Fun and Interesting Facts About Pizza and Its History

No one really knows when the first pizza was cooked, invented, or consumed. Some theories date back to as early as the new stone age. Archeologists have found similar foods to pizza, in the form of flat breads with toppings. What we do know, however is that by 997 AD the term pizza first began to appear in Medieval Latin. At one point in time pizza was used as a baker's tool to measure the temperature of an oven! The dish was a food of the poor class, and wasn't considered a kitchen recipe for quite some time. Before the discovery of America, pizzas were covered with a white sauce. Why you may ask? Because tomatoes were native to America and didn't exist in Europe (more on that later). Raffaele Esposito was the first chef to add cheese to a pizza. He did this around 1889, in honor of the Queen consort of Italy. He made a pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil to represent the colors of the Italian flag.

The pizza as we know it today didn't start taking shape until the discovery of the tomato in America. The tomato was brought back to Europe sometime in the 16th century. At first, many Europeans were wary of the tomato and thought it was poisonous. By the end of the 18th century it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomatoes to their flat breads, and so modern day pizza was born. After the dish gained some popularity, it became a big tourist attraction. Visitors to Naples would venture into the poorer areas of the city trying to find some of this local specialty. Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is considered the very first pizzeria. It began operation in 1738 as a simple open air stand. Later, in 1830 it expanded to a restaurant with tables and chairs, and it still operates from this location today!

Pizza made its way to the United States with Italian immigrants in the late 19th century. Cities with large Italian populations, such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco saw pizzas being sold on the streets of Italian neighborhoods by peddlers. It wasn't long when small cafes began to open in these neighborhoods selling pizzas to the residents. The first official pizzeria in the USA was founded by Gennaro Lombardi in Little Italy, Manhattan. It originally began as a grocery store in 1897, but later became a pizzeria in 1905.

Before World War II pizza was only popular amongst Italian immigrants. However, during the war when the allies were stationed in Italy, and worried about their rations - they were constantly on the look out for good food. They discovered the pizzeria, and American troops brought their love for the food back home after the war was over. Many people believe that Pizza really started to explode in the Midwest, when Pizza Hut opened its doors in 1958. Today, many chains specialize in pizzas and home delivery. Dominos Pizza is generally credited with bringing the home pizza delivery to such popular heights, as they focused their business model on the home delivery aspect.

Here are some more great fun and interesting facts about pizza:

• Fun Fact - Approximately three billion pizzas are sold in the United States every year, plus an additional one billion frozen pizzas.
  
• Fun Fact - More pizza is consumed during the week of the Super Bowl than any other time of the year.
  
• Fun Fact - Ric Riccardo pioneered the Chicago-style deep dish pizza in 1943.
  
• Interesting Fact - Pizzerias represent 17 percent of all U.S. restaurants.
  
• Interesting Fact - 93 percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month.
  
• Interesting Fact - About 36 percent of all pizzas contain pepperoni, making it the most popular topping in the United States.