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A Pizz-a History
Pizza parlors are a quintessential part of any New York City borough. In fact, there are three hundred and sixty two parlors in Manhattan alone according to a man who ate a slice from every single one. Country- and worldwide, pizza is seen as an Italian dish that has been co-opted by many different cultures across the globe. With such an expansive variety of choices, it can be difficult to narrow down the history of the pizza pie to just one culture without some research. The origins are truly Mediterranean, but the road is much bumpier from there. Pizza has evolved from a frugal utility food into a global powerhouse due to its convenience, flexibility, and pop culture presence.
In the beginning, there was bread. No, really. According to History.com’s recounting of tales, the first recorded instance of pizza referred to flatbreads cooked in Middle Eastern mud ovens. In Naples, centuries later, the pizza had evolved to include any toppings available. There was no sauce and cheese base. Instead, the pizza was a food used to make use of leftover vegetables and meats that didn’t have any coherent use. The pizza known to modern munchers is inspired by a Neapolitan pie crafted for the visiting Queen of Margherita in 1889. She was impressed by the tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza so much that it became known as a Margherita pizza and eventually became the most common form of the food.
As Neapolitan Italians immigrated to the United States en masse in the beginning of the 20th century, the status of pizza began to change from a utilitarian farmer’s food to a new and exotic street food. Even within New York City there is a plethora of different shops and styles of pizza. The history of New York pizza is much more confusing and less concrete. According to a Munchies video about uncovering said history, Lombari’s Pizzeria opened in 1905 and was run by Genero Lombardi and Anthony Pero. After a few more years, John Sasso, another alleged original Lombardi’s worker, also branched off and opened John’s Pizza some distance away. This splintering of workers and opening of new shops happened at this pace for decades and these original pizza places are still standing in one way or another. With thousands of pizzerias in NYC alone, it’s easy to see how the slice evolved so quickly.
The question of cultural and course significance is easily explained by examining the roots of the food and the people who consume it. The earliest flatbreads were crafted by farmers who needed a way to carb load before a long day of work. Even when toppings were added, it was nothing exotic. Let’s use Naples as an example the same way that Mary Ann from Ciao Italia does. Neapolitan pizza uses type 00 flour, which is extremely white and of course local to Naples. San Marzano tomatoes, while now available in a can, are natively grown in the soil under Mt. Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples. Fresh mozzarella, a cheese developed in Naples, is the preferred authen