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App to Order Pizza Online in Ventura County, California About this time the idea of baking in special brick ovens came into existence and the bread, as it is today, was a rather simple combination of flour, oil, salt and yeast. Authentic Neapolitan pizza (pizza napoletana) is typically made with San Marzano tomatoes, grown on the volcanic plains south of Mount Vesuvius, and mozzarella di bufala Campana, made with milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio. This mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin. Other traditional pizzas include pizza alla marinara, which is topped with marinara sauce and is allegedly the most ancient tomato-topped pizza, pizza capricciosa, which is prepared with mozzarella cheese, baked ham, mushroom, artichoke and tomato, and pizza pugliese, prepared with tomato, mozzarella and onions. In the book, Fine di un Regno, by Raffaele De Cesare and published in 1895, cites that the Pizzeria di “Pietro” had already been operating for more than a century. This evidence is further strengthened in the book La Neapolitan pizza by Gabriele Benincasa claims that the pizzeria is older based on the fact that the first owner was probably not the famous Pietro il Pizzaiolo (in that century Pietro Calicchio) but his father Giovanni who had been in business already in 1760. This restaurant still exists today and is still being run by the family. 3rd Century B.C. Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.), also know as Cato the Elder, wrote the first history of Rome. He wrote about “flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones.” Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza To honor the queen who was so beloved by her subjects, Raffaele decided to make a very special pizza just for her. He baked a Pizza topped with tomatoes, Mozarella Cheese, and fresh Basil (to represent the colors of the Italian flag: Red, white, and green). Raffaele Esposito dedicated this pizza to the Queen and called it “Pizza Margherita.” This pizza set the standard by which today’s pizza evolved as well as firmly established Naples as the pizza capitol of the world. Invade their trenchers next, and soon devour, Purists, like the famous pizzeria "Da Michele" in Via C. Sersale (founded 1870), consider there to be only two true pizzas—the marinara and the margherita—and that is all they serve. These two "pure" pizzas are the ones preferred by many Italians today. 79 A.D. – In the ashes after Mount Versuvius erupted and smothered Pompeii on August 24, 79 A.D., evidence was found of a flat flour cake that was baked and widely eaten at that time in Pompeii and nearby Neopolis, the Greek colony that became Naples. Evidence was also found in Pompeii of shops, complete with marble slabs and other tools of the trade, which resemble the conventional pizzeria. The Museo Nazionale at Naples exhibits a statue from Pompeii which because of its stance is called I pizzaiolo. To mend the scanty meal, their cakes of flour. 1st Century A.D. Our knowledge of Roman cookery derives mainly from the excavations at Pompeii and from the great cookery book of Marcus Gavius Apicius called “De Re Coquinaria.” Apicius was a culinary expert and from his writings, he provided us with information on ancient Roman cuisine. It is recorded that so great was Apicius’ love of food that he poisoned himself for fear of dying of hunger when his finances fell into disarray. Apicius’ book also contains recipes which involve putting a variety of ingredients on a base of bread (a hollowed-out loaf). The recipe uses chicken meat, pine kernels, cheese, garlic, mint, pepper, and oil (all ingredients of the contemporary pizza). The recipe concludes the instruction “insuper nive, et inferes” which means “cool in snow and serve!” A popular variant of pizza in Italy is Sicilian pizza (locally called sfincione or sfinciuni), a thick-crust or deep-dish pizza originating during the 17th century in Sicily: it is essentially a focaccia that is typically topped with tomato sauce and other ingredients. Until the 1860s, sfincione was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily, especially in the Western portion of the island. Other variations of pizzas are also found in other regions of Italy, for example pizza al padellino or pizza al tegamino, a small-sized, thick-crust and deep-dish pizza typically served in Turin, Piedmont. pizza capricciosa (mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, cooked ham, olives, oil) Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza In the 6th century BC, the soldiers in Persian King Darius I armies baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza The term pizza was first recorded in the 10th century, in a Latin manuscript from Gaeta in Central Italy. Modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, and the dish and its variants have since become popular and common in many areas of the world. In 2009, upon Italy's request, Neapolitan pizza was safeguarded in the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish. Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association), a non-profit organization founded in 1984 with headquarters in Naples, aims to "promote and protect... the true Neapolitan pizza". St. Louis-style pizza is a variant of thin crust popular around St. Louis and southern Illinois notable for its use of distinctive Provel cheese instead of (or, rarely, in addition to) mozzarella. Its crust is thin enough to become very crunchy in the oven, sometimes being compared to a cracker, and toppings are usually sliced instead of diced. Even though round, St. Louis style pies are always cut into small squares. And, with his chiefs, on forest fruits he fed. 6th Century B.C. At the height of the Persian Empire, it is said that the soldiers of Darius the Great (521-486 B.C.), accustomed to lengthy marches, baked a kind of bread flat upon their shields and then covered it with cheese and dates. The Ancient Greeks had a flat bread called plakous (πλακοῦς, gen. πλακοῦντος—plakountos) which was flavored with toppings like herbs, onion, and garlic. 20th Century For many people, especially among the Italian-American population, the first American pizzas were known as Tomato Pie. Even in the present 21st century, present-day tomato pie is most commonly found in the Northeastern United States, especially in Italian bakeries in central New York. Tomato pies are built the opposite of pizza pies – first the cheese, then the toppings, and then the sauce. The history of pizza begins in antiquity, when various ancient cultures produced flatbreads with toppings. Pizzetta a small pizza that can range in size from around three inches in diameter to the size of a small personal-sized pizza. It may be served as an hors d'oeuvre. California-style pizza is distinguished by the use of non-traditional ingredients, especially varieties of fresh produce. Some typical California-style toppings include Thai-inspired chicken pizza with peanut sauce, bean sprouts, and shaved carrots, taco pizzas, and pizzas with chicken and barbecue sauce as toppings. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza In 1889, an Italian tavern owner named Don Raffaele Esposito developed a pizza featuring tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil – ingredients bearing the colors of the Italian flag. He named it the Margherita Pizza, after the Queen of Italy, Margherita Teresa Giovanni. Thus, modern-day tomato-and-cheese pizza was born. In Sardinia, French and Italian archaeologists have found bread baked over 7,000 years ago. According to Professor Philippe Marinval, the local islanders leavened this bread. 1950s – It was not until the 1950s that Americans really started noticing pizza. Celebrities of Italian origin, such as Jerry Colonna, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, and baseball star Joe DiMaggio all devoured pizzas. It is also said that the line from the song by famous singer, Dean Martin; “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that amore” set America singing and eating pizzas. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza The margherita is topped with modest amounts of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. It is widely attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito, who worked at "Pizzeria di Pietro", established in 1880. Though recent research casts doubt on this legend, the tale holds that, in 1889, he baked three different pizzas for the visit of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Queen's favorite was a pizza evoking the colors of the Italian flag—green (basil leaves), white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes). According to the tale, this combination was named Pizza Margherita in her honor. Although https://venturapizzagrub77.jimdo.com/2017/09/30/iphone-app-to-order-pizza-online-in-ventura-california/ were the most preferred, today there are many variations of pizzas. Eventually the idea of flat bread found its way to Italy where, in the 18th century, the flat breads called “Pizzas”, were sold on the streets and in the markets. They were not topped with anything but were enjoyed au naturel. Since they were relatively cheap to make, were tasty and filling, they were sold to the poor all over Naples by street vendors.The acceptance of the tomato by the Neapolitans and the visit of a queen contributed to the Pizza as we know and enjoy it today. Tomatoes were first introduced to Italy from South America in 1522. At first the tomato was believed to be poisonous. Fortunately, the poorer peasants of the region finally overcame their doubts about tomatoes in the 17th century and began adding it to the bread dough, and the first pizzas were created. 