Everything you need to know about Pizza
Updated: Apr 2, 2018, 16:54 IST

1. An overview

As hunger-pangs-stricken people, we love pizza to the core, not just because it is easily available but also because of the dreamy world of melting cheese it offers to the taste buds. All the credit goes to Italian cuisine for blessing the foodies with this sinful creation. But, while digging into the hot slice of your favourite pizza, have you ever thought how it came into existence and how the first ever pizza looked like? Well, now that you are thinking about it, let us take you through the tasteful and cheese burst ride of pizza and everything related to it.

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2. The brief history

If you think your favourite Domino's Pizza is a result of the modern culinary makeover, you are highly mistaken. The history of pizza dates back to the Neolithic age when it was nothing but a simple flatbread, to which varied ingredients were added by various cultures (including the ancient Egyptians and then Italians). The first ever documentation of pizza happened in 997 AD in Gaeta (Italy), which mentioned it as a flatbread flavoured with fat or oil, and herbs. Later, in the 16th-century pizza became popular in Naples and was an economical dish topped with fat, herbs, and cheese available on the streets. And then in the second half of the 18th century, tomatoes became a part of pizza toppings and the gateway to experimentation with pizza opened.

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3. How is pizza in Italy

Due to the impact of regional cuisines, the authentic traditional pizza has changed tremendously. But, the good news is, all the varieties have uniqueness with a traditional touch of how Neapolitans use to make it and that makes it above all experimentation.

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4. What is so special about Italian pizza

What we get in India as pizza is totally different from the authentic traditional pizza served in the menu of any pizzeria in Italy. If we talk about the standard pizzas, they include Pizza Marinara a style of Neapolitan pizza with plain marinara sauce, topped with oregano and garlic. The most popular one is Pizza Margherita with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves and extra-virgin olive oil. Another famous variety is Pizza Capricciosa that has baked ham, artichoke, mozzarella, black olives and white edible mushrooms. And the unique one is Pizza Quattro Stagioni, which is prepared in four sections with varied ingredients, each representing one season of the year.

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5. How modern pizza is different from the traditional pizza

This might sound surprising, but ingredients like chicken, pineapple, steaks, tomato sauce and even mayonnaise were never a part of the traditional pizza. It all happened only after the fusion of flavours took place in the name of modern cuisine.

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Everything you need to know about Pizza
Updated: Apr 2, 2018, 16:54 IST

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Everything you need to know about PizzaUpdated: Apr 2, 2018, 16:54 IST

Everything you need to know about Pizza
Updated: Apr 2, 2018, 16:54 IST