Pizza: The Soul of Italy

There are not too many nations that can say their national dish has become an international phenomenon. Italy has two such dishes, pasta and of course pizza. In America pizza usually falls into two categories: thick and cheesy Chicago style or thin and more traditional New York pizza. In Italy pizza also falls into two distinct categories: Italian pizza and the rest of the world. It might seem silly considering the basic ingredients, but one taste of a true Italian pizza and that's it. You will never feel the same about this simple and delicious food again.

Pizza in its most basic form as a seasoned flatbread has a long history in the Mediterranean. Several cultures including the Greeks and Phoenicians ate a flatbread made from flour and water. The dough would be cooked by placing on a hot stone and then seasoned with herbs. The Greeks called this early pizza plankuntos and it was basically used as an edible plate when eating stews or thick broth. It was not yet what we would call pizza today but it was very much like modern focaccia. These early pizzas were eaten from Rome to Egypt to Babylon and were praised by the ancient historians Herodotus and Cato the Elder.

Pizza Origins

The word "pizza" is thought to have come from the Latin word pinsa, meaning flatbread (although there is much debate about the origin of the word). A legend suggests that Roman soldiers gained a taste for Jewish Matzoth while stationed in Roman occupied Palestine and developed a similar food after returning home. However a recent archeological discovery has found a preserved Bronze Age pizza in the Veneto region. By the Middle Ages these early pizzas started to take on a more modern look and taste. The peasantry of the time used what few ingredients they could get their hands on to produce the modern pizza dough and topped it with olive oil and herbs. The introduction of the Indian Water Buffalo gave pizza another dimension with the production of mozzarella cheese. Even today, the use of fresh mozzarella di buffalo in Italian pizza cannot be substituted. While other cheeses have made their way onto pizza (usually in conjunction with fresh mozzarella), no Italian Pizzeria would ever use the dried shredded type used on so many American pizzas.

The introduction of tomatoes to Italian cuisine in the 18th and early 19th centuries finally gave us the true modern Italian pizza. Even though tomatoes reached Italy by the 1530's it was widely thought that they were poisonous and were grown only for decoration. However the innovative (and probably starving) peasants of Naples started using the supposedly deadly fruit in many of their foods, including their early pizzas. Since that fateful day the world of Italian cuisine would never be the same, however it took some time for the rest of society to accept this crude peasant food. Once members of the local aristocracy tried pizza they couldn't get enough of it, which by this time was being sold on the streets of Naples for every meal. As pizza popularity increased, street vendors gave way to actual shops where people could order a custom pizza with many different toppings. By 1830 the "Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba" of Naples had become the first true pizzeria and this venerable institution is still producing masterpieces.
The popular pizza Margherita owes its name to Italy's Queen Margherita who in 1889 visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. The Pizzaioli (pizza maker) on duty that day, Rafaele Esposito created a pizza for the Queen that contained the three colors of the new Italian flag. The red of tomato, white of the mozzarella and fresh green basil was a hit with the Queen and the rest of the world. Neapolitan style pizza had now spread throughout Italy and each region started designing their own versions based on the Italian culinary rule of fresh, local ingredients.

Italian Traditional Pizza

The Pizza Margherita may have set the standard, but there are numerous popular varieties of pizza made in Italy today. Pizza from a Pizzeria is the recognized round shape, made to order and always cooked in a wood fired oven. Regional varieties are always worth trying such as Pizza Marinara, a traditional Neapolitan pizza that has oregano, anchovies and lots of garlic. Pizza Napoli Tomato mozzarella and anchovies. Capricciosa: a topping of mushrooms, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, olives and ½ a boiled egg! Pizza Pugliese makes use of the local capers and olives of the area while Pizza Veronese has mushrooms and tender Prosciutto crudo. Pizzas from Sicily can have numerous toppings ranging from green olives, seafood, hard-boiled eggs and peas.

Pizza Capricciosa

Besides regional styles there are several varieties that are popular throughout Italy. Quattro Formagi uses a four cheese combination using fresh mozzarella and three local cheeses such as Gorgonzola, ricotta and parmigiano-reggiano. Italian tuna packed in olive oil is also a popular topping along with other marine products like anchovies, shellfish and shrimp. Quattro Stagioni is a pizza (similar to the Capricciosa) that represents the four seasons and makes a good sampler pizza with sections of artichokes, salami or Prosciutto cotto, mushrooms, and tomatoes. In Liguria you may find pizza topped with basil pesto and no tomato sauce. Of course there are hundreds more to discover and all of them are delicious, not to mention the other members of the pizza family.

