The History of Pizza

By Luke Stanton, Zack Gower
February 5, 2014

Pizza is a meal.

It is enjoyed by millions of people around the world.

In fact, pizza establishments make up approximately 17 percent of all. As one of the top consumer countries in the world, the United States of America eats an average of 100 acres of pizza every day. But why do Americans love pizza so much, and how did it make its way across the world to become an international sensation?

Pizza-like meals were recorded appearing in places like ancient Egypt and ancient Greece, but the first pizzas we know today were sold in the 16th century in Naples, Italy.

Long considered a food for poor workers, the pizza was sold cheap in the streets.

Pizza spread quickly across Italy and became a staple food for many poor families.

World War II brought many allied soldiers to Italy in the 1940s. Allied soldiers who were stationed in Italy began to buy pizza from the poor street vendors and the soldiers fell in love with it.

During the war, many Italians began to flee from Italy’s police state, immigrating to the United States for a better life. Some brought their pizza recipes along with them. The Italian immigrants went through Ellis Island, many settled in New York.

Soon after arriving to the U.S., immigrants began looking for work.

These new Italian immigrants started to open small pizza stalls to feed the lower working class population of New York City.

As immigrants flooded the nation, more and more pizza stalls began to pop up around the city and pizza soon became a popular dish.

After the war ended soldiers began returning home, bringing with them their new found love for the Italian treat.

Due to the rising demand, pizza began to move out of street stalls and into restaurant establishments.

As the demand for pizza increased, so did the price and pizza soon became a higher-class meal.

Soon pizza spread to other major cities across the United States taking on their own unique creations, such as the Chicago deep-dish pizza.

Pizza restaurants began to pop up across America due to a high demand for the pies.

Soon, nearly every town in America had at least one pizza restaurant. Pizza chains became popular due to their ease of accessibility and quick service, while local pizza restaurants were limited in their reach, but well regarded in the community.

Small local businesses like Jimmy and Joe’s pizzeria and Oreganos use an old family recipe. Both restaurants are looking to expand the number of their restaurants.

Pizza has changed from a poor, peasant food to an expensive menu item.

Pizza continues to spread across the globe due to its high demand. There are now hundreds of local pizza establishments and restaurant chains in every state in America and the demand for more pizza continues to spread across the world.

Some restaurants offer large pizzas for as low as $5 while other higher class establishments can charge as much as $30 a pie.

Photo copyright British Mum is unaltered. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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