Pizza: a Brief Historical Overview and American Culture
2005 will mark the 100-year anniversary of the first pizzeria in America. Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, which is about 350 slices per second. According to an American Dairy Association random sampling survey, pizza is America 's fourth most craved food behind cheese, chocolate, and ice cream. American 's obviously love pizza; we have even designated the month of October as National Pizza Month. But whether you bake your pizza in your kitchen oven, in a wood-burning stove, eat it in a restaurant, or choose delivery, there is no denying this phenomenon has become as American as apple pie.
Although we love our modern-day version pizza pie, where did it all begin? In my research, I found several opinions of the origin, but there is a consensus that this baked goodness is over one thousand years old. Ed Behr of Art of Eating newsletter states, "The written record of the word pizza, in the sense of foccacia, goes back to the Codex Cajetanus of the year 997." And there is speculation that even Plato spoke of pizza in his Republic: "They will provide from their barley and flour from their wheat and kneading and cook these they (the cakes) will also have relishes salt and of olives and cheese; and onions and greens." Although this is probably not the case, it is interesting to imagine one of our great minds of history philosophizing about something so miniscule. Behr continues to suggest that "pizza is an alternation of the Greek word pitta, which was introduced to southern Italy during the Byzantine conquest of the sixth century." Evelyn Slomon, author of The Pizza Book, states, "The name [pizza] comes from a southern Italian corruption of the Latin adjective picea (peechia), which described the black tar-like coating underneath the placenta, a pie made of the finest flours, a topping of cheese mixed with honey, and a seasoning of bay leaves and oil." Athough the origin of the name is in question, we do know that because tomatoes
Although we love our modern-day version pizza pie, where did it all begin? In my research, I found several opinions of the origin, but there is a consensus that this baked goodness is over one thousand years old. Ed Behr of Art of Eating newsletter states, "The written record of the word pizza, in the sense of foccacia, goes back to the Codex Cajetanus of the year 997." And there is speculation that even Plato spoke of pizza in his Republic: "They will provide from their barley and flour from their wheat and kneading and cook these they (the cakes) will also have relishes salt and of olives and cheese; and onions and greens." Although this is probably not the case, it is interesting to imagine one of our great minds of history philosophizing about something so miniscule. Behr continues to suggest that "pizza is an alternation of the Greek word pitta, which was introduced to southern Italy during the Byzantine conquest of the sixth century." Evelyn Slomon, author of The Pizza Book, states, "The name [pizza] comes from a southern Italian corruption of the Latin adjective picea (peechia), which described the black tar-like coating underneath the placenta, a pie made of the finest flours, a topping of cheese mixed with honey, and a seasoning of bay leaves and oil." Athough the origin of the name is in question, we do know that because tomatoes
Bibliography: Levine, Ed. Pizza: A Slice of Heaven. Universe Publishing, 2005. Smithsonian Institute. "Pizza: The Italian import with all-American appeal." June 1997 [last update]. http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues97/jun97/pizza.html April 2005. Pizzajoe.co.uk. "Pizza History." "Pizza Trivia." 2003 [last update] www.pzzajoe.co.uk April 2005. Domino 's Pizza. "Pizza Particulars." 2002 [last update] www.dominospizza.com April 2005.