Pizza has thousand-year history, it is still unknown who first invented this dish. Historians are still arguing about who could have become the creator of pizza, however, no one has come to a consensus. Nowadays pizza is considered an Italian dish.
The history of the origin of pizza in other countries
Ancient man learned to bake flatbreads. For this, coals and a stone were used, on which the cake was baked. All Mediterranean peoples used this recipe, and then olive oil began to be used. Then the flatbread was sprinkled with herbs and seasonal vegetables. The same flatbread served as a plate, which allowed it to become a universal dish during hikes and work in the fields.
The official prototype of pizza is considered to be flatbreads that were made in Ancient Egypt. About 6 thousand years ago yeast was invented, and sour dough began to be used in baking these flatbreads. There are mentions by historians that already in the 5th century, warriors prepared flat cakes from dough, dates and cheese on their shields. The legendary Etruscans used the same method. Then, according to some sources, this recipe was borrowed by Ancient Greece, and from there it came to Rome, where the official history of this dish begins.
It was in Ancient Greece that pizza was prepared that most closely resembles its modern appearance. On raw dough the Greeks laid out cheese, herbs, onions and other vegetables, and then watered olive oil and baked in fiery ovens. This dish was called “plakuntos” and was found even in the chronicles of Plato. He mentioned that the cake was present at the lavish feast.
For a time, it was believed that pizza was a food for the plebeians. This was due to the fact that pizza was very convenient to eat before working in the fields, it satisfied hunger, allowed you to gain strength and did not require much time to prepare. This recipe used almost all available products - from vegetables to jerky. But later, from historical sources it became known that the dish was very popular among the nobility. Their pizza had a slightly different recipe, but the essence remained the same - flatbread with cheese, tomatoes, other vegetables and olive oil. Country pizza in Italy was called "focazzia".
The Ancient Romans already had a different name for the dish - “placenta”. They complicated the recipe and started adding it to the dough bay leaves and honey Cato the Elder mentioned a cake with herbs and honey, smeared with honey in his treatise On Agriculture. However, there is another version of the appearance of pizza in Ancient Rome. It is believed that it was brought by Roman legionaries after returning from Palestine and was called "picea".
This theory is supported by the remains of a cookbook called "De Re Coquinaria" that was found in the ruins of Pompeii. The author of the book is Marcus Gavius Apicius, who lived during the times of early Christianity. This book said that you need to put nuts, cheese, pieces on the dough chicken meat, mint, pepper, garlic and olive oil, then bake and serve, cooled in the snow.
There are many rumors about the history of the appearance of pizza, so Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that the prototype of pizza was invented by the Vikings, who prepared flatbreads on ships, using recipes similar to pizza. They had special frying pans that helped prepare this dish using meat, vegetables and fish.
The history of the appearance of pizza in the form that humanity knows now began in 1522. At this point, tomatoes were brought to Europe, which were initially considered poison. Among people, tomatoes were called the “devil’s berry,” and the nobility refused to eat them for a long time. However, the Neapolitan poor soon realized that the product was quite edible and had good properties. taste qualities, and began to use tomatoes as pizza toppings.
Already in the 17th century, pizza was a dough flatbread topped with olive oil, cheese, tomatoes, herbs and bacon. It was prepared by special chefs called “pizzaioli”. By the way, this definition for masters has been preserved to this day. Bakers of that time baked pizza from early morning, which was in great demand among sailors returning late evenings. At the same time, fresh seafood began to be actively used in pizza.
In the 18th century, pizzerias began to appear, in which a special oven and a marble bench were installed for preparing the dish. Tables were installed in the same room, and ready-made food was sold in the windows, which customers could take with them. Around the same period, pizza began to appear on the tables of the nobility. The wife of the King of Naples even ordered that a special oven be built in the summer residence for this dish, which she later treated to royal guests.
