Pizza[a] is anItalian dish typically consisting of a flat base ofleavenedwheat-baseddough topped withtomato,cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
Pizza and its variants are among the most popular foods in the world. Pizza is sold at a variety of restaurants, includingpizzerias,Mediterranean restaurants, viadelivery, and asstreet food.[9] In Italy, pizza served in a restaurant is presented unsliced, and is eaten with the use of a knife and fork.[10][11] In casual settings, however, it is typicallycut into slices to be eatenwhile held in the hand. Pizza is also sold ingrocery stores in a variety of forms, includingfrozen or as kits for self-assembly. Store-bought pizzas are then cooked using a home oven.
In 2017, the world pizza market was US$128 billion; in the US, it was $44 billion spread over 76,000 pizzerias.[12] Overall, 13% of the US population aged two years and over consumed pizza on any given day.[13] Furthermore, pizza is the most eaten food in the world after rice, followed by pasta.[14]
Etymology
The oldest recorded usage of the wordpizza is thought to be from May 997CE, appearing in theCodex diplomaticus Caietanus, a notarialLatin document from the town ofGaeta, then still part of theByzantine Empire.[15] The text states that a tenant of certain property is to give the bishop of Gaetaduodecim pizze (lit.'twelve pizzas'),[16] apork shoulder and kidney annually on Christmas Day, and twelve pizzas and a couple of chickens annually onEaster Sunday.[17]
Suggested etymologies include:
Byzantine Greek andLate Latinpitta >pizza,cf. Modern Greekpitta bread and the Apulia and Calabrian (thenByzantine Italy)pitta,[18] a round flat bread baked in the oven at high temperature sometimes with toppings. The wordpitta can in turn be traced to eitherAncient Greek πικτή (pikte), 'fermented pastry', which in Latin becamepicta, or Ancient Greek πίσσα (pissa,Attic: πίττα,pitta), 'pitch',[19][20] or πήτεα (pḗtea), 'bran' (πητίτης,pētítēs, 'bran bread').[21]
TheEtymological Dictionary of the Italian Language explains it as coming from dialectalpinza, 'clamp', as in modern Italianpinze, 'pliers, pincers, tongs, forceps'. Their origin is from Latinpinsere, 'to pound, stamp'.[22]
TheLombardic wordbizzo orpizzo, meaning 'mouthful' (related to the English wordsbit andbite), which was brought to Italy in the middle of the 6th century AD by the invadingLombards.[2][23] The shift b→p could be explained by theHigh German consonant shift, and it has been noted in this connection that in German the wordImbiss means 'snack'.
A small pizza is sometimes calledpizzetta.[24] A person who makes pizza is known as apizzaiolo.[25]
The wordpizza was borrowed from Italian into English in the 1930s; before it became well known, pizza was called "tomato pie" by English speakers. Some regional pizza variations still use the name tomato pie.[26]
Records of pizza-like foods can be found throughout ancient history. In the 6th century BC, thePersian soldiers of theAchaemenid Empire during the rule ofDarius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese anddates on top of their battle shields[27][28] and theancient Greeks supplemented their bread withoils, herbs, and cheese.[29][30] An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in theAeneid, when Celaeno, queen of theHarpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). In Book VII,Aeneas and his men are served a meal that includes round cakes (such as pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the "tables" prophesied by Celaeno.[31] In 2023, archeologists discovered a fresco inPompeii appearing to depict a pizza-like dish among other foodstuffs and staples on a silver platter. Italy's culture minister said it "may be a distant ancestor of the modern dish".[32][33] The first mention of the wordpizza seemingly comes from a notarial document written in Latin and dating to 997AD fromGaeta, demanding a payment of "twelve pizzas, a pork shoulder, and a pork kidney on Christmas Day, and 12 pizzas and a couple of chickens on Easter Day".[17]
Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes inNaples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century.[34] Before that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese. It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims,[34] although it certainly could not have been before the 16th century and theColumbian Exchange. Pizza was sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries until about 1830, when pizzerias in Naples started to havestanze with tables where clients could sit and eat their pizzas on the spot.[35]
A popular legend holds that the archetypal pizza,pizza Margherita,[36] was invented in 1889, when theRoyal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitanpizzaiolo ('pizza maker')Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visitingQueen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the queen strongly preferred a pizza swathed in the colors of theItalian flag—red (tomato), white (mozzarella), and green (basil). Supposedly, this type of pizza was then named after the queen,[37] with an official letter of recognition from the queen's "head of service" remaining to this day on display in Esposito's shop, now called the Pizzeria Brandi.[38] Later research cast doubt on this legend, undermining the authenticity of the letter of recognition, pointing that no media of the period reported about the supposed visit and that both the story and name Margherita were first promoted in the 1930s–1940s.[39][40]
Pizza was taken to the United States byItalian immigrants in the late 19th century[41] and first appeared in areas where they concentrated. The country's first pizzeria,Lombardi's, opened in New York City in 1905.[42] Italian Americans migrating from East to West brought the dish with them, and from there, the American version was exported to the rest of the world.[43]
Pizza is sold fresh orfrozen, whole or inportion-size slices. Methods have been developed to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough, and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self-rising crusts.
