The origin of pizza dates back to the time when the first yeast and sour dough appeared in ancient Egypt several thousand years ago. In ancient Greece, they began to bake dough along with a seasoning, which could serve as vegetables, meat, olives, dairy products, etc.
Greek pizza was called.
Indeed, what is traditionally considered a national Italian dish was once borrowed from the Greeks. Which, in addition to all the talents we know, were also famous as excellent bakers. They were the first to put cheese on flat cakes made of unleavened dough, and the invented dish was called "plakuntos", that is, "flat baked bread" ", in addition to its direct purpose, it also served as a plate. A lot of legends have since been told about the prototype of the modern pizza. One of which claims that with an increase in the composition of the ingredients "plakuntos" was called "plaque", and the changes themselves were made by the Romans. Another interpretation of the story is about the Roman legionnaires who, upon their return from Palestine, brought their favorite dish "picea", which looked like flat bread with cheese and vegetables. Found descriptions of analogues of modern pizza and in the ancient book "Apicia". One of the chapters is about a dish consisting of dough, on which cheese, garlic, olive oil, meat, nuts, peppers and mint are placed. The Romans, well-known gluttons and masters of combining the incompatible, abundantly seasoned the pizza with honey and laurel leaves.
Pizza was a common people's food and did not differ in the ritual of preparation and sophistication of consumption. In modern terms, pizza was an ordinary bread, "sandwich", "sandwich". In medieval Italy, pizza was an ordinary meal of the poor, and did not differ much. The pizza was sold on the streets, cutting off a piece from a large crust, and the pizza was filled with only anchovies and mushrooms. They ate pizza for breakfast and lunch. Rustic pizza was easier to prepare: the dough was seasoned with either olive oil, olives, or nothing at all. The townspeople called this pizza "focaccia", that is, flatbread, emphasizing that the real pizza has a more complex recipe. Now "focaccia" takes a worthy place in Italian cuisine, and is an addition to meat dishes.
“What about tomatoes?” - you ask. And in truth, it is very difficult for a modern person to imagine pizza without this ingredient. However, do not forget that tomatoes in Europe appeared much later than the Roman legionnaires, and they began to be added to the described dish only in the 17th century. During this period, thanks to the Neapolitan sailors, pizza began its march across Europe.
Over time, the filling of pizza became more and more diverse, many versions of the filling were invented, including, as the main ingredient, imported from the New World, the tomato.
Naples is sort of a pizza cradle. He became a leader in the combination of bread - tomato - cheese - and something else. It was in Naples that the first pizzerias were opened, and it was from there that the victorious procession of pizza around the world began. In Italy at that time, flatbread food was called "pizzaioli" and was considered the food of the common people. Most often it was a dough covered with a layer of tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with marjoram. Cheese was considered the pinnacle of luxury on "pizzaioli". It was sold by street vendors from metal boxes, which were most often worn on the head along the city streets and often lent to local residents.
This, probably, would have continued further, if in 1772 the king of both Sicilies Ferdinand I did not break the rules and did not visit incognito at night in Naples, the local pizza maker Antonio Testa, nicknamed Thunder.And he was really defeated by the variety of dishes, delighted with the quality of their preparation. The royal chefs quickly found their bearings, went on "exploration" to the foot of Vesuvius, got hold of recipes, but could not introduce new dishes into the royal menu. The queen objected, who did not even want to touch the "food of the plebeians".
