Almost every part of the world has some sort of dough-based crust topped up with meats, vegetables, and other delicacies from the region. Not everyone in every country or community will call them pizza and some will actually vehemently dissociate their meal from pizza but they indeed are different forms of pizza.
The following are 7 of the most common pizzas from different parts of the world.
Margherita
When discussing pizza it is only befitting that we start from Italy, and even more apt that we start with the margherita. This is one of the oldest types of pizza and has a beautiful story behind it. The pizza was named after Her Majesty the First Queen of Italy, Queen Margherita who was the wife of King Lombarto I. It has been widely held that when the First Queen was visiting Capodimonte, the famous pizzaiolo, Raffaele Esposito, was commissioned to honor the queen by creating a pizza.
He created three and she chose the one topped up with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil. These formed the color of the Italian national flag and since then, won favor at many government and royal events.
New York-Style Pizza
When the first pizzeria in the US was opened in Little Italy, New York in 1905, it instantly became a hit. The delicious pizza is characterized by its large shape. It is foldable, crispy, and has a thin crust. The founder of the pizzeria, Gennaro Lombardi, was a hardworking immigrant who first established a grocery store before turning it into the successful pizzeria upon attaining the mercantile license.
Mexican Pizza
Though it originated from Italy, the Mexican pizza is distinct in that it uses ingredients from traditional Mexican cuisine. It is popularly referred to as Mexicana. The type and quality of dough differs and so do the toppings for various Mexicana. Some of the favorite toppings used for Mexican pizzas include fried or grilled onions, jalapenos, hominy, chorizo, avocado, beef, tripas, and tomato. Mozzarella cheese is commonly used with different varieties of marinara sauce and white sauce.
Austrialana
The Italian immigrants brought a taste of home to Australia and New Zealand, and the mixture of cultures made it their own. Even though you will find the usual American and Italian pizza varieties in plenty, there are many uniquely Australian varieties available. A common type has egg and bacon topping with a tomato sauce base and mozzarella cheese. You will also find pizzas topped with seafood such as prawns. Gourmet pizzas are available with toppings such as bocconcini, emu, kangarro, salmon, or tiger prawns. In Australia, Wood fired pizza catering is all the rage due to the aroma and unique taste.
Indian Pizza
The late 90’s saw the popularity of pizza mushrooming in India and this was fuelled further by the entry of pizza hut and dominos into the country. Subsequently, several local chains have popped up such as Pop-Tates and Smokin’ Joes. Some of the Indian-style pizza toppings you are likely to encounter include Paneer and Tandoori chicken.
Kosher Pizza
Due to religious restrictions on diet, pizza in Israel lacks meat since you cannot mix meat with dairy products such as cheese. Additionally, Israeli pizzas are characteristically full of larger portions of vegetables compared to pizza from other countries. Some of the uniquely Israeli toppings include za’atar, labane, mushrroms, onion, and corn.
Frozen Pizza
In today’s fast-paced world, most people want everything at their convenience. While pizza delivery may be best for a fast, hot meal, a frozen pizza offers even faster services since you just throw it into the microwave and you are good to go. Some versions require one to bake in an oven as it is or prepare the ingredients yourself first before baking.
Pizza is a much-loved fast food that has been shown to be much healthier than most other fast foods, especially the fried variety. Many countries make pizza in their own unique way influenced by customs, traditions, religion, and locally available ingredients.
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Alison Grey owns a small pizzeria and operates an outside pizza catering service that provides specialty pizzas in NSW for private functions ranging from small, intimate parties to large community events.