Pizza has a
long, complex and uncertain history that often inspires heated
debate. The origin of the word "pizza" is unclear, but
it first appeared in 997 in Medieval Latin, and it was in Naples
in the 16th century that a galette flatbread was referred to as a
pizza.
At that time, the pizza was a baker's tool, a dough used to verify
the temperature of the oven. A dish of the poor people, it was
sold in the street and was not considered a kitchen recipe for a
long time. Before the 17th century, the pizza was covered with
white sauce. This was later replaced by oil, cheese, tomatoes or
fish - in 1843, Alexandre Dumas, père described the diversity of
pizza toppings. In June 1889, to honor the Queen consort of Italy,
Margherita of Savoy, the chef Raffaele Esposito created the
"Pizza Margherita", a pizza garnished with tomatoes,
mozzarella cheese and basil, to represent the colors of the
Italian flag. The exact sequence through which the many flavored
flatbreads of the ancient and medieval Mediterranean became the
dish popularised in the 20th century is not fully understood. |
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