inside a neapolitan pizza
What started as a baker's tool, to verify the temperature of the oven, pizza has become one of the most popular foods in the United States with approximately 3,000,000,000 pizzas sold in the United States every year, which equates to 100 acres of pizza each day or 350 slices per second! But the question is what happened in between? How did this baker's tool become one of the most popular foods in the country?
In June 1889, an important step in the rise in popularity of pizza was the neapolitan pizza, which has become the staple foundation for almost all pizzas that are being made today. An important factor in the process was finding the Americas where an essential fruit was discovered and returned to Europe. Though once thought to be poisonous, the tomato gained popularity among the poor and quickly found its way on top of flatbread, thus creating the world's first pizza as we know it today with a delicious tomato topping. One of the first pizzeria's was Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba. Pizza purists in Naples believe that their are only two real pizzas, the Marinara and the Margherita.
The Marinara pizza was created first, featuring a topping of tomato, oregano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil and with no seafood as the name implies (it was named after the seaman's wife, "la marinara." The more popular of the two, and the more foundational for modern pizza, was the Margherita. The Margherita is largely credited for being created by Raffaele Esposito, who worked at the pizzeria "Pietro... e basta cosi." Esposito was asked to bake three different pizzas for a visit from King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. Out of the three that were baked, the Queen's favorite of the pizzas was a pizza featuring basil leaves, which are green, mozzarella, which is white, and tomatoes, which are red, which make up the colors of the Italian flag. The pizza was named Pizza Margherita in honor of the Queen.
The Associazione Verace PIzza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association), only recognizes Margherita pizza and the Marinara pizza varieties as authentic Neapolitan PIzza, but only when prepared to strict guidelines. The pizza must be baked in a wood-fired, domed oven (just like the Cirigliano Forni wood-fired pizza oven) at 485°C for over 60 to 90 seconds. Also, the dough must be hand kneaded and cannot utilize a pin or any other mechanical means to roll the pizza, just their fingers. These pizzas must not exceed 35 centimetres in diameter or be more than one-third of a centimetre thick in the center of the pizza.
As well as Neapolitan pizzas, the Cirigliano Forni Wood-Fired Pizza Oven can be utilized to bake authentic Sicilian Pizzas, Roman Style Pizzas, breads, meats, even fish! Though meeting very strict guidelines for proper Neapolitan pizza-baking, the oven is very versatile incorporating temperatures in excess of 800°F with the delicious smoky taste of wood-fired pizza.