BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza can be considered one of the most popular foods today. Pizza is more than a snack. It is so popular that several restaurant chains dedicated to selling pizza have been started in many countries around the world. There are several such restaurants in Sri Lanka as well. In addition to going to them and buying pizza, the relevant institutions have also provided facilities to bring pizza to your place through various delivery services. Generally, most popular foods today have a fairly short history, but pizza has a very long history. However, although they were not prepared in the past in the same way that pizza is prepared today, it has undergone various changes over a long period of time and has become a very popular food that has won the hearts of everyone, young and old. In this article, we will tell you a few facts about this pizza that you all know that many people do not know.

History of BBQ Chicken Pizza

According to historical sources, pizza-like dishes have been prepared since the Neolithic period, and it is believed that its origin may have been when people began to add various other things to bread to flavor it. In particular, the ancient Greeks used oil, cheese, and different herbs to flavor bread, and later, eating round bread topped with cooked vegetables became popular among the Greeks. The word 'pizza' was first found in a Latin manuscript dating back to the 10th century AD, found in the city of Gaeta in southern Italy, and the modern pizza is believed to have originated in the city of Naples, Italy. The modern art of pizza is believed to have begun in the 18th and 19th centuries in Naples, Italy when people began to spread a mixture on the surface of flatbreads, which were popular in the city. Before that, such breads were often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, and cheese. However, there is no specific reference to the date when tomatoes began to be used in pizza, and in the early days, pizza was sold in small outdoor stalls, not in dedicated places.

Spread to other countries

Pizza was introduced to America by Italian immigrants from Italy in the late 19th century, and in its early days, pizza was popular only in areas where Italian immigrants lived. The first pizza restaurant opened in the United States in 1905. In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi used the baking skills he learned in Naples to make pizza in the United States. Lombardi is credited with creating New York-style pizza and making Lombardi's the first pizzeria in the United States. Pizzas made in the United States often contain ingredients such as beef, chicken, mushrooms, olives, onions, pineapple, sausage, spinach, or tomatoes. In the 20th century, regional pizzas began to be prepared in the United States and many other countries and these pizzas differed from each other due to factors such as the ingredients used and their shape. Currently, surveys have revealed that about thirteen percent of the total population of the United States eats pizza daily. Several stores dedicated to selling pizza can be seen there. After that, pizza became popular not only in Italy and the United States, but also in many other countries, and it is now a staple food in Europe, America, and Australia.

How to make pizza

A pizza is a flat, circular dough-based dish topped with a mixture of tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, meat, or pineapple, and baked in an oven at high temperatures. In the past, the oven used to make pizza was often wood-fired. These wood-fired ovens were shaped like a dome, and Italian pizza makers have used them for centuries. However, nowadays, due to the difficulty of obtaining wood, electric ovens are used in many places to make pizza. In Italian folklore, the person who makes pizza is called a ‘pizzaiolo’.

Current Trends

In Italian restaurants, pizza is often served whole, and people eat it with a knife or fork. Nowadays, in many countries, pizza is served sliced, so it can be eaten without a knife or fork. Places where pizza is prepared and sold are called The term pizzeria is used for this purpose, and in addition, pizza prepared in a regular domestic oven and cooked to be eaten is now sold in refrigerated cases in many countries such as supermarkets.

The art of preparing pizza, a UNESCO cultural heritage

The True Neapolitan Pizza Association, an organization called the “True Neapolitan Pizza Association”, was established in 1984 with the aim of promoting traditional pizza, and in 2009, at the request of Italy, the European Union designated pizza as a traditional specialty. The art of preparing pizza was also included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List in 2017.