In Italy, pizza served in a restaurant is presented unsliced, and is eaten with the pizza lemberg of a knife and fork. In casual settings, however, it is cut into wedges to be eaten while held in the hand. The term pizza was first recorded in the 10th century in a Latin manuscript from the Southern Italian town of Gaeta in Lazio, on the border with Campania.

44 billion spread over 76,000 pizzerias. 2 years and over consumed pizza on any given day. 1984 with headquarters in Naples that aims to promote traditional Neapolitan pizza. Raffaele Esposito is often considered to be the father of modern pizza. The Etymological Dictionary of the Italian Language explains it as coming from dialectal pinza “clamp”, as in modern Italian pinze “pliers, pincers, tongs, forceps”. Their origin is from Latin pinsere “to pound, stamp”.

Italy in the middle of the 6th century AD by the invading Lombards. Foods similar to pizza have been made since the Neolithic Age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century. Before that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese.

It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims. Pizza was taken to the United States by Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century and first appeared in areas where they concentrated. The country’s first pizzeria, Lombardi’s, opened in New York City in 1905. Pizza is sold fresh or frozen, and whole or in portion-size slices. Methods have been developed to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough, and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self-rising crusts. Another form of pizza is available from take and bake pizzerias.

This pizza is assembled in the store, then sold unbaked to customers to bake in their own ovens. Some grocery stores sell fresh dough along with sauce and basic ingredients, to assemble at home before baking in an oven. In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with fire bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven, or, in traditional style in a wood or coal-fired brick oven. Most restaurants use standard and purpose-built pizza preparation tables to assemble their pizzas. Mass production of pizza by chains can be completely automated. Neapolitan pizza or thick as in a deep-dish Chicago-style.

It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese. The outer edge of the pizza is sometimes referred to as the cornicione. Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by American pizza chain Papa John’s Pizza in 1984 and has since been adopted by some when eating pizza, especially the crust. Mozzarella cheese is commonly used on pizza, with the buffalo mozzarella produced in the surroundings of Naples. A great number of pizza varieties exist, defined by the choice of toppings and sometimes also crust.

There are also several styles of pizza, defined by their preparation method. The following lists feature only the notable ones. Similar to Pizza quattro stagioni, but with toppings mixed rather than separated. Pizza version of the covered pie served in New England since colonial times. Tomato sauce, olive oil, oregano, garlic.