The History of Pizza Making

In order to explain the history of pizza, one would first have to give a description of pizza. Pizza is a food of Italian origin. It consists of a shallow, bread-like crust that is topped traditionally with tomato sauce, cheese, and other optional toppings to which there is virtually no limit. Conventionally, vegetable toppings such as onions, peppers, and mushrooms are used. Additionally, meats such as sausage, pepperoni, and ham are often used. While these are traditional toppings, variances have emerged in recent years such as white sauce instead of tomato sauce or fruits instead of veggies. It is thought that the word “pizza” is derived from an old Italian word meaning “a point”. This word soon became the Italian word “pizzacare,” meaning to “pinch” or “pluck”.

Who Invented Pizza?

It is not certain who actually invented pizza. It is believed that this Italian work of genius could have been invented by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans or other peoples of Italian origin. In that time period, pizza was simply flour mixed with water and heated on a stone. Many times this then flat bread would be seasoned and used instead of plates. It is thought that the idea for using these breads as plates came from the Greeks, who ate flat bread with an assortment of toppings. Whoever first came up with the concept of pizza, it has been part of the Italian eating habits since the Stone Age.

Over the centuries, pizza has evolved into what is known as modern pizza in America. Pizza first migrated to America when the Italians did in the last half of the 1800s. It was introduced to Chicago by a peddler carrying a bowl containing pizzas on his head while he cried out that they were “two cents a chew”, carrying on the traditional method of selling pizza in Naples, Italy at the time.

In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi allegedly opened the first U.S. Pizzeria in New York City. Much later, in the 1930’s, Lombardi added tables and chairs for people to sit and enjoy his food in his restaurant. He also added spaghetti to his menu around this time.

In 1943, the Chicago style pizza was invented. This type of pizza arranges ingredients on a pizza crust a little differently than a traditional pizza, as was originally concocted in Italy by early Italian natives. The Chicago style pizza is a deep-dish pizza. This deep-dish crust is first layered with cheese, then toppings, then sauce. All of this is then topped with parmesan cheese. As far as the inventor of this delectable concoction, it is disputed whether this style was invented by Ike Sewell or Rudy Malnati at a bar and grill called Pizzeria Uno, first started in Chicago..

Soon, pizza was becoming an increasingly popular food in the United States of America. Many people found pizza delicious. Another major milestone in the history of pizza was in 1948 when the first commercial pizza-pie mix, called “Roman Pizza Mix”, was created in Worcester, Massachusetts by Frank A. Fiorello.

 In the 1950’s, American’s really started noticing pizza. Celebrities of Italian origin loved pizzas. Dean Martin, a famous singer at the time even included pizza in the lyrics of one of his most popular songs. America took notice and began eating pizza.

In 1957, pizza became available to every home in America when it was introduced in local grocery markets as a frozen food. The first of these frozen pizzas was marketed by the Celentano Brothers. Soon frozen Pizza became some of the most popular frozen foods ever and that continues to this day.

The history of pizza is a long journey over centuries, traveling from Italy to America, as we know pizza today.