One of the most popular food choices in the United States is pizza. It is actually popular all over the world in one form or another. While the true origins of pizza are lost in the far off past, some handy references throughout the ages have helped shed a little light on the subject.

Ancient History

When Darius the Great of Persia began conquering neighboring lands in the 6th century BC, his army cooked their meals of flat bread on their shields. This bread was then covered with cheese and dates. Could this be the first pizza? In the 3rd century BC, Cato the Elder, Roman historian, wrote of “flat rounds of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs and honey, baked on stones.” Again, sounds like pizza, does not it?

When the first century AD came around, Roman Marcus Gavius Apicius wrote a cook book that has given us a great look at what foods were eaten in ancient Rome. One of his recipes is for a bread base topped with chicken, mint, garlic, pepper, cheese, pine nuts, and oil. These toppings are still used on pizzas to this day!

Excavations in ancient Pompeii make it look like pizzas were enjoyed in the ancient world. When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, this world was entombed for posterity, preserving a day in the life of ancient Italy. Excavations have shown shops that look much like today’s pizzerias, with marble slabs and other tools. A Pompeiian statue in the Museo Nazionale in Naples is called the “I Pizzaiolo,” which means “one who makes pizza.”

Pizza as We Know It

It was not until 1522 that tomatoes were introduced to Europe from the New World. At first, they were thought to be poisonous. It was not until the poor people of Naples began sampling the tomatoes and adding it to their dough that the modern pizza was created. The dough was topped with olive oil, lard, cheese, and herbs, along with the tomatoes. Neapolitan pies got the reputation of being the best in all of Italy. By the 17th century, visitors to Naples would be sure to make a trip to the poorer sections of the city to taste the “pizzaioli” that the peasants ate.

In the 18th century, Queen Maria Carolina d’Asburgo Lorena had a special oven put into the summer palace so she and her husband, Ferdinando IV of Naples, could serve pizza to their guests. By the 19th century, pizza was sold from stalls in the streets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was a popular treat to have pizza dough that had simple toppings like anchovies or mushrooms.

Pizza made its first recorded appearance in the New World in the late 19th century. New York City had its first pizzeria in 1905, but the traditional Italian fare did not make much of an impression. In 1943, Ike Sewell developed deep dish pizza in Chicago and served it in his Pizzeria Uno.

American soldiers in Italy during World War II really developed a taste for pizza. When they came home after the war, they wanted pizza. By the 1950s, pizza began its swift rise in popularity in the United States, becoming one of the top foods in the nation.

If you love to express your creative side by making delicious recipes, you will find pizza cooking to be a lot of fun. The sky is the limit with pizza recipes, there are endless pizza crust variations, pizza sauce recipes, and topping combinations, many of which can be found at our site.