In the US, another form of pizza is available fromtake and bake pizzerias. This pizza is assembled in the store, then sold unbaked to customers to bake in their ownovens. Some grocery stores sell fresh dough along with sauce and basic ingredients, to assemble at home before baking in an oven.
Pizza preparation
Pizza dough beingkneaded before being left undisturbed and allowed time toproof
A wrapped,mass-produced frozen pizza to be baked at home
Baking
In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven withfire bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, aconveyor belt oven, or in traditional style in a wood or coal-firedbrick oven. The pizza is slid into the oven on a long paddle, called "peel", and baked directly on hot bricks, a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum), or whatever the oven surface is. Before use, a peel is typically sprinkled with cornmeal to allow the pizza to easily slide on and off it.[47] When made at home, a pizza can be baked on apizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce some of the heating effect of a brick oven. Cooking directly on a metal surface results in too rapid heat transfer to the crust, burning it.[48] Some home chefs use a wood-fired pizza oven, usually installed outdoors. As in restaurants, these are often dome-shaped, as pizza ovens have been for centuries,[49] in order to achieve even heat distribution. Another variation is grilled pizza, in which the pizza is baked directly on a barbecue grill. Some types, such asSicilian pizza, are baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.[50]
Most restaurants use standard and purpose-built pizza preparation tables to assemble their pizzas.Mass production of pizza bychains can be completely automated.
Pizza baking
Pizzas baking in a traditional wood-firedbrick oven
Charred crust on a pizza Margherita, an acceptable trait in artisanal pizza
Pizza grilling on an outdoor gas range
Crust
The bottom of the pizza, called the "crust", may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand-tossedNeapolitan pizza or thick as in a deep-dishChicago-style. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese. The outer edge of the pizza is sometimes referred to as thecornicione.[51] Some pizza dough contains sugar, to help its yeast rise and enhance browning of the crust.[52]
Mozzarella is commonly used on pizza, with thebuffalo mozzarella produced in the surroundings of Naples.[53] Other cheeses are also used, particularlyburrata,Gorgonzola,provolone,pecorino romano,ricotta, andscamorza. Less expensiveprocessed cheeses orcheese analogues have been developed formass-market pizzas to produce desirable qualities such as browning, melting, stretchiness, consistent fat and moisture content, and stableshelf life. This quest to create the ideal and economical pizza cheese has involved many studies and experiments analyzing the impact ofvegetable oil, manufacturing and culture processes,denatured whey proteins, and other changes in manufacture. In 1997, it was estimated that annual production of pizza cheese was 1 million metric tons (1,100,000 short tons) in the US and 100,000 metric tons (110,000 short tons) in Europe.[54]
A great number of pizza varieties exist, defined by the choice of toppings and sometimes also crust. There are also several styles of pizza, defined by their preparation method. The following lists feature only thenotable ones.
Made with a characteristically thick, braided crust topped with heavy amounts of sauce and cheese. It is traditionally served by the pound, with a side of honey as a condiment.
