So when you buy a pizza from a chain restaurant, do you ever wonder if it is really what the Italians dine on or how has it changed since it arrived in the United States?
Italians love a fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and various toppings, but there are differences.
Authentic Italian pizza is more light and fresh compared to the Americanized version. The crust is generally thinner and crispier. The pizza is topped with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, vegetables and meat. However, the favorite is the Pizza Margherita - no additional toppings, just a sprinkle of fresh basil. The red, white, and green colors pay homage to the Italian flag. Finally, a true Italian pizza is only baked in a brick over.
Legend of the Pizza Margherita
A popular contemporary legend holds that the archetypal pizza, Pizza Margherita, was invented in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo (pizza maker) Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pie swathed in the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen as "Pizza Margherita", although recent research casts doubt on this legend.
