The History Of Pizza - The Holy Grail Of Cooking

Video: The History Of Pizza - The Holy Grail Of Cooking

Video: The History Of Pizza - The Holy Grail Of Cooking
Video: The Secret History of Pizza | Epicurious 2024, September
The History Of Pizza - The Holy Grail Of Cooking
The History Of Pizza - The Holy Grail Of Cooking
Anonim

Pizza is one of the universal foods of modern humanity. It is famous all over the world, it is loved by people with all tastes, it is accepted by different cultures, it fits into many culinary traditions. An undeniable temptation with its various flavors, baked dough and all sorts of ingredients, pizza has long been a part of everyone's life.

The magical round dish attracts people with all kinds of abilities, on foot, on the street, with beer or in an expensive restaurant with fine wine - it fits with everything and everywhere. She has adapted to all kinds of diets, culinary trends and eating trends.

Pizza is invariably associated with Italy - there is no way to mention pizza and not to think of Botusha. However, its roots go far back in time, as far back as Ancient Egypt. There, after discovering the effect of yeast, they began to make a loaf of flour, water and honey. In ancient Greece, fat, spices and onions were added to this pasta. In the time of Darius the First, soldiers added cheese and olives to bread.

The name pizza (pizza) is also very old and its etymology is not entirely known. It could come from the Latin word pinsa from the verb pinsere, meaning to spread. Another possibility is that it comes in a surprising way from the German word bisso, meaning a piece of bread. Or from the Greek pitta - a kind of flat bread.

In the beginning, pizza existed in many different types and shapes. It could, for example, be sweet in addition to salty, with a variety of products and without a specific way of cooking between the oven and the pan.

Italian Pizza
Italian Pizza

It is obvious that this sacred dish has evolved a lot until it reaches the variant we know today.

Modern pizza appeared after the arrival in Europe in the 17th century of its main ingredient - His Majesty the tomato. Today's pizza originates from Naples, where it seems to have achieved great success quickly. It has become the staple food of the people. Her popularity gained even more momentum when Queen Margarita publicly demonstrated how impressed she was with this dish.

Queen Margarita is the beautiful Marguerite of Savoy, wife of King Umberto I, head of the newly reunited Italian kingdom. The Savoy dynasty, by the way, is strongly connected with Bulgarian history, after one of its heirs, Joanna of Savoy, married the Bulgarian Tsar Boris III and became the Bulgarian Queen Joanna. Margarita is her grandmother and great-grandmother of former Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

But back to pizza. If the name of Queen Margherita of Savoy (Margherita in Italian) and that of one of the most famous pizzas in the world are the same, this is no coincidence.

Pizza Margarita
Pizza Margarita

In 1889, during a series of trips to the heart of the Italian kingdom, Queen Margarita was surprised to see all the people eating pizza. She ordered one of her bodyguards to bring it to her to try. Very impressed by what she tasted, she did not hesitate to appear among the people, eating pizza - a surprising move that did not correspond to her royal status.

She then commissioned her chef, Rafael Esposito, to prepare more pizzas for her in the palace. Raphael obeyed and offered the queen several recipes, one of which was Pomodoro and Mozzarella. The latter became a favorite of the queen, who thanked her cook in writing. In response, Raphael called Margherita this pizza, which contains tomatoes, cheese and basil - entirely in the colors of the Italian flag. The letter of Margarita of Savoy is kept to this day in Antica Pizzeria Brandi - a Neapolitan pizzeria located next to the royal palace.

After World War II, pizza became popular all over the world. Its rise is due to the fast food restaurants, which take advantage of its attractive taste and easy way of cooking, to which they add the possibility of home delivery.

Pizza
Pizza

Today, there are two major schools of pizza, although it is a kind of symbol of food standardization and globalization. On the one hand it is the classic Italian pizza, which is made from a very thin and crunchy dough and which is the inheritor of the whole story we have told so far. On the other hand, there is American pizza made from classic bread dough, which makes it thicker. Softer, its dough is also richer garnished, with more fatty products and more cheese.

Today, pizza products can be quite different, seafood is added to them, even fruits such as pineapple and pear. There really is pizza for every taste!

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