A popular variant of pizza in Italy isSicilian pizza,[61][62] a thick-crust or deep-dish pizza originating during the 17th century inSicily: it is essentially afocaccia that is typically topped with tomato sauce and other ingredients. Until the 1860s, Sicilian pizza was the type of pizza usually consumed in Sicily, especially in the Western portion of the island.[63] Other variations of pizzas are also found in other regions of Italy, for examplepizza al padellino orpizza al tegamino, a small-sized, thick-crust, deep-dish pizza typically served inTurin, Piedmont.[64][65][66]
The first pizzeria in the US was opened in New York City'sLittle Italy in 1905.[67] Common toppings for pizza in the United States includeanchovies, ground beef, chicken, eggplant, ham, mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers,pepperoni, pineapple, salami, sausage, spinach, steak, and tomatoes. A pizza with no toppings is called a "cheese pizza" or a "plain pizza".[68] Distinct regional types developed in the 20th century, includingBuffalo,[69]California,Chicago,Detroit,Greek,New Haven,New York, andSt. Louis styles. These regional variations include deep-dish, stuffed, pockets, turnovers,rolled, and pizza-on-a-stick, each with seemingly limitless combinations of sauce and toppings.
Argentine pizza is a mainstay of thecountry's cuisine,[71] especially of its capitalBuenos Aires, where it is regarded as acultural heritage andicon of the city.[72][73][74] Argentina is the country with the most pizzerias per inhabitant in the world and, although they are consumed throughout the country, the highest concentration of pizzerias and customers is Buenos Aires, the city with the highest consumption of pizzas in the world (estimated in 2015 to be 14 million per year).[75] As such, the city has been considered as one of the world capitals of pizza.[73][75] The dish was introduced to Buenos Aires in the late 19th century with the massiveItalian immigration, as part of a broadergreat European immigration wave to the country.[73] Thus, around the same time that the iconicpizza Margherita[76] was being invented in Italy, pizza were already being cooked in the Argentine capital.[77] The impoverished Italian immigrants that arrived to the city transformed the originally modest dish into a much more hefty meal, motivated by the abundance of food in Argentina.[75][78] In the 1930s, pizza was cemented as a cultural icon in Buenos Aires, with the new pizzerias becoming a central space for sociability for the working class people who flocked to the city.[78][77]
The most characteristic style of Argentine pizza—which almost all the classic pizzerias in Buenos Aires specialize in—is the so-calledpizza de molde (Spanish for 'pizza in the pan'), characterized by having a "thick, spongy base and elevated bready crust".[73] This style, which today[when?] is identified as the typical style of Argentine pizza—characterized by a thick crust and a large amount of cheese—arose when impoverished Italian immigrants found a greater abundance of food in then-prosperous Argentina, which motivated them to transform the originally modest dish into a much more hefty meal suitable for amain course.[75][78] The namepizza de molde emerged because there were no pizza ovens in the city, so bakers resorted to baking them in pans.[79] Since they used bakery plates, Argentine pizzas were initially square or rectangular, a format associated with the 1920s that is still maintained in some classic pizzerias, especially for vegetable pizzas,fugazzetas orfugazzas.[79]
Other styles of Argentine pizza include the iconicfugazza and its derivativefugazzeta orfugazza con queso (a terminology that varies depending on the pizzeria),[73] or thepizza de cancha orcanchera (a cheese-less variant).[80] Most pizza menus include standard flavor combinations, including the traditional plain mozzarella, nicknamed "muza" or "musa"; thenapolitana or "napo", with "cheese, sliced tomatoes, garlic, dried oregano and a few green olives", not to be confused withNeapolitan pizza;[73]calabresa, with slices oflonganiza;[81]jamon y morrones, with slicedham and roastedbell peppers;[73] as well as versions withprovolone, withanchovies,[81] withhearts of palm, or with choppedhard boiled egg.[73] A typical custom that is unique to Buenos Aires is to accompany pizza withfainá, a pancake made fromchickpea flour.[82]
Dessert pizza
The termsdessert pizza andsweet pizza are used for a variety of dishes resembling a pizza, includingchocolate pizza andfruit pizza.[83][84] Some are based on a traditional yeast dough pizza base,[85] while others have acookie-like base[86] and resemble a traditional pizza solely in having a flat round shape with a distinct base and topping. Some pizza restaurants offer dessert pizzas.[87][88]
Nutrition
Manymass-produced pizzas by Americanpizza chains have been criticized as having an unhealthy balance of ingredients. Pizza can be high in salt and fat, and is high incalories. TheUSDA reports an average sodium content of 5,100 mg per 14 in (36 cm) pizza in fast food chains.[89][90][91]
Calzone andstromboli are similar dishes that are often made of pizza dough folded (calzone) or rolled (stromboli) around a filling.
