History Of Pizza Essay

The Best Food of All Time

Fresh and right out of the oven is how I like my pizza. Baked dough, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce these are all the ingredients you need to make the perfect pizza pie. Is it the ingredients that make up pizza that led societies love for the dish? Or is it the experience associated with eating pizza that makes it so memorable? Today’s society heavily relies on pizza for its convenience, quality, cheap price, associated memories, public influence, and delicious taste.

How did this popular dish come about? Its long history began in Europe and eventually spread to the entire world. The history of pizza first began in the 16th century when tomatoes arrived in the New World. They took the tomatoes, made sauce and eventually came up with pizza (Pizza Facts). Its innovation began in Naples, where they advertised pizza by its “famous tomato topping.” It was sold in the poorer section of Naples, making this location became a popular tourist spot. The people of Naples were so desperate to sell a slice of pizza, that they started selling it to people sitting in traffic. As pizza’s popularity increased, vendors started selling pizza in a more

organized manner. Antica Pizzeria was the first modern pizzeria opened. After this, many more pizzerias opened up (Pizza Facts).
Pizza’s cultural identity comes from Italy. Its popularity also began in Italy, when Raffaele Esposito made three pizza pies for the king and his wife Queen Margherita di Savio. Queen Margherita di Savio gave margarita pizza its name. After this, pizza became known in the Italian food culture, and the dish spread throughout the rest of Italy (Pizza Facts).
In the United States, pizza is a very popular food. It became a huge hit in America during World War II. The soldiers who occupied Italian territory tasted pizza in Italy and automatically gained an appetite for it. This led to many pizza parlors opening up across America and it quickly gained popularity in the country (Pizza Facts).
The American pizza business is much different today. Pizza is now known for its convenient delivery. The industry continues to grow more and more each day. The United States has even created several pizza festivals, including the World Pizza Championship, where contestants compete to win the title of “best pizza maker” (Pizza Facts).
Pizza is eaten on many different occasions and is often associated with nostalgic memories. Think about the last time you had pizza. Pizza can be eaten on various occasions like celebrating a sporting victory, enjoying it at a kid’s birthday party, or simply for the enjoyment of the food. “Americans eat around 100 acres of pizza each day” (Pizza Facts), and each time pizza is eaten, a story is made due to the positive connotations associated with the food.
Pizza is known for its delicious taste, but another important aspect of it is its convenience. Today’s society is always busy, and we need food that can accommodate our lifestyles. Laziness is not an excuse when ordering pizza. Since it’s only a phone call away, it is known for its ability to be delivered within a reasonable amount of time from the moment called. Delivery is accessible around midnight, too. It’s the perfect midnight snack if you missed dinner or are trying to pull an all-nighter.
Not only is it a quick and convenient meal, but it can be classified as being healthy. The basic ingredients of pizza are not bad for you. The cheese in pizza gives your body protein which will give you the energy needed. It’s the toppings on pizza that will determine if it nutritious or not. Toppings like broccoli, mushrooms, and spinach are all healthy options.
Many pizzerias are now offering gluten-free pizza (another healthy alternative), which is when the crust is made with rice, soy, potato, or bean flours. “The addition of soybean flour in the development of pizza dough’s adds added antioxidant minerals (zinc, magnesium and copper), protein, fiber dietary and essential fatty acids (©-6 and ©-3), and also allowed that health claim be made for the products” (Natal, Gomes, Dantas, Vidigal, Ribeiro, Piovesan, Martino, Dias). If you are looking for a quick bite to eat, eating pizza is a good option, especially gluten-free pizza. It definitely has much more health benefits than eating fast food. Pizza is an instant upgrade over a greasy meal from McDonalds.
“No matter how you slice it, pizza is an American obsession” (Perry).

My Italian-American family is no exception. I was surrounded by many Italian foods for my entire life, but pizza was always a special food. My family decided to turn their love of pizza into profit, so they bought Sonny’s Restaurant & Pizzeria in Englewood, New Jersey. There are 61 thousand pizzerias in the United States, (Pizza Facts) and Sonny’s is one of them. The mission of Sonny’s Pizzeria is first and foremost to give its customers a fresh pizza that they will enjoy. Other aspects of my family’s pizzeria include making sure the prices are reasonable and that customers receive prompt service. Many pizzerias have the same mission in mind, but what sets apart Sonny’s Pizzeria from the rest is the passion my family has for the

business.
Many people enjoy pizza and music. So why not incorporate music with pizza, to influence the public? There are many jolly songs about this delicious food, which caused caused the pizza rock genre to begin. This new genre became so popular that it ended up outshining the blues. Some of the songs included in the pizza rock genre are “I’m waiting for the Delivery Man,” “Cheese Days,” and “All the Pizza Parties” (Wensick). These songs embrace pizza’s culture and explain the pizza process as a whole. There is another song titled “I am a pizza.” This song explains the steps it takes to make pizza and what this food consists of. This song is inspiring to many little kids, and it makes them excited about eating pizza. It also has a catchy tune.
Pizza Rock is still popular today. One of the most recent songs is titled “Pizza Girl,” by the Jonas Brothers (Wensick). The Jonas Brothers put a unique twist on this song, comparing their love for a delivery woman to pizza. These pizza songs are for all ages and they all show us how much we truly rely on pizza. Listening to these songs makes me want to continue eating pizza: I love how much pride goes into this dish.
Pizza comes in all shapes and sizes. There are personal pizzas, large pizzas, square pizzas, and round pizzas. The most common pizza shape is round, because it is easier to divide into equal pieces. Creating a square pie can be more time consuming. Also, circular shapes are evenly heated, whereas square pizza tends to cook unevenly. According to Pizza Facts, “The most popular pizza diameter in the United States is 14 inches.” However, round pizzas come in other diameters, too. Circular pizza is a great option because everyone gets crust on their pizza. Pizza crust is used to hold the slice, and is a popular part of the dish as a whole.
Pizza has become a popular food item in America and throughout the rest of the world. Due to its “very pleasant aroma and flavor (Patrick),” pizza is an appealing buy for consumers. It is “easily prepared and is of relatively low cost, which certainly contributes to its increased consumption” (Patrick). Despite pizzas many great qualities, it also comes with memories that will last a life time. Pizza is the dish that keeps on giving and is arguably one of the best dishes around.