The Complicated History of Pizza: Back in early 500 B.C., Persian soldiers baked a flatbread on their shields which they then covered with cheese and dates. Egyptians made a flatbread too, and the Indians baked naan in hot Tandoori ovens... yet neither of these had toppings. The ancient Greeks had a flatbread called plakountos, on which they placed various toppings. [Passion-4-Pizza] So when did modern pizza arrive? Well, Naples was founded as Neopolis (600 B.C.) as a Greek settlement. In the ancient world, Naples was part of Rome as well as most of Greece by 146 B.C. By the early 1800s, Naples was a thriving city with many working poor. They needed a quick inexpensive food, and soon street vendors were making flatbreads with various toppings. The wealthy people considered this new variation of the flatbread, with its tomatoes, cheese, anchovies and garlic to be disgusting. It wasnt until a visit by King Umberto I and Queen Margherita in 1889 that the legend of Pizza would be born. The King and Queen were bored with French cuisine, when they tasted the flatbread, gave it their blessing... hence the new flatbread became a big hit with everyone. A few years later, immigrants from Naples came to America to work in the factories in New York, Chicago and St. Louis. They brought their flatbreads with them, and quickly the flavors and aromas of the pies intrigued non-Neapolitans and non-Italians alike. The first licensed shop to sell these new pizzas was Lombardis in 1905, then Totonnos (1924), Marios (1919) and Pepes (1925). After WWII, soldiers that were stationed in Italy came back with a taste for Italian food, especially pizza. It didnt take long for pizza franchises to pop up all over America like Dominos and Pizza Hut.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 12:40:34 +0000