A slice of pizza is all it takes to get a smile from your loved one ! Pizzas are the most popular food items that are available today. Often labeled under the category of 'fast food', there is absolutely no denying the craze it has, in a following of dedicated pizza lovers. Straight from the oven, golden brown pizzas, topped with the most luscious of toppings, is pure ambrosia and a treat for all foodies !



The history of pizza goes far and back, with lot of countries staking claim to be it's originator. The pizza could have been invented by anyone who had learnt the art of baking flour mixed with water on hot ovens. Pizza has been a part of the staple diet of the Italians since the Stone Age maybe. Since then it has followed it's tradition of ensnaring people in it's taste till date. The first pizza was found in Italy in the fourteenth century and now is a symbol of cultural globalization. The Italian word for a person who makes pizza is Pizzaiolo, a restaurant that serves pizza is called a Pizzeria, with the word Pizza Parlor being used in America.

Pizzas can be described as a oven baked flat, usually round bread covered with tomato sauce and cheese and other optional toppings. The word 'pizza' is said to have come from a old Italian word meaning 'a point' which in turn became the Italian 'Pizzicare', which means to pinch or pluck. The cheese covering it is usually mozzarella or sometimes a mixture of several cheeses are also used. The crust is traditionally plain, but maybe seasoned with butter, garlic, herbs or may be stuffed with cheese.

Pizza can be baked with a thin bread bottom as in the Italian or 'hand tossed' styles or may be with thicker breads such as the pan pizzas or the American pizza. The crust can be very thick as in Chicago style ones or almost nonexistent such as the ones found in Naples. Pizzas are generally baked in a gas canister oven, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or in some cases, in wood or charcoal fired brick ovens to retain the authentic flavors. But for home made pizzas, there are many variations to the bread, used for the crust..

Pizza is often broadly divided into 'red' and 'white' pizzas, depending upon the usage or non-usage of tomatoes and other spices. As the name suggests, the tomato sauce that is slathered so lovingly on top of a pizza gives it the name of red pizza, with the tomato topping being smooth and containing less water as not to render the crust soggy. The most common form of white pizza contains a garlic and butter sauce, with alternative sauces also falling in this category. In New York, white pizza does not have any kind of sauce on it. It is simply topped with mozzarella and ricotta cheeses and sometimes, fresh vegetables. For pizzas, it is not uncommon to use a raw tomato sauce or tomato puree and fresh herbs such as basil. Pure Neapolitan pizzas contain only raw, sliced tomatoes.

Due to the wide influence of Italian and Greek immigrates in America, the pizza has altogether changed it's identity into large varieties, belonging to different regions and thus bear little resemblance to the Italian original one. With such variations, it was of little wonder that the pizza came to be classified under different types and having different toppings. Now you have thin crust pizzas, stuffed crust pizzas, pan fried pizzas and a lot more apart from the original ones. And as far as the toppings are concerned... tomato sauce remains the standard favorite, but for others, the sky is the limit and creativity is the key word. You can make a pizza topping with anything you feel like and enjoy them to your heart's content. With every family, having at least one pizza fan within itself, it forms a staple part of the diet of teenagers as well as adults. It is filling, fun, easy and it is never the same taste due to it's adaptability to change it's shape, color, taste and topping !