Pizza: The fascinating history behind its creation  

Over the last couple of decades, the scrumptious savoury pie from Italy has become a popular and loved food all over the world. From traditional oven-baked pizza joints to the newer commercialised ones, this dish has reached the nooks and crannies of almost all parts of the world. In fact, it is so popular in the United States that it is considered to be the national food there, despite its foreign origins! But, have you ever wondered how this treat was created in the first place? Read on to learn about the story behind the pizza. 

How was the pizza first created? 
Italy was the place which birthed the concept of pizza as we know it today, with the three fundamental ingredients: Bread, cheese and tomato sauce. However, the origins of this dish are not particularly based in Italy. According to many historians, the concept of a ‘pizza’ was developed much before it was popularised by Italy. It goes back to Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and Persia, where people topped bread with different oils and herbs and made it a part of their diet.  

Where do the origins of the ‘modern’ pizza trace back to? 
The invention of the modern pizza, as most of us are familiar with, is credited to Italy. According to gastronomical evidence and findings, pizza as we know it was treated and understood as a type of flatbread in Naples, Italy. Back then, it was considered to be a poor man’s food and was popular amongst the less affluent sections of the Italian city. There is no agreement as to when exactly the first tomato and cheese pie originated, but historians estimate it to be somewhere between the 1500s and 1700s. It was only after the 1500s that tomatoes made their way to Europe, where they were initially considered to be poisonous. According to a census conducted in Naples towards the late 1700s, some Italians listed themselves as ‘pizolas’ which is Italian for ‘pizza makers.’ Thus, it can be deduced that it was popular enough to be tied to a profession at that time. 

How did pizza gain so much attention from all over the world? 
Without a doubt, the United States is where the popularity of pizza spread like wildfire before reaching different parts of the world. It reached the country during 1910, when a large number Italian immigrants moved to the States. Initially, it spread all over the East Coast and in the Midwest, and slowly became one of the most affordable, well-loved and accessible foods. In 1905, New York’s ‘Lombardi’s’ became the first-ever licensed pizzeria in the US.