Food: A Brief Look At Pizzas

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A Brief Look At Pizzas
Monday, October 23, 2006

It is doubtful that Gennaro Lombardi and other Italian immigrants in New York City back in the early 20th century could've imagined how popular pizza would become.

Its origin goes back to ancient Rome and is largely obscure but is thought to come from Naples. There are documents found from that period refer to flat breads with cheeses, bay leaves, oils and seasonings. A key ingredient missing from the ancient pizza is the tomato which was then only found in the South America. Even after the tomato's introduction to Europe, it was not used because many thought it to be poisonous. However by the late 18th century it began to be used in several dishes including the pizza. By this time pizza was sold in stands and eventually in pizzerias.

The modern pizza was first made in 1879 by Raffaele Esposito who created it for Queen Margherita of Savoy. The pie's ingredients were buffalo mozzarella cheese or fior di latte, basil and tomato sauce and the pie itself was supposed to emulate the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green. Naturally, the queen was quite taken by it. This traditional dish became very popular in the country and followed the immigrants who left Italy and settled in the U.S.

Enter Gennaro Lombardi, an immigrant who opened Lombardi's in Manhattan's Little Italy in 1905. His pizzeria is widely accepted to be the first one in the country. Though the original closed in 1984, another one opened a block away and still serves fresh hot pies using the family's recipes. Eventually Lombardi's employees left the business to establish their own and so on, leading to the spread of the dish throughout the city.

But as many pizza enthusiasts know it took World War II for pizza to explode in popularity. Many Americans from all parts of the country were stationed in Italy and sampled pizzas and like Queen Margherita were instantly enamored by the gooey dish.

After their homecoming, their appetites for pizzas were satisfied by the opening of pizzerias throughout the country. One of the most famous is Chicago's famous Pizzeria Uno, which when opened in 1943 introduced the Chicago-style deep dish pizza much to the consternation of traditionalists. Others included Pizza Hut and Domino's and these were the first pizza chains. Later the concept of delivering fresh hot pizzas was introduced as a means of competition and was embraced by an eager public who liked the convenience of having fresh pies delivered.

From this point variations in how pizzas were prepared began to emerge with the most famous example being the ones made in California. These types, sometimes called gourmet pizzas, include unheard of ingredients and toppings such as peanut sauce for Thai-like pizzas or barbecue sauce, goat cheese and more. These types of pizzas were popularized by the California Pizza Kitchen chain.

As pizza flourished around the world even more exotic varieties were created. Starting with Hawaiian pizza (which counts pineapple and ham as toppings) different styles call for using bacon (Canada), chocolate and fruits (Brazil), scrambled eggs (Japan) and even using ketchup and hot sauces as condiments (as done in Mexico).

Even New York, the birthplace of pizza in the U.S. has its own variations. There are the white pizzas, where the only ingredients are the cheese and dough (these should not be confused with other white pizzas made elsewhere that use a garlic and butter sauce), Neapolitans, which are the traditional pizzas with tomato sauce, mozzarella, a thin crust and cut in triangles, while the Sicilians are cut rectangular and the dough is very thick. Recently in the U.S. there has been a clamoring for a return to more traditional pizzas using old-time methods like coal or wood-fired brick ovens which are found in more formal pizzerias.

While some may bemoan the popping up of all the different pizza types what irks many has been the outright gentrification of pizza in the form of frozen pizzas. Sold in supermarkets these pies tend to be tasteless with crusts that run from soggy to hard as a brick. But new alternatives have appeared lately that taste better; many of these are uncooked pies that have to be baked to get the crust to rise.

But despite the complaints from traditionalists about the ever-changing nature of pizzas, they should remember that the food has been changing for centuries. Even the beloved New York-style pizzas are different from those made in Italy. And one can only wonder what tomorrow will bring with this gastronomic delight. -- J.L. Soto

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