PIZ

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By: Alexandra, Joe, Brandon, Chris, Michael, and Madison
HIST 1106: Food: A North America History
28th February 2019
 Historical Context of Pizza:
● Pizza as we know it today originated in Naples, Italy,
starting within the 18th century.
● Traditional Pizzas were originally made for the
impoverished, by the impoverished. This style of food
was greeted well by the poor Italians (Lazzaronis) as it
was cheap to make and quick to eat.
● This was important because the rising industry meant
low wage jobs and short breaks in between work to
eat.
Evolution of Pizza:

● In Italy pre-WWII pizza was eaten by the large numbers of impoverished urban
workers and rural peasants because it is inexpensive and nutrient and calorie
dense.

● Historically, pizza began as a simple flatbread with toppings but

quickly evolved to be a unique type of “folk cuisine”. This style of cuisine allowed
for basic ingredients to be combined to create a myriad of different flavor profiles.

● Modern pizza evolved from a more basic flatbread called “white pizza”, which was
often topped simply with mostly whitish ingredients including garlic, animal fat,
and salt.
Pizza Uses and
Notable Ingredients

● Though the tomato was cultivated in Italy as early as the 17th century, the inclusion
of the tomato as part of a classic pizza did not occur until around the 18th century
(mostly in the southern provinces). This is because most Europeans believed
tomatoes to be poisonous.

● At the beginning of its popularization, pizza was considered largely a to-go or,
“street food”, though some vendors began setting up tables for customers to sit
down to enjoy their meal.

● Pizza was looked down upon by non-Neapolitans, as it was seen to be a food meant
for the poorest of the lower classes called the, “Lazzaroni”.
 Pizza Stereotypes:

● For the most impoverished, pizza was unique

and convenient as it could be cut to a size the
customer could afford.

● Also, most Lazzaroni were too poor to afford

their own kitchens and were thusly forced to
survive on street food out of necessity. ● Despite its initial stereotype as a
food reserved for the
● Pizza was also stereotyped as a food for lower-classes, it is rumored that
vagrant street youth who were able to lounge many upper-class patrons grew
around at pizzerias for many hours while to develop a taste for pizza.
having little money to spend.
How the Pizza
Margherita Got its
Name:
● Most famously, Queen Margherita, who
tried the “Pizza alla Mozzarella” while
visiting Naples. After tasting the pizza, she
declared it her favorite, and it was hence
renamed the “Pizza Margherita”, which we
will be one of the two pizzas we will be
● Some argue this transition occurred
making for you to sample today!!
in the beginning of the 18th century.
Others argue that pizza remained a
● There is some debate about when pizza
street food for much longer, and
made its transition from a low-class food to
only gradually made its way to the
a food universally enjoyed by all classes.
upper classes in the mid to late 18th
century.
Who Ate Pizza? Where? and Why?
● Others claim that events prompting great waves
● In the fascist period (1922-1945) pizza of migration and tourism were responsible for
remained a more specialized, localized pizzas rise into popularity.
dish.
● Chiefly, the large migration of Southern Italians
● It is not until post-WWII that pizza to Northern Italy between the 1950’s and 60’s,
and also the influx of middle and even
gained its notoriety throughout the rest
working-class tourists. are also noteworthy
of Italy.
explanations.

● Some claim that British soldiers

contributed to the spread of pizzas
popularity. It is rumored that after they
had pizza in Southern Italy, then began
requesting it wherever they travelled.
When Pizza Reached
Mass Popularity:
● In the 1970’s, all Italians began eating
more street food. Pizza evolved to be
highly specialized and, closely
associated with certain cities and
regions as locals optimized on the
tastes and ingredients of their
specific regions and provinces. ● These factors prompted vendors to begin
selling dishes from many regions of Italy to
tourists and those who may be unable to travel
due to constraints on their time and money.

● This increase in foreign tourism in the 1960’s

lead to pizzas rise to popularity in the United
States as well as worldwide.
Methods of Preparing Pizza:
● In Rome Italy, pizzas with thin crusts are more
desired. While in Molise, a thicker corn-based
crust topped with local greens is the preferred
recipe.

● Also, around the 1970’s, sit-down family type

meals, as well “pizza a taglio”, or a variety of
ready-to-go slices cut to order, became
popularized across Italy.

● These methods of serving and consuming pizza

mirror the traditions and convenience now
observed by pizza lovers throughout the world.
World’s Original Pizza Restaurant in Naples,
Italy
Why People in the past enjoyed this food?
Cultural:

● Neapolitan pizza was prepared and named for the first queen of
Italy. (Queen Margherita).

● Pizza was an affordable and alternative meal that could be

enjoyed by all different classes of families that could be prepared
quickly

● Pizza was a source of national and regional pride. It also

provided a sense of cultural identity in Italy, (C, Helstosky, Pizza:
A Global History)

● When Italian immigrants moved to America, they brought the

Neapolitan pizza with them and the pizza became America’s most
popular dish.
Why People in the past enjoyed this food?
Biological:

● Local Italians enjoyed the pizza because the dish consisted of local
ingredients.

