Did giornoʼs pizza? - Chef's Resource (2024)

FAQs

Why did Raffaele invent pizza? ›

The story of the first pizza is a popular and entertaining tale that has been told and retold for centuries. It originated from Naples, Italy in the 16th century. The original story was about a baker named Raffaele Esposito who invented this special dish to feed his hungry customers during Lent.

Other legends of America's first pizzas claim that Gennaro Lombardi, an Italian immigrant in New York, opened the first licensed pizzeria on Spring Street in 1905. Lombardi's remains a New York institution to this day.

Chris Bianco

An unprecedented approach to ingredients and technique has made Chris Bianco's Phoenix pizzeria the home of what critics deem the best pies in the world.

Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.

Many people credit baker Raffaele Esposito from the Naples region of Italy for first creating the dish. Others believe that the history of pizza dates far further back than Esposito's era of the late 1800s. Much of the debate comes down to what you consider a "real pizza" and the evolution of food over the centuries.

According to a popular (but questioned) legend, Esposito was requested to prepare a pizza for Queen Margherita of Savoy, who had traveled to Naples with King Umberto I. Esposito and his wife were admitted to the royal kitchens to prepare this dish as he saw fit.

Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba is a pizzeria in Naples, Italy, which is widely believed to be the world's first pizzeria.

Lombardi's is a pizzeria at 32 Spring Street on the corner of Mott Street in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1905, it has been recognized by the Pizza Hall of Fame as the first pizzeria in the United States.

According to 50 Top Pizza, the best pizzeria in the United States is — once again —Anthony Mangieri's Una Pizza Napoletana in New York City.

The annual online guide lists the best pizzerias in the world, with about a thousand inspectors scattered across all continents. In tied in first place are Italian pizzerias I Masanielli by Francesco Martucci, in Caserta, and 10 Diego Vitagliano by Diego Vitagliano, in Naples.

Who eats the most pizza in the world? ›

It's become so well-loved in fact, that Norway has earned the top spot for consuming the most pizza per capita in the world – about 11 pizzas per person. Some even joke that it's the unofficial national dish. While this may come as a surprise to some, it is not shocking, given the history of Norwegian cuisine.

An organization that ranks the best pies across the globe, 50 top Pizza, announced its 2023 list last night, handing out the top spot to I Masanielli in Caserta and 10 Diego Vitagliano Pizzeria in Naples.

It's widely speculated that pizza came from the Greek word “pitta,” which means “pie” ; however some historians believe that pizza came from the Langobardic word “bizzo,” which means “bite.” Latin texts dating back to 977 Italy have been entered into a 1598 Italian-English dictionary as “a small wafer or cake.”

The must have features of Neapolitan pizzas are its dough, made with '00' flour, fermented for 24-48 hours, as well as san Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Additionally, Italians make their dough with 00 flour and like to allow their dough to ferment for a minimum of 10-12 hours.

Italians developed and perfected their style of pizza making, but they were not the only culture that appreciated the ease and deliciousness of the dish. Some people even credit the Chinese with the invention, but the Greeks (and others) also had a role. The Greeks baked a flatbread known as plakous in mud ovens.

And, much like pizza's origin, the pizza cutter's was created through acts of repurposing. Born out of Silvio Pacitti's need for cutting vegetables and herbs in a very Italian 1708 was the mezzaluna (Italian for “half moon”).

The invention of the first pizza oven can be traced back to the early days of Ancient Rome. During this time, wood-fired ovens were used to cook flatbreads. Later, traditional brick ovens were used to bake pizzas in Italy and other parts of Europe.

Supposedly, Queen Margherita was bored of the gourmet French food that was, at the time, very popular with European royalty. As such, she summoned Raffaele Esposito, who was the most famous pizza-maker in Naples at the time. Queen Margherita commissioned Esposito to make three different pizzas for her.

It started with the Queen of Italy.

They wanted to try the local cuisine, so they asked local chefs to bring their specialties to them. One of those specialties was pizza, which Queen Margherita especially liked. She got the Margherita pizza named after her and ordered the first pizza delivery!