1st Century B.C. In the translated version of “The Aeneid” written by Virgil (70-19 B.C.), it describes the legendary origin of the Roman nation, describing cakes or circles of bread: day Pizza is now a type of bread and tomato dish, often served with cheese. However, until the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, the dish was sweet, not savory, and earlier versions which were savory more resembled the flat breads now known as schiacciata. Pellegrino Artusi's classic early-twentieth-century cookbook, La Scienza in cucina e l'Arte di mangiar bene gives three recipes for pizza, all of which are sweet. However, by 1927, Ada Boni's collection of regional cooking includes a recipe using tomatoes and mozzarella. 1905 – Gennaro Lombardi is credited to having opened the first United States Pizzeria in New York City at 53 1/2 Spring Street (now know as Little Italy). Lombardo is now known as America’s “Patriaca della Pizza.” It wasn’t until the early 1930s that he added tables and chairs and sold spaghetti as well. Gennuardo Lombardi opened the first American pizza shop on Spring Street in New York City in 1905. Up until the 1950s, pizza was still seen as a foreign food. It seems that since then, pizza has become a staple food in New York. Pizzerias began opening in New York and borrowed non-Italian ingredients and non-Italian restaurants began serving the pizza until it formed a league of its own. Soon there were stands on the streets in Little Italy that served English muffin pizzas which categorized itself as “the traditional pizza with Thomas’s English Muffin as its base.” The innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping. For some time after the tomato was brought to Europe from the Americas in the 16th century, it was believed by many Europeans to be poisonous (as some other fruits of the nightshade family are). However, by the late 18th century, it was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began. The dish gained popularity, and soon pizza became a tourist attraction as visitors to Naples ventured into the poorer areas of the city to try the local specialty. Pizza is a yeasted flatbread typically topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. It is commonly topped with a selection of meats, vegetables and condiments. In 1522, tomatoes were brought back to Europe from Peru in the New World. Originally thought to be poisonous, tomatoes eventually found their way into the diets of poorer people of Naples, as they placed the tomatoes on to their yeast dough, thus creating the first simple pizza we know today. These early pizzas were quite popular because these workingmen usually had only flour, olive oil, lard, cheese, and herbs with which to feed their families. All of Italy proclaimed the Neapolitan pies to be the best. "Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana" ("True Neapolitan Pizza Association"), which was founded in 1984, has set the very specific rules that must be followed for an authentic Neapolitan pizza. These include that the pizza must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven; that the base must be hand-kneaded and must not be rolled with a pin or prepared by any mechanical means (i pizzaioli—the pizza makers—make the pizza by rolling it with their fingers) and that the pizza must not exceed 35 centimetres in diameter or be more than one-third of a centimetre thick at the centre. The association also selects pizzerias all around the world to produce and spread the verace pizza napoletana philosophy and method. Lots of easy-to-make and delicious Pizza and Pizza Dough Recipes. The origin of the word pizza is uncertain. It is Italian for ‘pie’ and may have come from Latin pix ‘pitch’ or Greek pitta. It is common belief that pizza was an invention by the Italians. However, the history of pizza goes back to the ancient times in the Middle East. The Greeks, Egyptians, Armenians, Israelis, and Babylonians were making some derivative of pizza in the ancient times. They would cook flat bread in mud ovens. Workingmen and their families ate it because it was a thrifty and convenient food. The Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians specifically, were topping the bread with olive oil and spices, now known as focaccia. Pizza, like so many other foods, did not originate in the country for which it is now famous. Unless you have researched the subject, you, like so many people, probably always thought Pizza was strictly an Italian creation. 