Pizza in History

Pizza is one of the most popular food choices in the United States. Indeed, pizza is popular in one form or another in many parts of the world. The origins of pizza are a bit hazy in the mists of time, but thanks to some literary references, we have a few ideas of where it may have come from.

Ancient Pizza

The army of Darius the Great of Persia cooked flat bread on their shields and topped the bread with cheese and dates as early as the 6th century BC. Sounds suspiciously like a pizza, huh? Rome’s first historian, Cato the Elder, also wrote of a “flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs and honey baked on stones” in the 3rd century BC.

When the first century AD came around, Roman Marcus Gavius Apicius wrote a cook book that has given us a great look at what foods were eaten in ancient Rome. One of his recipes is for a bread base topped with chicken, mint, garlic, pepper, cheese, pine nuts, and oil. These toppings are still used on pizzas to this day!

After Mount Vesuvius erupted on August 24, 79 AD, Pompeii and Herculaneum were entombed in ash, preserving a picture of life as it was. Food shops resembling pizzerias have been excavated in Pompeii, containing marble slabs and other tools familiar to the pizza chef. A statue from Pompeii that is on display in the Museo Nazionale in Naples is called “I Pizzaiolo,” meaning “one who creates pizza.”

Pizza as We Know It

What we know as modern pizza with tomato sauce was not in existence until after 1522, when tomatoes were introduced to Europe from the New World. Thought to be poisonous at first, Europeans soon found out how delicious they were. Poor peasants in Naples began putting them on their daily bread, creating the first tomato pie, or modern pizza. The other toppings that were added were olive oil, lard, herbs, and cheese. Naples was soon known for the best pizza in all of Italy. By the 17th century, the poorer sections of the city became a destination for visitors to try “pizzaioli.”

In the 18th century, Italian royalty took notice of the humble pizza. One Queen had a pizza oven installed in the palace to serve this “delicacy” to her guests. Another had a pizza named after her, “Pizza Margherita,” topped with basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella. By the early 19th century, pizza stalls served this popular meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With a simple pizza dough recipe, vendors topped it with cheese, tomato and mushrooms or anchovies for the most popular varieties in the day.

In the late 19th century, pizza finally made it to the New World. New York City sported the first pizzeria in 1905, but it just did not catch on. In 1943, Ike Sewell created the deep dish pizza in his restaurant, Pizzeria Uno in Chicago.

During World War II, American soldiers in Italy learned to love pizza, and began yearning for it when they went home. By the 1950s, pizza began to catch on all over America, and has been growing in favor ever since.

How does traditional Sicilian pizza dough sound, or delicious deep dish pizza dough? Probably good enough to make your mouth water! Everyone has their own favorite pizza crust and if you fancy trying out some new pizza crust recipes, we have many different ones to tantalize your taste buds at our site.