OK, so I admit...I was curious to know...so, here it is:
What is the origin of Pizza?
Pizza originated three thousand years ago from the ancient flat buns or pies cooked on scorching stones. It was the kind of ‘pizza' consumed in the form of tin flat bun or pie, which was the first type of non-leavened bread eaten by humans. It was only after the discovery of yeast by the Egyptians that leavened flat buns were consumed. The term ‘ pizza ' comes from the Latin word ‘ pinsa ', which is the past participle of the Latin verb ‘ pinsere ', which means ‘to crush'. Many civilizations living in the Mediterranean areas, such as the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans were used to eating flat buns or pies made from barley beans, water and different seasonings. Certainly these flat buns or pies can be considered as the ‘ancestors' of pizza.
There were many origins recorded for the use of ‘pizza' in ancient history. In ancient Egypt, flat buns seasoned with herbs were eaten to celebrate the birthdays of Pharaohs. In VII B.C., the famous poet-soldier Archilocus considered kneaded buns as the typical food for soldiers. The Greek historian Herodotus handed down several Babylonian recipes that were similar to ‘pizza'. The ancient Greeks demonstrated knowledge of a wide range of foods, very popular and quite widespread, that can be considered as the archetypal versions of pizza. From the numerous historical testimonies given by Greek writers, it was understood that these kinds of pizzas were called ‘ maza '. In ancient Rome, ‘ placenta ' and ‘ offa ', the terms used to describe pizza prepared with water and barley, were used as the main cereal. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the term ‘pizza' was already widespread; however, several local words were used to indicate the kinds of ‘pizza' that differ in taste or in the ways they were prepared. These 'pizzas' were well appreciated by aristocratic and popular people during the Middle Ages as well as the Renaissance.
Throughout the centuries, flat buns grew very similar to the kind of pizza that we have nowadays, the most well-known being mozzarella and tomato, which are the most typical and important pizza ingredients. Two historical events accounted for the introduction of mozzarella and tomato to Italy. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the invasion of Southern Italy by the Longobards ( Germanic tribe ) led to the introduction of the heads of buffalo in Italy. Thereafter, buffalo's milk was used by local people to produce ‘mozzarella'. The import of tomato from South America (Peru) and Europe was due to the discovery of the New World (America). Tomato was used in Italian cuisine, in particular the Neapolitan cuisine, where the traditional and famous pizza was born. It was not until much later that pizza found its fatherland and the starting point of its worldwide diffusion, Naples.
