(CNN) – What comes to mind first when you think of Italy?
For some, it will be Renaissance art exhibited in every corner of the country. For others, it will be ancient Rome – perhaps the magnificent Colosseum. But for many, it will be another large, round and eminently photogenic Italian icon: a pizza wheel.
Colorful, comforting and infinitely tasty, it is no wonder that pizza is one of the most beloved dishes in the world. It is a food that went beyond Italian origins to find new dishes – from pineapple pizza to deep Chicago-style pies.
No wonder she has whole days dedicated to her around the globe – from World Pizza Day in January to National Pizza Day, which takes place in the United States every February 9th.
But although we consider it a global phenomenon of the twentieth century, pizza did not begin to travel only when it crossed the Atlantic. In fact, he made his first intercultural journey about 2,000 years earlier.
The ancient Greeks had “pissa” or “pita”, and a recent study linked the term “pizza” to the various “pita” that exist throughout the Mediterranean. Therefore, the concept is very old – but [ancient pissa] it was bread, sometimes toasted and sometimes baked, possibly with spices on it. “
Food appeared again – this time as “pizza” – in 997 CE. A rental document for a house in Gaeta, north of Naples, promised to pay the owner pork and pizza – but even then, says Zancani, the mysterious “pizza” would have been pieces of bread.
Go fast until 1570, and the Pope’s chef had a recipe for pizza – but it was “essentially a cake,” says Zancani, made with almonds and sugar.
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Finally, 700 years after its debut as a bargaining chip, tasty pizza arrived in Naples in the early 18th century. But its original form – baked bread toasted in lard (and later olive oil) with cheese on top – does not sound like the dish that could conquer the world.
Enter the humble red. In 1760, fresh tomatoes arrived in Naples – and what we recognize as pizza took to the streets.
Visitors to the city began to spread the word about this street food novel. Alexandre Dumas, author of the book “The Three Musketeers”. he wrote enthusiastically about the various toppings, while Carlo Collodi, the creator of Pinocchio, rejected them. Samuel Morse, the inventor of the Morse Code, hated pizza. Apparently it was a minority, however – the Bourbon king of Naples, Ferdinand, even installed a brick pizza oven in his summer residence. “It was a meal for the poor, but obviously he liked it,” says Zancani.
Then came that moment of discovery that we had all heard about. The king and queen of the new united Italy came to visit Naples in 1889, and Queen Margarita was eager to try the local specialty.
“He contacted the best pizza maker [pizza-maker] in Naples he also offered him three types: white with lard, caciocavallo cheese and basil; olive and anchovy oil; and tomatoes, mozzarella and basil, “says Zancani.
“The story goes that the queen chose the third one because it reminded her of the Italian flag.”
Margherita pizza was born.
“Then it took off in a very big way,” says Zancani.
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The food not only took off around the world, but put Naples on the map for countless visitors who want to eat a “real” pizza.
“As I like to say, Neapolitan pizza has no inventors, fathers or owners – it springs from the ingenuity of the Neapolitan people. Pizza is Naples, and Naples is pizza.”
“Pizza belongs to Naples,” he says, comparing the Neapolitan art of pizza making to the football skills of Maradona, who played famously for Naples between 1984 and 1991.
“He didn’t have the technique himself, but he had football in him – he was a genius with a magical touch. In Naples, pizzaioli [pizza-makers] they have the same magical touch. “
Immigration made her travel
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Once it won the royal seal of approval, pizza was officially here to stay, but rather than Queen Margherita who triggered the global trend, the poorest immigrants in Italy popularized it around the world.
At the beginning of the 19th century, mass migration was seen from southern Italy to the United States. And, of course, they took their recipes with them.
“Americans say that pizza was created by the Neapolitans, but given to the world by the Americans. I agree,” says Diego Zancani.
She compares the evolution of pizza in the US with the movie “Big Night”, in which two first-generation Italian immigrants (played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci) open a restaurant on the Jersey shore and disagree on adapting their food to American tastes. .
Ristaino also mentions another key community in popularizing pizza: American troops.
