Searching to learn about the history and nature of some of the most popular types on Pizza in the world? You’ve reached the right place. As you surely know, Pizza is an Italian dish made of flattened bread dough with different toppings such as olive oil, tomatoes, mozzarella, cheese, oregano, and other ingredients. Pizza is usually baked with a wood-fired oven heated to an extremely high temperature and is often served hot.
The Margherita remains one of the most traditional and the simplest type of pizza. It is often topped with tomato sauce or tomato, basil, and mozzarella. The popular legend around this pizza is that it was first made for Queen Margherita, who liked the mild fresh flavor, coupled with the topping colors – green, white, red – the Italian flag colors.
In the United States, pizza remains one of the most popular and most consumed foods. However, the story of pizza in the US started with a small Italian community in New York. This city had the first pizzeria in the US in the early 1900s and was where the influence of Neapolitan pizza started.
The pizza industry experienced a massive boom after the Second World War. It didn’t take long before a pizzeria became a common feature in every hamlet. The traditional toppings which Americans put on pizza are pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, bacon, peppers, and ground beef.
However, many other ingredients, such as pancetta, truffles, and arugula, are also added to pizzas. There are currently different types of pizzas resident in different parts of the country. The most familiar examples are New York-style pizza, California-style pizza, Chicago deep-dish pizza, etc.
4 Delicious Types of Pizza You Should Try:
There are many different types and variations of pizza. Some of the most common ones are:
1. Neapolitan pizza
This is the original Italian type of pizza. It’s a delicious pie that goes as far back as the 18th century in Naples. At the time, the poor citizens of the city couldn’t afford too much to eat, so they had to purchase cheap food that they could eat quickly. This brought about the Neapolitan pizza, which was readily available and affordable as well.
The traditional toppings are tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, olive oil, and oregano. This pizza type is thin, so it wasn’t created to handle heavy toppings.
2. New York- Style Pizza
As a New Yorker, this is naturally among my favorite types of Pizza. This pizza style is characteristically large, with crispy outer crust and foldable slices. It is currently one of the most famous types of pizza in America and is often regarded as one of the best. Initially, this pizza is a variation of the Neapolitan-style pizza, but it has become famous for its unique taste and flavor. Many people even attribute this flavor to the minerals naturally present in the New York water supply.
This pizza style often features mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. But because it has a larger crust, it can take a broader range of toppings such as sausage, pepperoni, anchovies, and mushroom. In addition, many New York-style pizza lovers add other condiments such as red pepper flakes, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and oregano.
3. Chicago pizza
This pizza style is also called deep-dish pizza, and the name comes from the city where it originated. This pizza was created in the early 1900s by Italian immigrants who needed something close to the Neapolitan pizza they loved and were used to. However, rather than imitate the thin pie of the Neapolitan pizza, Ike Sewell went for something different.
He made an extra pizza with a thick crust and raised edges. The ingredients were also in reverse. The mozzarella slices lined the dough, followed by vegetables, meat, and crushed tomatoes as the topping. This creation by Sewell led to the invention of the Pizzeria Uno, which has become a famous chain restaurant.
The typical toppings for this pizza style are sausage, ground beef, pepperoni, green peppers, mushrooms, onion, and tomato sauce. In some places, this pizza is topped with Parmesan cheese sprinkles put over the tomato sauce.
4. Sicilian pizza
This is a square-cut pizza style that can either be served with cheese or without it. It’s one of the tastiest types of pizza I know. The cheese is often put under the sauce so that the pizza doesn’t become soggy. The Sicilian pizza came into the US through Sicilian immigrants in the 19th century, and the popularity of this pizza has grown since World War 2.
The traditional toppings put on this pizza style are tomatoes, herbs, anchovies, and onions.
There are many other types of pizza, including Greek pizza, California pizza, Detroit pizza, St. Louis pizza, and many others. But the ones described here are the most popular types in the United States.
Anthony is a passionate food enthusiast living in the bustling food scene of New York City. With an insatiable curiosity for culinary exploration, he loves exploring the city’s diverse eateries, seeking out unique flavors and sharing his gastronomic adventures with fellow food lovers.