The heyday of pizza culture came in the 1870s, when many dwarf states united. A single state of Italy was formed, in which fashion for certain things spread throughout the country. Ultimately, this led to pizza becoming popular not only in Naples, but also in all other territories. By the way, an interesting fact: the pizza recipe in different regions was completely unique. For example, Roman pizza to this day has a thin and crispy dough, while Neapolitan pizza is softer and crumbly. Already at the end of the 19th century, the dish became popular throughout Italy, new recipes and types were invented, and the nobility showed special interest in the dish.
In 1905, the first pizzeria was opened in New York, which featured own recipe, called "American" or "New York pizza". A distinctive feature of this flatbread is its raised edges, which allow you to use even more filling. Now this recipe is no less popular than the original. In Japan, their own version of pizza was invented, which did not have a specific recipe; anyone could add whatever they wanted to it. The only condition was the presence of a topping of dry tuna, which stirred from the steam of the hot pizza.
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Suitable educational specialties: Cook; Baker.Key items: Dough recipe; Pizza topping; Baking technology.
Tuition cost (average in Russia): 20,000 rubles
Job description:
*Tuition fees are per course.
Features of the profession
A pizza preparation specialist can be called differently: either a pizza maker (English version) or a pizzaiolo (Italian version). He is also a pizza chef or pizza maker. All these names have a right to exist, although in fairness it must be said that this profession appeared in Italy, like pizza itself.
Pizza is a dish so popular among Italians that a special holiday is dedicated to it, held in Italy every year.
Dozens of pizzaioli gather in the city square and prepare pizza with the most... with different fillings in conventional wood stoves.
It is believed that the profession appeared in the 17th century. Back then, a pizzaiolo was a name for a person who prepared pizza, attracting the public with masterful tricks with dough - a real attraction around this wonderful and very democratic dish.
Pizza is good not only for its taste, but also because it is very convenient. It cooks quickly, you can have a snack with it somewhere on the go, sitting on a bench. Or you can leisurely enjoy it at home over lunch.
Today, when pizza has conquered the world, people in Russia also love it very much: they cook it themselves, buy it in stores, and are happy to order it from special companies with home delivery.
And in some pizzerias, where pizza is prepared in front of visitors, today, like hundreds of years ago, you can admire the work of a master artistically handling the dough.
However, this is not the main thing in the profession. It is much more important that the pizza turns out tasty and beautiful.
Pizzaioli/pizza makers are in demand in cities where there are pizzerias, restaurants and cafes serving Italian cuisine.
If the master runs the pizzeria himself, i.e. supervises other masters, controls adherence to recipes, purchases of products, etc., then this is already a chef pizzaiolo (chef pizza maker).
Workplace
A pizza maker can work in Italian restaurants. And also in pizzerias and companies selling pizza with home delivery.
Salary range as of November 28, 2017
Moscow 28,000—70,000 rub.
Russia 18,000—30,000 rub.
Important qualities
The profession of a pizzaiolo requires a love of cooking, a developed sense of smell and the ability to well recognize shades of tastes, a good eye, dexterous hands, artistic taste, hard work, and goodwill.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, infectious diseases are considered contraindications, as with any culinary specialty.
Knowledge and skills
The master must know the recipe for dough and various pizza toppings, and master baking technology.
Where do they teach
The profession of pizzaiolo/pizza maker can be obtained through special courses.
Specialists who have completed training or internship in Italy are especially valued.
Have you ever wondered how pizza came to be? Or who invented pizza? So let's look directly at the history of pizza.
Everyone's favorite pizza is not at all a modern dish, as it is commonly considered; it has existed for several thousand years, as is not difficult to believe. Even in Ancient Egypt and Persia, the favorite dish of peasants was a flatbread with vegetables and meat laid out on it. The pizza baked by the ancient Greeks became more similar to the modern one, and the Romans, in turn, borrowed the recipe from them. Since then, it has been generally accepted that the first pizza appeared in Ancient Rome.
For a long time, pizza was considered a poor man's food and was very popular among peasants and sailors. In the 18th century, the first pizzerias began to appear, which were very similar to modern establishments - the same tables for making pizza, different toppings and seasonings, tables for visitors, and you could also order pizza to take away. With the advent of tomatoes, pizza acquired almost the same appearance as it does now.
