Importance/Significance of Pizza

The main importance of pizza is simply to satisfy a person's hunger. Pizza is a meal that anyone can enjoy, with its many options of crust flavors and toppings. Also, it can easily be served to a large group of people. When parties and get-togethers are held for any occasion, pizza is the most common food served, because it's so easy to eat! Many pizzerias are placed throughout the country, so it is very convenient to order pizzas and eat them right out of the box! Pizza  has been one of the most common foods in the world for centuries now, and it will continue to be because of its wonderful taste and importance to the food world.

Pizza Fun Facts

• The current world record in pizza eating is Cristian Dumitru of Romania, who in 2006 managed to eat 200 pounds of pizza in a week. 
• The largest pizza known in the world was created in 1990. It had a diameter of 37.4 ft. 
• October is the National Pizza Month in the United States. 
• The most popular topping in the U.S. is pepperoni 
• The longest delivery happened in 2004 when vegetarian pizza was transported from Feltham, England to Melbourne, Australia, on a journey over 10,000 miles. 
• The most expensive pizza was created with many exotic toppings and sold at an auction for over $2,000. 
• As of 2010, United States hosts over 61 thousand pizzerias, with over 9 thousand of them in New York alone 
• The Pizza industry is worth $30 billion dollars today. 
• The most popular pizza diameter in the United States is 14 inches. 
• The most successful pizza delivery business is Domino's Pizza.

Timeline

1st millennium BC- Archaeologists in Sardinia found ancient remains of a flattened bread similar to pizza that must have been very popular among its community.
6th Century B.C- Writings of the conquests of Darius the Great (521-486 B.C.) mention that his soldiers baked a kind of flat bread and then covered it with cheese and other toppings.
3rd Century B.C.- Famous Roman historian Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.) mentioned in his memoirs about "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones."
1522- After tomatoes were first imported to Europe from the New World, people of Naples first managed to combine them with their bread products. This created the earliest form of modern pizza.
1830 - Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, the first ever modern pizzeria, opened in Naples.
19th Century - By the end of 19^th century, citizens of Naples ate pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The manufacturing of pizzas increased and pizza was sold on the streets, and later on in pizzerias.
1905 - First American license for baking pizzas granted to Gennaro Lombardiin Spring Street in New York City.
1912 - Papa's Tomato Pies, one of the oldest pizzerias that is still active, was opened in Trenton's Chambersburg.
1943 - Invention of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.
1957 -The first supermarket frozen pizza was released by Celentano Brothers. Soon after that, frozen pizzas became very popular across the US.
1958 - Opening of the first Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas.
1995 -The first appearance of revolutionary "self-rising'' crust was unveiled by Kraft.

Pizza Time Frame

Pizza has been around for thousands of years. It is said that the earliest mentioning of pizza was in the 6th century B.C.! Since then, the concept of pizza has become extremely famous throughout the world. Over the years, new ideas have been invented, such as pizza styles, pizza toppings and flavorings, and even how to cook pizza. For centuries, pizza has been not only eaten, but spoken of in ancient poetry and novels. As the years progress, pizza continues to become more and more popular, with many more pizzerias opening and styles being created. It is one of the most popular dishes throughout the entire world, and its popularity will only progress with time.

What Is Pizza?

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat, round bread typically topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and other toppings. Pizza was originally invented in Italy. Now, it is one of the most popular dishes around the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria". Many varieties of pizza now exist worldwide. The crust of pizza is made from white or semolina flour and may occasionally be flavored with herbs or cheeses. Pizza crust is then sprinkled with oil or sauce, topped with cheese, and foods such as pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, peppers, onion, and anchovies are added. In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. Pizza is also sold frozen, as round traditional pizzas or individual slices.

Introduction

While pizza has been a favorite food of mine for only the past decade of my life, people have been baking pizzas for hundreds of years. Pizza was first a type of flatbread to the Romans, in which toppings were added. In 1905, the first american pizzeria was opened in New York City and is still there today. Today, pizza is one of the most popular food around the world, which is why I chose this topic to dedicate my blog to. Pizza is a food that almost everyone loves to enjoy, and its history is just as great!