If there's anyone who doesn't like pizza, I've never met them. In
addition to being wonderfully delicious and flavorful, it's also
inexpensive, quick and easy to prepare, and -- with the right pizza
toppings -- healthy and nutritious.
Pizza didn't originate in Italy, as we've all been led to believe. It actually was first created in Egypt and ancient Greece by seasoning the local flatbread with herbs and baking it on hot stones. Italian pizza was first made when tomatoes were brought back form the new world in the 16th century. The tomatoes were crushed onto foccacia bread and sprinkled with herbs.
Not long after that, water buffalo were brought back from India and the Italians began making mozzarella cheese with their milk. When cheese was added to the tomato bread, Italian pizza as we know it was born.
In those days -- not unlike today -- Naples was a rough-and-tumble city with a lot of poverty. Because it was hearty, filling, and cheap, pizza was quickly adopted by the Neapolitans. Today, Naples is the city most associated with pizza and it's where you'll find Italian pizza in its purest form.
Like Parma ham or Chianti wine, Neapolian pizza is a Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) product. The Italian government established regulations for how it's made, what ingredients can be used, and what temperature it's cooked at. And true Neapolitan pizza is produced according to these standards. Even the composition of the flour is defined.
There are only three kinds of pizza recognized in the DOC guidelines, and they have very few pizza toppings. They are Pizza Marinara (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and olive oil), Pizza Margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, mozzarella, and basil), and Pizza Magherita Extra (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, Mozzarella bi Buffala, and basil). The pizza dough should be tossed and pulled into a round that's less than 14 inches in diameter.
A wood-fired oven is heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pizza is cooked for no more than 90 seconds. The crust should be less than 1/8" thick and should be capable of being folded without breaking.
The DOC guidelines mean that you don't have to travel to Naples to get real Neapolitan pizza. In fact, many American pizzerias have been trained to make authentic pizza by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Americas (VPN). VPN-certified pizza restaurants have gone so far as importing volcanic stones from Campania to line their pizza ovens.
The best authentic Italian pizzas in Naples are available at Antica Pizzeria di Matteo -- which also serves little fried balls of rice or potatoes -- l'Antica Pizzeria de Michele (featured in the book Eat, Pray, Love), Pizzeria La Sorrentino, Pizzeria Caffaso, and Trianon.
The best place in America to try authentic Italian place is Seattle, which has several pizzerias certified by the VPN, including Picolino's Ristorante, Tutta Bella Neapolitan, Via Tribunale, and Pulcinella. Although it's not certified, with pizza toppings like roasted chanterelle mushrooms and Pen Cove clams, super-chef Tom Douglas's Serious Pie is terrific.
Pizza didn't originate in Italy, as we've all been led to believe. It actually was first created in Egypt and ancient Greece by seasoning the local flatbread with herbs and baking it on hot stones. Italian pizza was first made when tomatoes were brought back form the new world in the 16th century. The tomatoes were crushed onto foccacia bread and sprinkled with herbs.
Not long after that, water buffalo were brought back from India and the Italians began making mozzarella cheese with their milk. When cheese was added to the tomato bread, Italian pizza as we know it was born.
In those days -- not unlike today -- Naples was a rough-and-tumble city with a lot of poverty. Because it was hearty, filling, and cheap, pizza was quickly adopted by the Neapolitans. Today, Naples is the city most associated with pizza and it's where you'll find Italian pizza in its purest form.
Like Parma ham or Chianti wine, Neapolian pizza is a Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) product. The Italian government established regulations for how it's made, what ingredients can be used, and what temperature it's cooked at. And true Neapolitan pizza is produced according to these standards. Even the composition of the flour is defined.
There are only three kinds of pizza recognized in the DOC guidelines, and they have very few pizza toppings. They are Pizza Marinara (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and olive oil), Pizza Margherita (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, mozzarella, and basil), and Pizza Magherita Extra (San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, olive oil, Mozzarella bi Buffala, and basil). The pizza dough should be tossed and pulled into a round that's less than 14 inches in diameter.
A wood-fired oven is heated to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pizza is cooked for no more than 90 seconds. The crust should be less than 1/8" thick and should be capable of being folded without breaking.
The DOC guidelines mean that you don't have to travel to Naples to get real Neapolitan pizza. In fact, many American pizzerias have been trained to make authentic pizza by the Verace Pizza Napoletana Americas (VPN). VPN-certified pizza restaurants have gone so far as importing volcanic stones from Campania to line their pizza ovens.
The best authentic Italian pizzas in Naples are available at Antica Pizzeria di Matteo -- which also serves little fried balls of rice or potatoes -- l'Antica Pizzeria de Michele (featured in the book Eat, Pray, Love), Pizzeria La Sorrentino, Pizzeria Caffaso, and Trianon.
The best place in America to try authentic Italian place is Seattle, which has several pizzerias certified by the VPN, including Picolino's Ristorante, Tutta Bella Neapolitan, Via Tribunale, and Pulcinella. Although it's not certified, with pizza toppings like roasted chanterelle mushrooms and Pen Cove clams, super-chef Tom Douglas's Serious Pie is terrific.
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