More than a hundred years have passed. The royal couple, while in their summer Neapolitan residence, wanted to try this local dish. And on the birthday of the beautiful Margarita of Savoy, wife of King Umberto I, who became the head of the newly united Italian kingdom, pizza maker Rafaele Esposito with his wife Rosina Brandi was called to court. According to the surviving evidence, they made three types of pizza. One of them included tomatoes, mozzarella and basil in the same colors as the Italian flag: red, white and green. The Queen especially liked this pizza, and she allowed to call it by her own name, thereby initiating the culinary canon. The queen ordered to bake pizza "Margarita" only in the ovens of her palace in Capodimonte. But soon this order, like most other decrees in Italy, was dissolved in revolutionary popular insubordination. "Margarita" has become a favorite dish of all Italians - from fisherman to marquis. Over time, an increasing number of new varieties of this dish appear - this is pizza based on shortcrust pastry, and based on unleavened corn flour dough (Genoese) ..., and toppings are becoming more and more diverse.
Overcoming language barriers and cultural differences, pizza became the first truly global food product. In India, they like to add pickled ginger, minced lamb and bean curd to it. In Japan, they love pizza with eels and squid, in Pakistan - with spicy curry.
Costa Ricans prefer pizza with coconuts, while Brazilians prefer green peas. For gourmets, pizza is served with dandelions, oysters, crayfish and caviar. There is a pizza used as a dessert - soaked in jam, with apples, sprinkled with powder.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italians brought pizza recipes and traditions to America. And very quickly, pizza became one of the American favorites.
American pizza differs from Italian pizza by a freer choice of ingredients, a wide variety of fillings for one dish; it also differs in cooking time and temperature. It is believed that American pizza is by definition fluffy. But in reality, the "fluffiness" of the dough depends on which pizza you prefer: thin or fluffy. In American pizza, dough is a full-fledged participant in the dish, and when choosing a filling, one must take into account its taste. A very interesting fact is that fluffy pizza was invented not in America, but on the island of Sicily: Sicilian pizza has long been baked on fluffy dough.
It is easy to explain why the inhabitants of megalopolises liked pizza: for the unique combination of seeming simplicity and truly gastronomic richness, for the benefit, because properly prepared and quickly baked vegetables, fruits, meat and seafood lose a small part of the vitamins, but the rest are absorbed faster.
And, what is also an important advantage of pizza - it does not lose its taste and aesthetic qualities during transportation. Therefore, ordering pizza at home or delivering pizza to the office are the most popular ways to satisfy hunger and prepare yourself for new achievements.
Nutritionists advise to eat pizza for lunch or dinner at least once a week, because the usual portion of "Margarita" is a third of the daily food intake for a person.
All in all, in Italy today there are more than two thousand names of various pizzas. Not so long ago, a special pizza quality mark was installed - D.O.C. , which only dishes prepared according to the classic rules have.
October 25 is a professional holiday of pizzaiols (this is how people who cook this dish are called in Italy).So what do modern Italians call real pizza? It's easier to answer the question - what do they call a fake. Everything that is not prepared in Italy. Real pizza, in their opinion, has a thin crust, and its fillings are mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk and special varieties of tomatoes. In the form of additives, according to original recipes, only olive oil, basil, oregano and garlic are allowed. The pizza dough does not roll out, but rotates and is tossed.
There are three types of real pizza in Italy:
* "Marinara" - olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and oregano;
* "Margarita" - fresh mozzarella cheese made in the southern Apennines, plum-like San Marzano tomatoes, basil;
* "Margarita-Extra" - cherry tomatoes and mozzarella made from buffalo milk.
It is customary to cook Italian pizza at a temperature of 200-215 degrees in wood-fired ovens.
Italians, who are in love with their national dish, protect it in every possible way from counterfeiting. Still would? Indeed, today over 23,000 pizzerias operate in the country. It's easy to lose classic recipes with such a massive scale. And therefore, recently, Neapolitan pizza is protected by law. Which provides only a round shape up to 35 cm in diameter. Specifies the type of yeast, salt, flour and tomato used in the preparation of the dish.
Particular attention is paid in the law to the preparation of pizza "Extra Margarita", which must certainly contain a special South Italian mozzarella. Restaurant owners who comply with the requirements described above are granted permission to mark their food with the STG label, which guarantees the quality and authenticity of the traditional recipe.
