among them.  Believe it or not, it was once an almost religious delicacy, used throughout the years as a common dish. But how was it invented?

 Founded Where?

When did flatbread become available as an ingredient?  Well, it was the same day that the tomato was found to be a great topping!  In the 16th century, a common folklore is that Europeans took the tomato with a grain of salt, thinking it to be poisonous.  But between then and the 18th century, it soon became a popular constituent, especially in the poorer areas around Naples.

By adding tomatoes to their flatbread, they would use it as a cheap alternative to the other bread available only for the rich.  This was the origin of the pizza: flatbread with tomatoes.  Soon, visitors of Naples would actually wander around the poorer areas of the city to try to locate this “rare dish,” which in turn promoted its value.

Soon, it traveled around the world where more and more ingredients were added.  By the time the 20th century began, it was a popular item.

 The Evolution

Of course, it has evolved from simply tomatoes and bread, to what we have now.  1830 was a landmark year for pizza.  This was when pizzerias became commonplace, and pizza bakeries (i.e. bakeries that merely specialized in pizza) were everywhere.  Because of its rising popularity, new chefs (including Via C. Sersale) began to add new ingredients.

Soon the tomato was replaced by tomato sauce; cheese of varying kinds from all around the world was suddenly of use; toppings such as green peppers were available for the dish dating back as far as 1870.  As time progressed, of course, more and more chefs (and individuals) were able to experiment with multiple ingredients, adding new toppings (and new flavors) to the mix.

Before long, the pizza was a common dish. But how did it travel around the world?  Who first brought it to, say, America?

 A Long Journey

Believe it or not, Canadians tasted pizza before Americans did!  In the United States, however, the first arrival of Italian immigrants of the 19th century brought more than just new faces and new eccentricities.  It also came with new heritage and new foods.  Now think about this one: where is pizza most known?

Think of places like New York City, Philadelphia (home of many immigrant-based foods, such as the Philadelphia Cheesesteak), and Chicago (deep-dish pizza!).

There is no “coincidence” that these locations would become known as pizza hotspots.  In the late 19th century, these were the places where most Italian immigrants took to their homes.  The pizza was at first reserved for Italians and Italians only, but soon peddlers (of whom would walk up and down the streets with metal plates covered in pizza) began to circulate around these cities in an effort to earn money.

The first time the word “Pizza” was so much as mentioned in the United States was in a 1904 article found in The Boston Journal.  Before long, it was a common entity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, pizza has been around for almost as long as humans have remained non-nomadic.  With a humble beginning in Italy, it soon traversed across to other nations as Italian immigrants migrated from location-to-location.  As these Italian immigrants settled in, more and more spices and ingredients suddenly became available.  This only enhanced the idea of tomato-in-bread, by adding marinara and other sauces, as well as soon-to-come ingredients (from peppers to pepperoni).  Whether or not you love (or even like) pizza, you have to admit after reading about its history and evolution, it has had quite the journey to fame.