The exact date is known when pizza ceased to be the food of common people. In 1772, while walking incognito around Naples, the then reigning King Ferdinand I, hungry, walked into Antonio Testa’s then-famous pizzeria. He liked the nourishing food so much, tasty dish With various fillings, that he intended to introduce it into the menu of the royal cuisine. But the queen resolutely opposed eating the food of the poor and the attempt ended in failure.
The next royal couple reacted more favorably to this dish, changing some of the rules for its preparation in order to make it possible to serve it on the royal table. Namely, the process of kneading dough with feet became absolutely unacceptable for crowned heads. The next problem was how noble people could eat pizza without getting grease on their fingers, but this was also successfully solved. To eat pizza, they began to use a four-pronged fork, and from now on the dough was beaten with a special bronze pestle. For the first time after these innovations, a huge pizza was served on the royal table in honor of the Queen’s thirtieth birthday, and was named after her - “Margherita”. The personal pizzaiollo of the royal court, Esposito, specially prepared pizza for this significant day with a filling that repeated the Italian tricolor - red tomatoes, white Mozzarella, green basil.
After this event, new pizzerias began to open in all cities of Italy, offering pizza with various options fillings. Since then, pizza has been deservedly considered the calling card of the country.
Of course, such a dish could not survive within a separate state and with the first emigrants, the recipe Italian pizza sailed to America, where he also received universal love and recognition, and also underwent minor changes. It was in America that pizza had low sides, thanks to which it had more filling.
Nowadays it is difficult to find a city anywhere in the world where there is no pizzeria; this dish is still available to everyone, and the history of pizza will not end until new recipes appear.
Pizza maker or pizzaiolo- this is what they call a pizza master. The profession is suitable for those who are interested in work and farming (see choosing a profession based on interest in school subjects).
Features of the profession
A pizza preparation specialist can be called differently: either a pizza maker (English version) or a pizzaiolo (Italian version). He is also a pizza chef or pizza maker. All these names have a right to exist, although in fairness it must be said that this profession appeared in Italy, like pizza itself. Pizza is a dish so popular among Italians that a special holiday is dedicated to it, held in Italy every year.
Dozens of pizzaioli gather in the city square and cook pizza with a variety of toppings in ordinary wood-burning ovens.
It is believed that the profession appeared in the 17th century. Back then, a pizzaiolo was a name for a person who prepared pizza, attracting the public with masterful tricks with dough - a real attraction around this wonderful and very democratic dish. Pizza is good not only for its taste, but also because it is very convenient. It cooks quickly, you can have a snack with it somewhere on the go, sitting on a bench. Or you can leisurely enjoy it at home over lunch.
Today, when pizza has conquered the world, people in Russia also love it very much: they cook it themselves, buy it in stores, and are happy to order it from special companies with home delivery. And in some pizzerias, where pizza is prepared in front of visitors, today, like hundreds of years ago, you can admire the work of a master artistically handling the dough. However, this is not the main thing in the profession. It is much more important that the pizza turns out tasty and beautiful.
Pizzaioli/pizza makers are in demand in cities where there are pizzerias, restaurants and cafes serving Italian cuisine. If the master runs the pizzeria himself, i.e. supervises other masters, controls adherence to recipes, purchases of products, etc., then this is already a chef pizzaiolo (chef pizza maker).
Workplace
A pizza maker can work in Italian restaurants. And also in pizzerias and companies selling pizza with home delivery.
Salary as of 03/07/2019
Russia 18000—45000 ₽
Moscow 35000—57500 ₽
Important qualities
The profession of a pizzaiolo requires a love of cooking, a developed sense of smell and the ability to well recognize shades of tastes, a good eye, dexterous hands, artistic taste, hard work, and goodwill.
Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, nervous system, and infectious diseases are considered contraindications, as with any culinary specialty.
Knowledge and skills
The master must know the recipe for dough and various pizza toppings, and master baking technology.
Where to study to be a pizza maker
The profession of pizzaiolo/pizza maker can be obtained through special courses. Specialists who have completed training or internship in Italy are especially valued.
