Pizza's gastronic journey through the ages

Pizza's gastronic journey through the ages

By Maria Endah Hulupi

JAKARTA (JP): It's classic shape is round, its golden brown
skin is filled with tasty and colorful pieces. Gastronomic
history records its patriotic appearance in the medieval century
and in modern era.

It has style, very personal ones or highly commercialized
ones.

During its century-long experience, Pizza managed to stretch
out its melted-cheese arms from just a modest food of humble
citizens in its home country, Italy, to becoming a popular food
even among higher societies in various countries around the
world.

However, this dish still embodies a long culinary tradition as
Italians still maintain its classic or their own generations-old
family recipes.

According to Antonia Soriente a linguist and cultural
collaborator at the Italian Cultural Center said that the history
of pizza can be traced back to 500 B.C following the findings of
archaeological evidence that ovens in which pizza might have been
baked, were burning in Greek colony Neapolis, now Naples, Italy.

In the middle-age, its ancestor, flat pie, was often topped
with cheese. "But the tomato pulp became a standard condiment
only after the plump fruit reached Naples from Peru by way of
Mexico in the late 16th century," Antonia added.

Its name, derived from Latin word picea means "pinching", was
mentioned in Italian literature, wrote by Giambattista Basile in
17th century.

In the early 19th century, there were reports that the king of
the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II ordered the humble meals at the
first commercial pizzeria to be sent to his palace. During this
era the Bourbon kings even granted the cook Antonio Testa's son
with "Monsu" title, and by doing so he was raised to knighthood.

While in 1889, Raffaele Esposito, a renowned Neapolitan pizza
cook, expressed his devotion to the visiting Queen Margherita of
the Savoys dynasty by preparing a patriotic version of pizza
bearing the colors of the unified Italy -- green from basil
leaves, white from mozzarella cheese and red from the tomato
pulp. From then on, crust with that particular topping is
baptized pizza Margherita.

Antonia explained that in traditional pizzerias, pizza crust
is made by mixing flour, leavening, water and salt with hands,
leave it to rest over night. Then the cook rolls the dough into
thin layer and put it on the floor of a brick oven, heated with
burning poplar wood. After three minutes, the crust would turn
into golden brown and the tomato pulp is spread on top of it and
the pizza is served hot.

"For this (traditional) version, it is best to use fresh
mozzarella cheese derived from buffalo milk, for it has a unique
flavor; fresh basil is added after the hot pizza is removed from
the oven, canned whole tomatoes to maintain its flavor and extra
virgin olive oil to add the mild olive scent," said Antonia.

She further added that the crust is basically similar to
staple food in Mediterranean countries or other regions, only
with different shapes and names, like Nan and pita breads.

Pizza made its way to other countries with the massive
emigration of southern Italians to the United States, Canada,
Argentina, Brazil and other countries in the western hemisphere.

From then on, local ingredients in respective countries are
added to enrich the classic version and to provide more varieties
for the toppings. "And the list of additional ingredients to
please local tastebuds is practically endless," Antonia
explained.

She said that various kinds of wursts are used in Germany, in
Japan the crust is made with rice flour and is spread with
catsup, while in Indonesia tofu, tempeh and chili are commonly
found in the toppings.

"However, the best is not to add too many ingredients for the
toppings because such combination would overpower the unique
flavor of each ingredients and there will be no distinctive
flavor in it," she advised.

Antonia added that pizza is traditionally a "light" meal
served for dinner but its commercial versions, which can be
greasy or fatty depending on the additional ingredients, are
popularly eaten at practically any hours of the day.