1889 – Umberto I (1844-1900), King of Italy, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia (1851-1926), in Naples on holiday, called to their palace the most popular of the pizzaioli (pizza chef), Raffaele Esposito, to taste his specialties. Raffaele and his wife, Maria Giovanna Brandi, prepared three different kinds of pizzas: one with pork fat, cheese, and basil; one with garlic, oil, and tomatoes; and another with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes (in the colors of the Italian flag). The Queen liked the last kind of pizza so much that she sent to the pizzzaiolo a letter to thank him. This official document, dated June 1889, and signed Galli Camillo, head of the table of the Royal Household, can be seen in the rooms of the restaurant today. Chicago-style pizza is distinguished by a thick moist crust formed up the sides of a deep-dish pan and sauce as the last ingredient, added atop the cheese and toppings. Stuffed versions have two layers of crust with the sauce on top. "Chicago-style" also includes a thin-crust pizza that is sliced into small squares or rectangles. Many regional variations of pizza the United States have been developed, many bearing only a casual resemblance to the Italian original. Pizza became most popular in America after soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II. During the latter half of the 20th century, pizza in the United States became an iconic dish of considerable popularity. The American slang terms za and slice can also refer to pizza. The thickness of the crust depends on what the consumer prefers; both thick and thin crust are popular. Often, foods such as barbecued chicken and bacon cheeseburgers are used to create new types of pizza. American pizza often has vegetable oil or shortening (often, but not always, olive oil) mixed into the dough; this is not as common in Italian recipes (for example, the pizza dough recipe in the influential Italian cookbook Il cucchiaio d'argento does not use oil). This can range from a small amount in relatively lean doughs, such as New York style, to a very large amount in some recipes for Chicago-style deep-dish dough. In addition, American pizza (at least thin-crust) is often made with a very high-gluten flour (often 13–14% protein content) of the type also used to make bagels; this type of flour allows the dough to be stretched rather thinly without tearing, similar to strudel or phyllo. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza 16th Century 1522 – Tomatoes were brought back to Europe from the New World (Peru). Originally they were thought to be poisonous, but later the poorer people of Naples added the new tomatoes to their yeast dough and created the first simple pizza, as we know it. They usually had only flour, olive oil, lard, cheese, and herbs with which to feed their families. All of Italy proclaimed the Neapolitan pies to be the best. At that time, the Tavern of the Cerrigloi was a hangout for the Spanish soldiers of the Viceroy. It is said that they flocked there to feast on the specialty of the house – pizza. Foods similar to pizza have been made since the neolithic age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. There are many famous pizzerias in Naples where these traditional pizzas can be found such as Da Michele, Port'Alba, Brandi, Di Matteo, Sorbillo, Trianon, and Umberto (founded: 1916). Most of them are in the ancient historical centre of Naples. These pizzerias will go even further than the specified rules by, for example, using only San Marzano tomatoes grown on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius and drizzling the olive oil and adding tomato topping in only a clockwise direction. During that time, it is believe that Raffaele Esposito made the first pizza with tomato, cheese, and other toppings and seasonings. The first known pizza shop opened in Port Alba in Naples and is still there today. Esposito was called to make some pizza for the visit of King Umberto and Queen Margherita of Italy in the late 1800s. In this taste test, Queen Margherita liked the pizza with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes so much, that Esposito named it “Pizza Margherita.” Interestingly, if the queen didn’t venture to try this “peasant bread,” then pizza may have never spread to become the phenomenon it is today. Evidently, pizza became a great success and spread to America, England, France, and Spain during World War Two when American and European soldiers tasted this new dish while occupying Italian territory. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy in the 18th or early 19th century. Jeyoun is considered to be the earliest form of modern pizza, which is very similar to contemporary Neapolitan pizza but with hops added as a supplementary ingredient in the dough. Prior to that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, cheese, and basil. It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims. Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries, and pizzerias keep this old tradition alive today. Foods similar to flatbreads in other parts of the world include Chinese bing (a wheat flour-based Chinese food with a flattened or disk-like shape); the Indian paratha (in which fat is incorporated); the Central and South Asian naan (leavened) and roti (unleavened); the Sardinian carasau, spianata, guttiau, pistoccu; and Finnish rieska. Also worth noting is that throughout Europe there are many similar pies based on the idea of covering flat pastry with cheese, meat, vegetables and seasoning such as the Alsatian flammkuchen, German zwiebelkuchen, and French quiche. The pizza we're all familiar with — the kind with tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings — did originate in Italy. Specifically, baker Raffaele Esposito from Naples is often given credit for creating the first such pizza pie. Historians note, however, that flat breads with a variety of toppings had been sold by street vendors and eaten by the poor workers of Naples for many years. Sicilian pizza in the United States is typically a square pie with a thick crust. It is derived from Sfinciuni, a thick crust variety from Sicily, and was introduced in the US by early Sicilian immigrants. Sicilian-style pizza is popular in Italian-American enclaves in the Northeast, Metro Detroit, and Portland, Oregon. Check out our Hints and Tips for Making Perfect Pizza! History has not made it clear whether Rafaelle began to sell this creation from his own pizzeria but it is known that the Pizza, in much the same form as we now know it, was thereafter enjoyed by all the Italian people. Variations began to be made in different parts of the country. In Bologna, for example, meat began to be added into the topping mix. Neapolitan Pizza became quite popular and it brought garlic and crumbly Neapolitan cheeses into the mixture as well as herbs, freshvegetables, and other spices and flavorings. In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. On deck ovens, pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle, called a peel, and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum). Prior to use, a peel may be sprinkled with cornmeal to allow pizza to easily slide onto and off of it. When made at home, it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce the effect of a brick oven. Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Greek pizza, like Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven. pizza quattro formaggi ("four cheese pizza": tomatoes, and the cheeses mozzarella, stracchino, fontina and gorgonzola; sometimes ricotta is swapped for one of the latter three) Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza In some pizza recipes, the tomato sauce is omitted (termed "white pizza"), or replaced with another sauce (usually garlic butter, but sauces can also be made with spinach or onions). In 1905, the owner of the bakery/grocery store offered to sell the store to young Gennaro, who jumped at the chance. Within a few years, he realized that while bread and groceries were business, the future was made of pizza. Lombardi wanted to have a real American pizza business, and so acquired that first pizza-selling license for his location at 53 1/2 Spring Street. A downturn in the economy forced it to close its doors in 1984. Trenton NJ Tomato Pies: 1910 – Joe’s Tomato Pies was opened in 1910 and is regarded as the second pizzeria established in America after Lombardi’s (see above). Greek pizza is a variation popular in New England; its name comes from it being typical of the style of pizzerias owned by Greek immigrants. It has a thicker, chewier crust and is baked in a pan in the pizza oven, instead of directly on the bricks. Plain olive oil is a common part of the topping, as well as being liberally used to grease the pans and crisp the crust. A significantly different variation in other parts of the country includes using feta cheese, Kalamata olives, and Greek herbs such as oregano. New York-style pizza is a style originally developed in New York City by immigrants from Naples, Italy where pizza was created. It is often sold in generously sized, thin, and flexible slices. It is traditionally hand-tossed, moderately topped with southern Italian-style Marinara sauce, and liberally covered with cheese essentially amounting to a much larger version of the Neapolitan style. The slices are sometimes eaten folded in half, as its size and flexibility may otherwise make it unwieldy to eat by hand. This style of pizza tends to dominate the Northeastern states and is particularly popular in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Jumbo slices are particularly popular in Washington, D.C. As the popularity of the tomato became widespread, mozzarella cheese was slowly gaining ground. Mozzarella had become available in Italy only after water buffalo were imported from India in the 7th century, (mozzarella was first made with water buffalo milk). Its popularity grew very slowly until the last half of the 18th century, but the cheese and tomatoes did not meet on a pizza until 1889. