Uncle John's Facts to Go Attack of the Foodies (Uncle John's Facts to Go Series Book 12) by Portable Press

Author:Portable Press [Press, Portable]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Portable Press
Published: 2014-07-14T14:00:00+00:00

PIZZA RISING

• The Greeks were the most accomplished bakers of the ancient world. They made a variety of breads topped with spices, herbs, and vegetables. These concoctions—a kind of “edible plate”—were the first pizzas.

• How did pizza become Italian? The Greeks occupied part of Italy for six centuries, and one of the things they brought with them was pizza.

• The first mozzarella cheese was made from the milk of water buffaloes. It was first brought to Italy from India in the seventh century.

• Early pizzas featured cheese, herbs, vegetables, and fish or meat—but no tomatoes. Tomatoes, a New World food, didn’t reach Italy until the mid-1500s and didn’t become popular until the 1800s because some people believed they were poisonous.

MASTERPIECE CLASSIC

• In 1889 King Umberto and Queen Margherita of Italy visited Naples and wanted to sample the most popular local food, which was pizza. They sent word to chef Raffaele Esposito, and he brought them a local favorite, pizza alla mozzarella (toppings: tomato, basil, and mozzarella cheese).

• Why he chose those particular ingredients is unknown. Some historians say he wanted to make a pizza in the colors of the Italian flag—red, white, and green. But whatever the reason, the queen loved it. She sent him a thank-you note and he returned the compliment by dedicating pizza alla mozzarella to her and renaming it pizza Margherita in her honor. It is still considered the classic by pizza chefs.

• One more thing made the queen’s meal noteworthy (and paved the way for lazy people to get fed today): it’s the first known pizza delivery.

NEW WORLD PIZZA

• The first American pizzeria was opened in New York’s Little Italy in 1905 by grocery store owner Gennaro Lombardi. Back then, pizza was called tomato pie, and ingredients were piled upside down, with the cheese on the bottom, then anchovies (the only topping available), and the sauce last. A whole pie was 5 cents, but Lombardi’s would sell smaller pieces based on how much customers wanted to spend. The pie (or piece) was then wrapped in paper and tied with string.

• By the early 1920s, pizzerias were popping up in the American Northeast, but pizza was still considered an exotic food.

• American soldiers returning from Italy after World War II spread pizza’s popularity throughout the United States.

• The first deep-dish pizza was invented in the 1940s by Chicago’s Pizzeria Uno.

• Roman Pizza Mix, the first commercial pizza-pie mix, was produced in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1948 by Frank A. Fiorello.

• The first frozen pizza was marketed by Celentano Brothers in 1957.

• The first Pizza Hut was opened in 1958 by two brothers attending Wichita State University in Kansas.

• Still, most Americans had never heard of pizza until the 1960s. One thing that helped popularize it: In the 1961 film Splendor in the Grass, Warren Beatty asks a waitress, “Hey, what is pizza?” After that, it became a fad in America.

PIE’S THE LIMIT

• Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in the United States; anchovies are the least favorite.

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