The history of pizza goes back thousands of years and is almost as ancient as the entire history of mankind. As soon as ancient man learned to bake flatbreads with filling, this can already be considered the beginning of the history of pizza. Indeed, almost all the peoples inhabiting the Mediterranean region have since ancient times used the method of baking bread cakes on stones over a layer of coal. The flatbread was flavored with olive oil and seasonal vegetables. In addition, in those ancient times, such a flatbread was convenient in that it simultaneously served as a plate.
Historians have still not come to a consensus about which of the ancient peoples can claim to be the inventor of this famous and popular dish all over the world.
The prototype of pizza can be called flatbreads baked in Ancient Egypt about six thousand years ago, when yeast and sour dough appeared there.
There are references to the fact that even in the 5th century BC, Persian warriors, during long military campaigns, prepared a type of flour cake with the addition of cheese and dates on their battle flat shields. The legendary Etruscans, judging by the historical sources that have reached us, also baked a similar dish.
But it was in ancient Greece that the method of preparing flatbread was first used, which was later in demand when preparing pizza, which is already familiar to us. The ancient Greeks placed cheese, onions, various herbs and vegetables on raw dough, poured olive oil on it, and only then baked it. Such flat round bread with all kinds of ingredients was called “plakuntos” in the language of the Greeks. Even in the writings of Plato, a similar flatbread with cheese is mentioned when describing a festive feast.
The Ancient Romans called this dish, which they borrowed from the Greeks, “placenta”. The Romans somewhat complicated and diversified the recipe for “flat bread”. In addition to cheese, olives and onions, any vegetables, bay leaves and even honey were placed on Roman flatbread. The famous Roman writer Cato the Elder, who lived in the 2nd century BC, in his treatise “On Agriculture,” described a flatbread made of dough with herbs and honey, greased with olive oil and baked on stones.
True, there is another interpretation of the appearance of the prototype of pizza on the territory of Ancient Rome. There is a legend that the recipe for unleavened bread with vegetables, called “pisea”, was brought from Palestine by Roman legionnaires.
One of the first collections may also confirm the Mediterranean theory of the origin of pizza. culinary recipes"De Re Coquinaria", which was composed during early Christianity by Marcus Gavius Apicius. One of the translated recipes goes something like this: “place olive oil, pieces of chicken, cheese, nuts, garlic, mint, pepper on the dough and bake. Then cool in the snow and serve.” By the way, the remains of such a culinary masterpiece were discovered in the ash-covered city of Pompeii (near modern Naples).
Scandinavian ethnographers have come out as opponents of the “southern” origin of pizza in our time. Thus, the Norwegian scientist A. Rydbergholtz, who studies the culture of the Vikings, concludes on the basis of archaeological finds that the frying pans of northern sailors were used to prepare flatbreads with vegetables, meat or fish, from which modern pizza originated.
But, regardless of the place of birth of such flatbreads, for a long time this unassuming dish was considered the food of the poor. So, in Italy, rustic pizza is called “focazzia”. The real history of the formation of pizza as a dish for both the nobility and commoners began with the appearance of tomatoes in Europe. Exotic tomatoes were brought to Europe from the New World by the conquistadors in 1522. At first, tomatoes were considered a poisonous “devil’s berry,” however, after some time, the peasants realized that they were not only edible, but also very tasty. The Neapolitan poor began to use tomatoes as a filling for traditional bread cakes.
In the 17th century, round flatbreads made from flour with olive oil, topped with tomatoes, bacon and herbs, became a very popular dish among Neapolitan peasants and sailors. They were prepared by special masters, who were called (and are still called) “pizzaioli”. Typically, bakers would start preparing pizza early in the morning, which would then be snapped up by sailors returning from a night's fishing. Classic pizza was preparing from that time fresh tomatoes, anchovies, olive oil and garlic.