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza Tomato pies, in several areas around the Northeast, especially Philadelphia, refers to a square-cut thick-crust pizza topped with chunky tomato sauce and sprinkled with pecorino romano cheese. The foundations for Pizza were originally laid by the early Greeks who first baked large, round and flat breads which they “annointed with oil, herbs, spices and Dates.” Tomatoes were not discovered at that time or, very likely, they would have used them as we do today. In 2012, the world's largest pizza was made in Rome, and was measured to be 1261.65 square metres. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza Another variation is grilled pizza, created by taking a fairly thin, round (more typically, irregularly shaped) sheet of yeasted pizza dough, placing it directly over the fire of a grill and then turning it over once the bottom has baked and placing a thin layer of toppings on the baked side. Toppings may be sliced thin to ensure that they heat through, and chunkier toppings such as sausage or peppers may be precooked before being placed on the pizza. Garlic, herbs, or other ingredients are sometimes added to the pizza or the crust to maximize the flavor of the dish. Common toppings for pizza in the United States include ground beef, mushrooms, onions, pepperoni, pineapple, garlic, chicken, bacon, ham and sausage. Distinct regional types developed in the twentieth century, including California, Chicago, Greek, New Haven, Detroit and New York styles. The first pizzeria in the U.S. was opened in New York's Little Italy in 1905 and since then regions throughout the U.S. offer variations, including deep-dish, stuffed, pockets, turnovers, rolled and pizza-on-a-stick, each with seemingly limitless combinations of sauce and toppings. Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza: 1943 – A pizza with a flaky crust that rises an inch or more above the plate and surrounds deep piles of toppings. It is said that this pizza was created by Ike Sewell at his bar and grill called Pizzeria Uno. Pizza history is very interesting. The actual word “pizza” was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta, Italy, and successively in different parts of Central and South Italy. While pizza has been eaten in Italy for centuries, it was not until after World War II and when pizza became popular in America, that it became really popular in Italy. In about 1889, Queen Margherita, accompanied by her husband, Umberto I, took an inspection tour of her Italian Kingdom. During her travels around Italy she saw many people, especially the peasants, eating this large, flat bread. Curious, the queen ordered her guards to bring her one of these Pizza breads. The Queen loved the bread and would eat it every time she was out amongst the people, which caused some consternation in Court circles. It was not seemly for a Queen to dine on peasant’s food. Never the less, the queen loved the bread and decided to take matters into her own hands. Summoning Chef Raffaele Esposito from his pizzeria to the royal palace, the queen ordered him to bake a selection of pizzas for her pleasure. His table on the turf, with cakes of bread; Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza Pizza in Lazio (Rome), as well as in many other parts of Italy, is available in two different styles. Take-away shops sell pizza rustica or pizza al taglio. This pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1–2 cm). The pizza is often cooked in an electric oven. It is usually cut with scissors or a knife and sold by weight. In pizzerias, pizza is served in a dish in its traditional round shape. It has a thin, crisp base quite different from the thicker and softer Neapolitan style base. It is usually cooked in a wood-fired oven, giving the pizza its unique flavor and texture. In Rome, a pizza napoletana is topped with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and oil (thus, what in Naples is called pizza romana, in Rome is called pizza napoletana). Other types of Lazio-style pizza include In 2016, robotics company BeeHex, widely covered in the media, was building robots that 3D-printed pizza. 1912 – Joe Papa opened Papa’s Tomato Pies on South Clinton Avenue in 1912, at age 17. He had emigrated from Naples during the prior decade and settled in Trenton in the burgeoning Italian neighborhood of Chambersburg. Before launching his own restaurant, he worked at Joe’s Tomato Pies Foods similar to pizza have been made since the neolithic age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. The ancient Greeks supplemented their bread with oils, herbs and cheese, or hops, and in the 6th century BC, the soldiers in Persian King Darius I's armies baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields. An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in the Aeneid, when Celaeno, queen of the Harpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). In Book VII, Aeneas and his men are served a meal that includes round cakes (like pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the "tables" prophesied by Celaeno. Founded around 600 B.C. as a Greek Settlement, Naples, Italy was a thriving waterfront city, and as we can