Pizza: A Story of Immigration

Ancient Origins Earliest “pizzas” were breads that were eaten with various toppings since Neolithic times By the Classical Era, flat bread was baked and covered with olive oil and herbs, very similar to today’s “focaccia” breads References to this type of food include the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans Some of the earliest pizzas were sweet not savory like today Modern pizza is traced to Naples, Italy which began as a Greek colony in about 600 B.C., and was a thriving port by the 18th century

Neapolitan Origins By early 1700’s, working poor in Naples needed cheap, easy to eat, meals Early pizzas were sold from informal restaurants or street vendors to workers on the docks of the city The introduction of tomatoes from the New World and the water buffalo from India, to produce mozzarella cheese, transformed the ancient dish Tomatoes were originally believed to be poisonous and grown in Italy only for decoration The poor quickly learned different, but many rich Neapolitans believed early pizzas were fit only for the working class

Pizza Popularity Grows Soon wealthy Neapolitans were eating pizzas and more formal pizzerias opened in Naples By 1830 the “Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba” was selling pizzas to all classes with custom toppings Pizza spread to more of Italy after a visit to Naples by King Umberto and Queen Margherita in 1889 The pizzaioli (pizza maker) Rafaele Esposito created a custom pizza with red tomato sauce, green basil, and white mozzarella cheese (Italian flag colors) Known as Pizza Margherita today, pizza spread to parts of southern and central Italy

Traditional Italian Pizza Italian pizzas are always round, made to order, and baked in a wood fired oven, but regional varieties are very different Another pizza from Naples, pizza marinara, has oregano, mushrooms, and lots of garlic Capriccioso pizza has mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives, and half a boiled egg Sicily uses toppings like peas and seafood Quattro Formagi uses four cheeses and is popular throughout Italy

Capriccioso Pizza

Pizza Comes to America Pizza arrived in the U.S. in the late 1800’s with Italian immigrants in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago and spread as immigrants moved to other parts of the country Pizza was sold on the street by vendors carried in metal canisters to keep them warm and in pizzerias where you could buy a whole pie, or by the slice Slices size was not standard, but based on how much you wanted to pay Until the 1940’s, pizza was mostly limited to Italian neighborhoods and eaten mostly by immigrants

First Pizzeria in the U.S.? There is much debate over who opened the first pizza restaurant in America The first printed reference to “pizza” was in the Boston Journal in 1904 Vincent Bruno opened a pizzeria in “The Loop” neighborhood of Chicago in 1903 Gennaro Lombardi opened a grocery store in New York City in 1897 and soon began selling pizza, his store became a pizzeria restaurant in 1905 The D’Amore family brought pizza to Los Angeles in 1929, mirroring the migration of Italian-Americans

War and Pizza Thousands of U.S. soldiers fought in, or moved through, Italy during World War II Enlisted men and officers all loved the Italian pizzas, especially compared to their army rations After the war ended in 1945, pizza became more popular and seen as a fast, fun food rather than a distinctly ethnic treat Some Italian-American war veterans became pizzeria operators when they returned home As veterans moved around the U.S., so did pizzerias

Pizza Comes Home After World War II, American culture became popular throughout Europe and beyond Pizza, which had been mostly limited to southern and central Italy, and very regional, began to spread to northern Europe and beyond Both traditional, and Americanized, versions began to be sold and rediscovered by Italians Pizzas had returned, and expanded, to it’s original home

Pizzeria in Rome

Deep Dish or Thin Crust? The biggest debate today among pizza lovers is the thickness of the crust “Chicago style” deep dish pizza originated in with Pizzeria Uno, opened in 1943 Although more similar to the thick crusts of the original pizzas of Naples, many purists continue to support the “New York style” of thin crust pizza Pizza had become distinctly American and continued to evolve with regional topping varieties, like “California style” barbeque chicken toppings and “white pizza” that has a cream based sauce replacing traditional tomato sauce

Are You Hungry Yet? Now that you know a little bit about the immigration history of pizza, let’s get ready to eat The search for the perfect pizza continues, and everyone’s taste is different Your group’s assignment is to develop a distinctive type of pizza pie, regional style or totally new You can be as creative as you like with crust thickness, sauce, toppings, and cheeses After you create your recipe, we will cook your pizza and have a class taste test and have some guest judges who will vote on the best creative pizzas