Post by cannyfradock on May 20, 2012 14:30:35 GMT
In our continuing bid to get as much yummy goodness out of our self introduced 'Food Month' we've collated a veritable raft of facts about one of our favourites here at Prezzybox.com... PIZZA!
History
There is no doubting that as a nation we love pizza with it ranking 5th as our favourite food and round the world it’s estimated that 5 billion pizzas are consumed every year, that’s enough pizzas to reach to the sun and back 4 times! In fact pizzas popularity around the world is now such that it even has its own National Day, so if ever you needed an excuse to enjoy a slice then National Pizza Day on the 18th May is it!
But, where did it all begin? Italy? No, while what we now consider to be the traditional pizza did originate in Italy, the first incarnation of a pizza; bread covered with oil, herbs and cheese, was the brainchild of the Ancient Greeks. This initial idea was then developed by the Romans, who came up with a sheet of dough covered with cheese, honey and bay leaves. The Italians then adapted their Neapolitan pie, dough topped with tomatoes, to include cheese in 1889, and the modern day pizza was born. Then in the same year, on a visit to Naples, the Queen of Italy, Margherita was served this “New” Neapolitan pie with the addition of basil leaves to represent the red, white and green of the Italian flag and the pie was named the Margherita. Splendid!
Pizza Types
Italian immigration in the 20th century meant the global spread of this now classic Italian dish, Pizza, with different countries adding their own twists. The most famous adaptation being the Chicago-style pizza, which with its deep-pan base and heavy toppings is pretty far from the original crispy thin based Italian pizza. In Australia along with the traditional tomato and mozzarella they like to add bacon and egg to their pizzas, while the Brazilians like to sweeten their pizzas by adding banana, chocolate and pineapple and in Sweden their favourite pizza topping is doner kebab!
In the UK the favourite pizza topping is Pepperoni, followed by farmhouse (ham and mushroom) and then Hawaiian. It’s not only the UK that favours Pepperoni, with it also being the favourite pizza in the states, in fact it’s estimated that 114 million Kg of pepperoni is consumed on pizzas annually, that’s the same weight as 600 Blue Whales!
Recent years have seen the emergence of a totally different type of pizza, the Chocolate Pizza, as its name suggests it’s a pizza made out of chocolate. With a solid milk chocolate base and an assortment of toppings from fudge, to honeycomb to popping candy it’s the perfect marriage between two of our most popular foods, pizza and chocolate!
Record Breaking Pizzas
The largest ever pizza recorded was 37.4 meters in diameter and covered in 800kg of cheese, that’s the same width as 4 tennis courts and the equivalent to the average cows weight in cheese!
The most expensive pizza ever sold in a restaurant was £2,150 and was topped with smoked salmon, venison, cognac marinated lobster, champagne-soaked caviar and edible gold, for the same money you could buy 4 x iPads (32GB) and have enough left over for a Pizza Hut meal for about 20 people!
So there you have it folks... If that hasn't got you salivating we don't know what will
Posted on the web by...... Zak Edwards
History
There is no doubting that as a nation we love pizza with it ranking 5th as our favourite food and round the world it’s estimated that 5 billion pizzas are consumed every year, that’s enough pizzas to reach to the sun and back 4 times! In fact pizzas popularity around the world is now such that it even has its own National Day, so if ever you needed an excuse to enjoy a slice then National Pizza Day on the 18th May is it!
But, where did it all begin? Italy? No, while what we now consider to be the traditional pizza did originate in Italy, the first incarnation of a pizza; bread covered with oil, herbs and cheese, was the brainchild of the Ancient Greeks. This initial idea was then developed by the Romans, who came up with a sheet of dough covered with cheese, honey and bay leaves. The Italians then adapted their Neapolitan pie, dough topped with tomatoes, to include cheese in 1889, and the modern day pizza was born. Then in the same year, on a visit to Naples, the Queen of Italy, Margherita was served this “New” Neapolitan pie with the addition of basil leaves to represent the red, white and green of the Italian flag and the pie was named the Margherita. Splendid!
Pizza Types
Italian immigration in the 20th century meant the global spread of this now classic Italian dish, Pizza, with different countries adding their own twists. The most famous adaptation being the Chicago-style pizza, which with its deep-pan base and heavy toppings is pretty far from the original crispy thin based Italian pizza. In Australia along with the traditional tomato and mozzarella they like to add bacon and egg to their pizzas, while the Brazilians like to sweeten their pizzas by adding banana, chocolate and pineapple and in Sweden their favourite pizza topping is doner kebab!
In the UK the favourite pizza topping is Pepperoni, followed by farmhouse (ham and mushroom) and then Hawaiian. It’s not only the UK that favours Pepperoni, with it also being the favourite pizza in the states, in fact it’s estimated that 114 million Kg of pepperoni is consumed on pizzas annually, that’s the same weight as 600 Blue Whales!
Recent years have seen the emergence of a totally different type of pizza, the Chocolate Pizza, as its name suggests it’s a pizza made out of chocolate. With a solid milk chocolate base and an assortment of toppings from fudge, to honeycomb to popping candy it’s the perfect marriage between two of our most popular foods, pizza and chocolate!
Record Breaking Pizzas
The largest ever pizza recorded was 37.4 meters in diameter and covered in 800kg of cheese, that’s the same width as 4 tennis courts and the equivalent to the average cows weight in cheese!
The most expensive pizza ever sold in a restaurant was £2,150 and was topped with smoked salmon, venison, cognac marinated lobster, champagne-soaked caviar and edible gold, for the same money you could buy 4 x iPads (32GB) and have enough left over for a Pizza Hut meal for about 20 people!
So there you have it folks... If that hasn't got you salivating we don't know what will
Posted on the web by...... Zak Edwards