New Trends in Pizza

Pizza pomodoro pachino e rughetta

In the past few years a pizza with pomodoro pachino and rughetta ( cherry Tomato and arugola ) became extremely popular. Also mozzarella di bufala is becoming the 'choice' for better pizza.
Other Types of Pizza: Pizza al taglio also known as Pizza rustica is sold everywhere in Italy, usually by weight and often piled with marinated mushrooms, onions or artichokes. This style of pizza is cooked on a sheet pan at street stalls and makes a good quick lunch. Focaccia resembles the earliest pizzas being without tomatoes or cheese but covered in olive oil, caramelized onions and other savory toppings. Sfincione is a thick Sicilian sheet pizza that uses tomato sauce, anchovies (usually anchovy paste) breadcrumbs and caciocavallo (or another local variety) cheese. Italian calzones are ( no surprise here !) smaller than their American cousins and are often filled with either meats or fresh vegetables (a favorite is spinach) and mozzarella. A newer trend that is gaining popularity is the emergence of sweet pizzas and traditional Italian pizzerias are trying to accommodate this trend by using unique ingredients. These dessert pizzas often have flavor combinations such as Nutella, honey, fruit jam, yogurt, even mustard and liquor.
One thing to keep in mind when ordering pizza in an Italian pizzeria is that the product is personal size. Each person at a table should order their own individual pizza - one bite will explain why. In certain areas outside Italy, there are a few piazzioli who keep to their homeland traditions as best they can with the ingredients they have, but it really isn't the same. In the end there is no going back once you try a real Italian pizza, no delivery or frozen product will ever stimulate your taste buds the way a real pizza will.

Buffalo Mozzarella Basics: How Cows Are Involved and Other Surprising Facts

Mmm…mozzarella di bufala!

It’s hard not to fall in love with buffalo mozzarella, that soft, delicate cheese of southern Italy (the best is made in Campania, the region of Naples). But even if you’re a fan, do you know the basics of Italian mozzarella di bufala? Here, six surprising facts.

1. Buffalo mozzarella milk isn’t from cows…

We all know that buffalo wings aren’t really from buffalo. (Right?). Buffalo mozzarella, though, is a little more true to its name. Proper buffalo mozzarella is made from — you’ve got it — the milk of water buffalo.

2. …except for when it is.

Are these Italian cows the source of your "buffalo" mozzarella?

Sometimes, you also hear the term “buffalo mozzarella” being applied to cheese made from cow’s milk. Technically, that’s incorrect. (That kind of cheese would be called fior di latte.) Still, the Italian laws governing what can be called buffalo mozzarella and what can’t are a bit contradictory, so even many cheeses sold as mozzarella di bufala in Italy are made from mostly cow’s milk!

3. Buffalo mozzarella didn’t used to be so expensive—or gourmet

Today, mozzarella di bufala is a bit of a foodies’ delicacy, especially the proper stuff. Like so much other Italian food, though, it started out as a delicacy… of the poor! Semi-wild buffalo used to roam the swamps in central and southern Italy, and it was the far-from-rich Italians living there who would get and treat the milk to make mozzarella.

4. There’s a reason for that water the mozzarella sits in

One way to serve buffalo mozzarella: with just some basil and tomato

If you’ve ever bought mozzarella di bufala before, you know it’s not packaged like other cheeses. Whether in Italy or at home, it comes in a container (either a plastic tub or bag) filled with something watery. That’s the whey. It’s crucial because the mozzarella needs to be kept moist, and no matter what you do, never, ever dump all the liquid out, put the cheese back in, and pop it into the fridge! Every Italian mother we know will come after you with a heavy wooden spoon. And that’s not a good thing.

5. Once you’ve bought your buffalo mozzarella, eat it ASAP

As soon as buffalo mozzarella is exposed to the air (like when you remove it from that bag), the taste immediately starts breaking down. Real connoisseurs can even tell the difference between mozzarella that was made last night versus this morning.

6. You really shouldn’t make a pizza with the best buffalo mozzarella

Top-quality mozzarella di bufala should never be used for cooking: Its delicate flavors and texture will be drowned out, or ruined, by the other ingredients. Instead, use a cheaper kind, or even a soft melting cheese like fontina. Save the mozzarella di bufala to eat on its own. We promise, the taste is worth it.

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