● The flavours and aromas of the pizza intrigued non-Neapolitans

and non-Italians.

● Pizza was a food that provided access to all major food groups.
What are the Ingredients of a Margherita
pizza and Why?
● Dough: Cake Compressed Yeast (Fresh), Warm Water, Pastry Flour, Salt
& Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
● Toppings: Peeled Tomatoes, Real Mozzarella, Fresh Basil, Salt,
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

● Ingredients chosen for many of the traditional pizzas in Naples tended to

be based on their availability and how cheap they were. Being that pizza
was originally made for the poor in Italy (the lazzaroni), the cost of them
had to stay low and therefore so did the ingredients.
● The ingredients of pizza were also used to represent the colours of the
Italian flag: red(tomato), white (mozzarella), and green (basil).
Why & What - Method of Preparation
● Tomatoes:
○ Not always fresh, more often than not canned due to the rising popularity in
canned foods at this point in time.
○ Cheap due to the stigma that it was poisonous (i.e. the more fortunate didn’t
use it often and thus it costed less).
● Mozzarella Cheese:
○ Real mozzarella was always used, softer and whiter in comparison to today's
processed “block” cheese.
● Basil:
○ Whole basil leaves opposed to the bulk made flaked basil that is more common
today.
● Pizza Dough:
○ Made with simple ingredients: salt, flour, yeast.
○ Finished product was easy to cut to any size thus meeting any spending needs.
How is Traditional Pizza Prepared?
(Specifically, how is the pizza margherita prepared?)
● First, you stir yeast into warm water until it
dissolves. Then you add the pastry flour and
salt and stir well. After that you add the
all-purpose flour one cup at a time,
kneading it until the dough is smooth. You
then shape the dough into a ball, put it in a
bowl and cover it, and let it rise for 4 hours.
Once it has risen, punch it down and divide
into pieces. Then pinch the dough into a
small circle on a pizza peel or pan.
How is Traditional Pizza Prepared?
● Next, add a small amount of
chopped tomatoes and chunks
of mozzarella and sprinkle a
little bit of salt and add basil
leaves. You then swirl about a
tablespoon of olive oil on top of
the pizza and put it into a very
hot oven (500 degrees
Fahrenheit). The pizza is then
baked for 10-15 minutes (until
golden brown).
Authenticity of Our Ingredients:
● For the dough, the authentic recipe in “Pizza a Global History”, calls for
“½ a fresh yeast cake”, we are instead using dried yeast. From my
readings, I have determined that the dried yeast has similar to that of
fresh yeast, and for our purposes, the dried yeast is more readily available
as well as cost-effective.

● In addition, the authentic Margherita recipe called for the use of pastry
flour for a more delicately textured crust. Again, out of cost and
convenience, we opted out of using pastry flour and instead are using
regular all-purpose flour.
Authenticity & How was Pizza Historically
Prepared?
● Originally this pizza had to be cooked in a wood-brick oven with an oven temperature of
at least 400 degrees celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit!)

Ingredients that they used that we can’t access today were San Marzano tomatoes and water
buffalo mozzarella.

● There were several iterations of “pizza” before it became the dish we know today:
○ 6th Century BC: Persians cooked flat-breads on their shields and covered them in
cheese and dates.
○ 3rd Century BC: Marcus Porcius Cato wrote of a dish of “flat round of dough
dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones.”
○ 16th Century: Tomatoes imported from Peru were believed to be poisonous until
the poor of Naples added them to their pizza dough, creating a rough draft of the
modern pizza.
 Fun Facts:
● 17% of the restaurants in America are pizzerias. The pizza industry
grosses over $30 billion dollars in revenue in the U.S.

● 58% of Americans order pizza on Superbowl Sunday

● Gennaro Lombardi was the first person to open a pizzeria in America in

1895. The pizzeria opened in New York.

● The pizza referred to as Canadian Pizza is not the only canadian spin on
pizza as Hawaiian pizza was actually invented in Chatham Ontario by a
retired greek chef, Sam Panopoulos.
Evolution of Pizza:
 References
● Helstosky, Carol. Pizza a Global History. London: Reaktion, 2013.
● Turim, Gayle. "A Slice of History: Pizza Through the Ages." History.com. July 27,
2012. Accessed February 17, 2019.
https://www.history.com/news/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages.
● Stradley, Linda. “Pizza History – Legends, and Lore of Pizza.”
WhatsCookingAmerica.net. 2018. Accessed February 26, 2019.
https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Pizza/PizzaHistory.htm
● Scoble, Devon. “The History of Hawaiian Pizza.” Foodnetwork.ca. April 5, 2016.
Accessed February 26, 2019.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/shows/great-canadian-cookbook/blog/the-history-of-haw
aiian-pizza/