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Pizza has become the major delivery fast food in America. Originally from Italy, Americans have put their own zest on it in the forms of favored toppings. The most common are pepperoni and sausage. Pizza has taken its place as the easy party food.
The earliest mention of pizza came not from Italy, but from ancient Greece, where they put oil and spices on top of pita bread. The pizza we know today, however, wasn't invented until 1871 by Raffaelle Esposito for Princess Margherita of Savoia. It was a patriotic Italian food because the tomato sauce, parsley, and mozarella cheese were the colors of the new Italian flag.
Pizza came to America in two stages. The first was in 1905, when Italian immigrants opened the first pizzeria in New York City. The second stage was in the 1940s when American soldiers returned from Italy. They liked the food over there so much, they brought it back with them. The various toppings came as the pizza grew in popularity.
Basic pizza has flour, water, and salt for the crust, tomato sauce, basil, and oregano for the sauce, and mozarella cheese for the topping. Anything other than that is a variation.
Depending on how it is made, pizza can fit into just about any food group. It is usually put in the dairy (for the cheese) or the fats and sweets (for its high fat content). Especially when there are no vegetables as toppings, it is not considered very nutritional.
Pizza has an infinite variety of toppings, sauce recipies, and crusts. Some of the most popular toppings include pepperoni, sausage, olives, onion, mushrooms, canadian bacon, and pineapple. The styles of pizza commonly found in America are the thin crust, thick crust, stuffed crust, and Chicago deep dish.
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