Coca is a similar dish consumed mainly in Catalonia and neighboring regions, but that has extended to other areas in Spain, and to Algeria. There are sweet and savory versions.
Farinata orcecina is a Ligurian (farinata) and Tuscan (cecina) regional dish.[92] It is often baked in a brick oven, and typically weighed and sold by the slice.
Flammekueche is a food speciality of the Alsace region.
Focaccia is a flatleavened oven-baked Italian bread, similar in style and texture to pizza; in some places, it is calledpizza bianca (lit.'white pizza').[93]
Garlic fingers is an Atlantic Canadian dish, similar to a pizza in shape and size, and made with similar dough. It is garnished with melted butter, garlic, cheese, and sometimes bacon.
İçli pide, or simplypide, is a Turkish dish, similar to a pizza in being made of wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, and usually formed in a boat-like shape.
Zanzibar pizza is a street food served inStone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania. It uses a dough much thinner than pizza dough, almost likefilo dough, filled with minced beef, onions, and an egg, similar to Moroccanbasṭīla.[97]
Zwiebelkuchen is a German onion tart, often baked with diced bacon and caraway seeds.
^Rhodes, Donna; et al. (February 2014)."Consumption of Pizza"(PDF).Food Surveys Research Group Dietary Data Brief No. 11. USDA.Archived(PDF) from the original on September 30, 2017. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2017.
^Miller, Keith (February 12, 2015)."Was pizza not invented in Naples after all?".The Daily Telegraph. RetrievedJanuary 11, 2025.Giuseppe Nocca of the Istituto Alberghiero di Formia claims that the "codex diplomaticus cajtanus" of 997 CE contains the first ever written use of the word, in a list of food to be supplied annually as a tithe to the archbishops of Gaeta by the tenants of a mill on the nearby river Garigliano.
^Codex Diplomaticus Cajetanus. Vol. 1. Typis Archicoenobii Montis Casini. 1887.Tantummoduo persolvere debeatis omni anno salutes in dies natali domini sive vos sive vestris heredes in suprascripto episcopio tam nobis quam a nostris posteris successores duodecim pizze et una spatula de porco; et unum lumbulum; simul et in die sanctum pascha resurrectionis domini annualiter duodecim pizze et unum parium de pulli.
^ab"Sorpresa: la parola "pizza" è nata a Gaeta" [Surprise: the word "pizza" was born in Gaeta].La Repubblica (in Italian). February 9, 2015.Archived from the original on November 16, 2021. RetrievedNovember 16, 2021.
^abHelstosky, Carol (2008).Pizza: A Global History. London: Reaktion. pp. 21–22.ISBN978-1-86189-391-8.
^de Sanctis, Francesco.La giovinezza di Francesco de Sanctis: frammento autobiografico. p. 39.In the evening we often used to go eating pizza in some rooms at the Piazza della Carità.
^"Margherita Pizza". La Cucina Italiana. November 9, 2021. RetrievedJune 18, 2024.
^Braimbridge, Sophie; Glynn, Joanne (2005).Food of Italy. Murdoch Books. p. 167.ISBN978-1-74045-464-3.Archived from the original on June 14, 2016. RetrievedDecember 12, 2015.
^DeAngelis, Dominick A. (December 1, 2011).The Art of Pizza Making: Trade Secrets and Recipes. The Creative Pizza Company. pp. 20–28.ISBN978-0-9632034-0-3.
^Anderson, Sam (October 11, 2012)."Go Ahead, Milk My Day".The New York Times.Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. RetrievedNovember 7, 2014.
^Rhodes, Donna G.; Adler, Meghan E.; Clemens, John C.; LaComb, Randy P.; Moshfegh, Alanna J."Consumption of Pizza"(PDF). Food Surveys Research Group.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 5, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 25, 2014.
^Jeanne Jacob; Michael Ashkenazi (2014).The World Cookbook: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe, 2nd Edition [4 Volumes]: The Greatest Recipes from Around the Globe. ABC-CLIO. p. 806.ISBN9781610694698.
^Samuelsson, Marcus (2006).The soul of a new cuisine : a discovery of the foods and flavors of Africa. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.ISBN978-0-7645-6911-1.OCLC61748426.
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