“When the Americans came to Italy at the end of the war, they found out they loved pizza, so they brought it back to the United States,” she says.
“Before that, it had been located mainly in Italian-American culture, but after the war it became a dish that other people will eat. Different types of pizza in the US developed due to the needs and populations of different “There are different populations in New York from Chicago. The Italians took pizza from Naples and adapted it to the people in the area. People are very talented at adapting.”
And they are talented at innovating. Zancani – who remembers eating pizza while a student in London as “the cheapest way to survive” – says the American innovation in pizza dough freezing in the 1950s was what brought food to the world. He believes that despite being about Naples, Dean Martin’s 1953 hit “That’s Amore” helped cement it as a completely American food.
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But while pizza was conquering the globe, there was a country where its attraction was more limited: Italy itself.
“Pizza has remained a Neapolitan thing for many years – before World War II, it was barely known north of Rome and was not an immediate success. It came with internal migration in the 1950s and 1960s,” he says. Zancani.
Today, of course, that has changed – pizza is as popular in Italy as everywhere, the Roman version (a thinner base) rivaling the original in Naples.
And if you think Italians are horrified by the global bastardization of their creation, think again.
“It’s what happens with all foods – they adapt to local tastes,” says Zancani, who admits that his favorite is the Neapolitan original.
“The American style is just different – the same with the ingredients. Hawaiian pineapple pizza is a weird concept, but if you like it, fine. Yes, it’s a disguise in a way, but most food in a way is a disguise. . “
And not even Antonio Pace from AVPN is upset with deep-food pizza.
“I can’t help but respect anyone who makes any kind of pizza with dedication and sacrifice,” he says.
“I never said that Neapolitan pizza is the best; we just repeat that it is different.
“Our strong point is simplicity, and we’re glad that in recent years, different types of American pizza have evolved from ingredients-rich and not always well-crafted products to a product with high-quality, well-selected ingredients.”
How to make an authentic Neapolitan pizza
AVPN has been training pizza chefs since 1984.
Pizza and AVPN school
If you want a real Neapolitan-style pizza, AVPN is at your fingertips to help you. Since 1984, they have been training and verifying pizza makers around the world, accrediting their goods as authentic Neapolitan-style.
“At that time, pizzerias in the rest of Italy and abroad were beginning to develop and we realized that their product was very different from ours. Our fear was that if this type of pizza spread all over the world, you could see the original Neapolitan recipe, “says Pace, who loves traditional toppings such as marinara and his favorite, Margherita.
Their solution? Establishing the association and imposing strict rules for pizza made by their affiliates.
Today, AVPN’s rules for making a true Neapolitan-style pizza span up to 14 pages and cover everything from flour and water temperature to dough, to fermentation time, pizza shaping, ingredients and ingredients. cooking – only 60-90 seconds on a 380-430 C or 716-806 F plate.
Future pizza makers should also send videos of the pizza-making process from start to finish – from making and shaping the dough to adding the toppings and baking it. Once they pass the first stage, they are mysteriously bought by an instructor or a verified pizzaiolo – who pretends to be a regular customer and tastes pizza.
To date, 854 pizzerias in 52 countries are members of the association. “We are especially proud of the latest affiliation – an Egyptian pizzeria run by a former student of ours,” says Pace. “It is the first in Africa and means that we are now present on five continents.”
Go to Naples and you’ll probably be told that no pizza outside the city will ever taste the same – something about air, they say, or water. But while Pace suggests visitors come to Naples and wander the alleys of the historic center, smelling the freshly baked dough in the air (and even taking a one-day pizza cooking course with AVPN), he says the popular belief is no correct.
“Essentially, a real Neapolitan pizza is made with simple ingredients: water, flour, salt and yeast, without the addition of fat or sugar. It should be left to rise for at least 12 hours and cooked in a wood-fired oven for 60 hours. – 90 seconds.
“I’ve always said that the quality of a real Neapolitan pizza is not related to the dialect or the nationality of the pizzaiolo, but to a production method that has no secrets – although many people would like you to think so,” he says.
So, if you are outside Naples, do not be afraid. And that can be love.