You know the drill: it’s Friday night and you don’t feel like cooking, you don’t fancy a greasy Chinese or Indian takeaway, yet you don’t want to splash out on dining out either. You need a quick, delicious meal in a pinch – something simple and fuss-free that the whole family will love. There’s only one place to turn: your favourite pizzeria. Whether you’re on the hunt for the best tasting gluten-free pizza or simply want something piled high with pepperoni, pizza has you and your dining room table covered — and it has done for centuries.
The people’s pie
While bread covered in toppings of one sort or another dates back to the Egyptians, pizza as we know and love it was actually born in Naples, Italy. In the late 18th Century, pizza was created by the waterfront city’s working class, who needed inexpensive meals that could be eaten quickly between working and looking after their children. These early pizzas were simple: a slab of flatbread covered with various toppings.
There was no such thing as hunting down the cheapest pizza specials, either. If Neapolitans wanted pizza, they made it themselves with whatever they had available. Many of the toppings on those primitive pizzas are still favourites today like cheese, garlic, tomatoes, and even anchovies. Pies (the literal translation of ‘pizzas’ and the term by which pizza is often referred to in parts of the US) were often cooked outdoors because many of Naples’ working poor lived outdoors. Then, as it often is today, pizza was eaten primarily out of convenience.
A pizza fit for a queen
There’s a popular myth that pizza was invented specifically for Queen Margherita of Italy. Pizza predates the Queen, but there is a slice of truth to this culinary tall tale; the Margherita pizza was invented specifically for Queen Margherita.
The story goes like this: on their 1889 visit to Naples, Queen Margherita and King Umberto I grew tired of the fancy French cuisine they were constantly dining on and requested that a variety of pizzas from Pizzeria Brandi, a popular pizza joint that opened in 1760 and that still exists today.
Pizzeria Brandi obliged. As it turns out, if you want to know how to earn free pizza, the first tip is “Be the King and Queen of Italy.” Queen Margherita was enamored with one of Pizzeria Brandi’s pies in particular, which was topped with mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil. She loved it so much, in fact, that she issued an official proclamation that declaring her love for the pizza.
That’s right. If Pizzeria Brandi had started slapping basil, tomatoes and cheese on flatbreads just a few centuries earlier under the reign of a different queen, modern pizza lovers might be ordering “Eupraxia pizza” or “Beatrice of Swabia pizza.” Those don’t sound nearly as appetising!
Today, pizza still reigns supreme as the queen of convenient comfort foods. Ravenous men and women who are short on time, low on cash, and hungry for something fast, fresh, and covered in cheese have been ordering it for centuries. When you need a night off, let your favourite local pizza joint handle dinner duty.