see, the home of the pizza we know and love today. Although known as a well-off city, the kingdom was densely packed with throngs of working poor, who typically had only tiny homes to call their own. The workers required inexpensive food that could be consumed quickly, since they were consistently busy. Thus, pizza, flatbreads with various toppings, eaten for any meal and sold by street vendors or informal restaurants, met this need. Legend has it that pizza developed in Naples when bakers needed to use up their excess dough for the day, or when they needed something in the oven to keep it warm. By throwing this extra dough into the oven, and selling it to poorer people, they developed a food that years later is, ironically, extremely popular with a wide variety of customers. Evidently, the people in Naples were eating some of the earliest pizzas, and they often garnished them with tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies and garlic, just like many do today. Sicilian pizza is prepared in a manner originating in Sicily, Italy. Just in the US, the phrase Sicilian pizza is often synonymous with thick-crust or deep-dish pizza derived from the Sicilian Sfincione. In Sicily, there is a variety of pizza called Sfincione. It is that believed Sicilian pizza, Sfincione, or focaccia with toppings, was popular on the western portion of the island as far back as the 1860s. 19th Century In the late 19th century, pizza was sold in the streets in Naples at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was cut from a large tray that had been cooked in the baker’s oven and had a simple topping of mushrooms and anchovies. As pizza became more popular, stalls were set up where the dough was shaped as customers ordered. Various toppings were invented. The stalls soon developed into the pizzeria, an open-air place for people to congregate, eat, drink, and talk. “Beneath a shady tree, the hero spread 18th Century King of Naples, Ferdinando IV (1751-1821), in his summer palace of Capodimote, allowed his cook to bake a few pizzas in the ovens which his father, Charles II, had his famous porcelains fired. Pizza had become a favorite dish of the Ferdindo’s wife, Queen Maria Carolina d’Asburgo Lorena (1752-1814). Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza Almost 3000 years of food evolution has taken place for the pizza pie to reach its current delicious state today. Although flat breads have been around for 6000 years, the word “pizziare” started appearing in Italian writings as far back as 1000 B.C. The word pizza itself is believed to have originated from an “Old Italian” word meaning “a point,” which in turn became the Italian word “pizziare,” which means to pinch, or to pluck. Pizza pugliese is prepared with tomato, mozzarella and onion. Ascanius this observ’d, and smiling said: 17th Century By the 17th Century, pizza had achieved a local popularity among visitors to Naples who would venture into the poorer sections to taste this peasant dish made by men called “pizzaioli.” If you think a pizza has to have toppings, then its history dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. They both ate baked flat breads that were topped with olive oil and local spices. Today, we call these dishes focaccia breads. Click here to order pizza online in Ventura, California and Ventura County, California at http://ventura.pizza or www.ventura.pizza Pizza was brought to the United States with Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century, and first appeared in areas where Italian immigrants concentrated. The country's first pizzeria, Lombardi's, opened in 1905. Following World War II, veterans returning from the Italian Campaign after being introduced to Italy's native cuisine proved a ready market for pizza in particular. Since then pizza consumption has exploded in the U.S. Pizza chains such as Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's, pizzas from take and bake pizzerias, and chilled or frozen pizzas from supermarkets make pizza readily available nationwide. It is so ubiquitous, thirteen percent of the U.S. population consumes pizza on any given day. The pizza actually could have been invented by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, Romans, or anyone who learned the secret of mixing flour with water and heating it on a hot stone. According to the rules proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of wheat flour (type 0 or 00, or a mixture of both), natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer's yeast, salt and water. For proper results, strong flour with high protein content (as used for bread-making rather than cakes) must be used. The dough must be kneaded by hand or with a low-speed mixer. After the rising process, the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or other machine, and may be no more than 3 millimeters (0.12 in) thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485