Origination of Pizza - A Historical Study Perspective

Introduction

The paper attempts to discuss and determine the origination of one of the most famous fastfood, pizza. The history of pizza is covered in the paper along with all the the various beliefs about its origin and as to how it became a worlwide acceptable food. The paper also answers to the two most common questions: When did pizza originate, and where did pizza originate.

Discussion

Pizza originated about three thousand years ago when the different forms of cakes or mashed cooked on hot stones started becoming common. With the discovery of yeast by the Egyptians made possible the making of dough, which can be considered as the very starting of pizza making (Higman, pp 76 - 77). The word pizza comes from "grip", the past participle of the Latin verb "pinsere" which means to pound, crush or grind. Many ancient civilizations that faced the Mediterranean Sea including the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans ate the crushed beans made with crushed barley, water and condiments. There are no doubts that these kinds of crushed cakes can be regarded as the initial phase of pizza making (Liberati, pp 34 - 36).

Basically it is very difficult to determine the history of pizza due to the fact that it might only have originated from a a cake, baked on stone, seasoned with olive oil and filled with vegetables. In addition to the direct purpose it served also dish (Liberati, pp 38). This daily food of peasants and warriors of antiquity considered the oldest universal form of pizza in Italy today. Maybe, the prototype of this pizza was born in ancient Greece or Rome, and perhaps the origin of this gastronomic wonder, goes back to the time of about six thousand years ago in ancient Egypt, there were yeast and sour dough (Higman, pp 99).

Although there are strong beliefs that pizza, one of the most common and popular fastfood, was first baked in Italy, this is not true. In fact, contrary to popular belief, the pizza is not an Italian invention but is a delicacy we owe to the Etruscans and the Greeks (Liberati, pp 39). Originally, pizza was just a flat bread that was baked on a stone near the fire, but it soon became a lot more than just a baked bread. The Etruscans started adding different foods to it making them into edible plates (Higman, pp 101).

The Greeks later innovated the function of edible plate and developed the taste a little further than the Etruscans creating possibly the first pizza. This food supplement started being considered more and more of a main meal course. This “ancient pizza” became common and popular as a tasty food amongst the greeks. Later, after the Greek lands were taken by the Roman Empire, in the next few hundred years, with the colonization of the southern part of Italy, the Romans took the best out of the two variants and the modern shape of pizza was created (Liberati, pp 41 - ...