A Little Slice of Heaven

Pizza has become America's favorite food over the past 50 years with million of pizza pies eaten daily, but just where did this little slice of heaven come from?

The common belief is that Italians invented the pizza; however the origins go back farther to the ancient times of the Babylonians, Israelites, Egyptians and other ancient Middle Eastern folks that were eating flat, unleavened bread cooked in mud ovens. The bread was much like a pita, which is still common in Greece and the Middle East today. Further it is known that ancient Mediterranean peoples such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians were eating baked bread topped and seasoned with olive oil and native spices.

Pizza as we know it is believed to have been born in Naples, Italy. In the late 1800s and Italian baker named Raffaele Esposito, was believed to have created a dish for visiting royalty. According to the story, the Italian monarch King Umberto I and his wife, Queen Margherita, were touring the city. To show off his patriotic fervor, Raffaele chose to top his flat bread with foods that would best represent the colors of Italy: red tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese and green basil. The king and queen were duly impressed and word quickly reached the masses. The end results were that the dish was well received to the extent that others began to copy and enjoy it.

By the beginning of the 20th century pizza made its way to the metropolitan centers of the United States, thanks to Italian immigrants, most notably in New York and Chicago. Cafes and restaurants began offering the Italian favorite and the public was hooked. Towards the end of World War II, American soldiers popularized pizza, having been exposed to it while serving in Italy.

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