In the 18th century, the first pizzerias appeared, very similar to modern ones - a hearth, a marble bench for preparing pizza, a shelf with seasonings, tables for visitors and a display case with pizza for sale, which you can take with you. By this time, pizza had ceased to be an exclusively “village” food; it even began to be served at the royal table. By order of the wife of the King of Naples, Queen Maria Carolina d'Asburgo Lorena (1752-1814), a special oven was even built in her summer residence for making pizza, which was treated to royal guests.
But this was not yet the final victory of pizza and its conquest of high society. The small Neapolitan kingdom was not a trendsetter in culinary fashion throughout Italy, which was fragmented into many dwarf states. The triumphant march of real pizza began only after the unification of Italy in 1870.
Many sources tell us how the most famous and most popular pizza, Margherita, was born. In 1889, King Umberto I of Italy and his wife Margherita of Savoy, while vacationing in Naples, wanted to try the signature Neapolitan dish - pizza. Raffaelle Esposito, the most famous pizzaioli at that time, was invited to prepare the pizza. Trying his best to please the royals, the baker prepared three different pizzas. One pizza was with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil, the other was with cheese, lard and basil, and for the filling of the third pizza the master chose products of the same colors as the Italian flag - scarlet tomatoes, white cheese mozzarella and green basil. Margherita was so delighted with the “patriotic” pizza that she left the pizzaioli a thank you letter. Flattered, Esposito gave his culinary masterpiece Queen's name. Margherita wished that the dish she liked so much would be prepared exclusively in her palace, after which Margherita pizza earned the reputation of the most exquisite food in Italy. Along with Margherita, the Marinara and Four Seasons pizzas received recognition.
At the end of the 19th century, pizza became the most favorite dish in all of Italy; pizza with anchovies and mushrooms was considered especially tasty. The expansion of pizza around the world began in the United States, where it penetrated along with the wave of Italian emigration at the turn of the century. In the “pizza city” of Chicago, it was sold on the streets for two cents a slice. In New York in 1905, the "patriarch of pizza" Gennaro Lombardia opened America's first pizzeria, which is still in business today. In the forties, the United States had its own “ american pizza", whose high edges allow you to add much more filling.
After World War II, American soldiers returning from the Italian theater of war brought home their love for Italian cuisine. Pizza in the USA went beyond the Italian emigration and became popular among all Americans. This was also facilitated by show business figures with Italian roots, the most famous of whom was Frank Sinatra. And Dean Martin performed his song, which for Americans became an ode to pizza - “When the moon shines right in your eyes, like a big pizza.”
This is how, having gone through a centuries-long journey from a simple flatbread with filling to a star of the first magnitude in the culinary horizon, pizza has conquered the whole world. While paying tribute to the role of the United States in popularizing pizza, it should be admitted that Italy remains its homeland and the place where the most delicious food is prepared. delicious pizza in the world. Moreover, the scale of pizza baking per year in the Apennines is so great that every third person in the world, including babies, could get pizza from Italy. True, of the two and a half billion pizzas, only one and a half billion are exported outside of Italy; a larger amount is consumed within the country. Italians are so sensitive to pizza that there are often lawsuits against unscrupulous or non-compliant manufacturers who are accused of encroaching on the “national treasure.”
In 1957, they began producing pizza in the form of semi-finished products that could be very quickly and easily prepared at home. The popularity of such a tasty and quick-to-prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner has grown to planetary proportions. According to survey results, about 80% of Internet users named pizza as their favorite dish. There are more than two hundred types of pizza, but the imagination of culinary specialists has no limits, and more and more new recipes are being born, sometimes, in the context of national traditions, very exotic. So, in Japan, “okonomiyaki” pizza is popular, the main recipe of which is that the additives are whatever “you like” - any seafood and vegetables, but, most importantly, all this should be sprinkled on top with dry tuna flakes, which move from a couple of hot pizzas.
The variety of pizza recipes forced the Italian government to define the criteria for “real pizza” and introduce the quality mark for pizza - D.O.C. In the list of criteria, the first place is the method of preparing the dough - only with your hands, tossing and rotating, without the help of a rolling pin. Real pizza is baked only on wood at an oven temperature of 200-215 degrees.
Elena Unchikova