The History of Pizza: An American Dish's Origins

Pizza is an Italian pie that is baked in an oven. It consists of a crust, tomato sauce, cheese and toppings. The word pizza is thought to have originated from the Italian word that means "a point." In the early days of Italian pie, it was flour and water mix together and then cooked on a hot stone.

During the 6th century BC in the middle of the Persian Empire; soldiers would use their shields to bake flat bread and then top it with cheese and dates. In the 3rd century BC, Marcus Porcius Cato, wrote a bit of Roman history. He wrote a description about calling it a flat round dough drenched with olive oil, honey and spiced herbs baked on stones.

Marcus Garius Apicius was considered a culinary expert. In the first century, A.D, he wrote a Roman cookbook that was titled," De Re Coquinana". The cookbook included recipes including a recipe for a loaf of bread that was hollowed out and topped with chicken, garlic, pine kernels, pepper, cheese, mint and oil. The recipe called for cooling the pizza in the snow before eating.

Tomatoes were taken from the New World, which is now known as Peru, to Europe. Many people had thought tomatoes were poisonous but the poor people had an idea of making a cheap meal from dough that was topped with tomatoes. This was the first sign of the Italian pie we know today. They made their pie with flour, oil, lard, cheese and herbs. These pies were later sold at a local tavern which was a place visited often by Spanish soldiers.

Some men in the poor areas of Naples would make a pie they called Pizzaioli. People love these pies so much that they became extremely popular. 18th century - In 1889, the King and Queen of Italy had summoned for a popular chef whose name was Raffaele Esposito in order to taste his highly praised culinary creations. The chef made three different types of Italian. One type that he made was made from pork, cheese and basil. Another Italian pie he created was made with oil, garlic and tomatoes. And a third one was made with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil. The third one was made with ingredients that represented the colors of the Italian flag. The Queen enjoyed the third one so much that she penned a letter to the chef to thank them. Raffaele dedicated the Italian pie to the one that the Queen liked to her by calling it the Magherita, which was her first name.

In 1905, the first pizzeria opened in New York City by a man named Genarro Lombardi. In 1943, Ike Sewell created the Chicago style pizza. The Chicago style is still very popular today and it is a deep dish style that is topped with toppings. In 1957, frozen Italian pies hit store freezers. They became a household name due to their convenience and soon became the number one seller of frozen foods.