National Pizza Day 2022: Lesser-Known Facts About Your Favourite Food

A dish that we can’t say no to is Pizza. It has redefined the dining experiences with the warm and comforting love that exists between a person and their pizza.

From thick base to thin crust, pizza has treaded through a long journey. A go-to meal for a weekend night in with your friends, it’s a perfect treat as one of the best comfort foods as well.

Pizza can be found everywhere, from house parties to restaurant dining, movie dates to midnight cravings. The original Italian dish has been Indianized with its twist of tikkas on pizza.

Here are some historical nuances about our most loved food:

• Food historians claim that flatbread with toppings was consumed by those residing in ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt earlier.
• Pizza was initially claimed to be food for the commons because the working class needed something economical and fast.
• Margherita pizza gets its name from Queen Margherita.
• Pizza was earlier confined to the realms of Italy until the 1940s. It was the Italian immigrants in the USA that led to the popularity.

Here are some lesser-known facts about pizza:

• In 2009, Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish, and in 2017, the art of making Neopolitan Pizza was included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
• A pizzaiolo is one who makes pizza.

On the other hand, Mumbaikars love for this iconic dish is unparalleled, to this, Nishant Jhaveri, Co-Founder, Nino Foods (Francesco's Pizzeria) said, “We've seen Margherita Pizzas account for the maximum percentage of sales, approx. 30%. For brands like ours, 50% of our sales come on the weekends. We've also seen an increase in Average Order Values since COVID-19.”

Similarly, Chef Rollin Lasrado, City Chef, Smoke House Deli remarked, " Some of our popular selections include Smoke House Quattro Formaggi Pizza, Basil Almond Pesto, Roasted Tomatoes, Toasted Almond and Parmesan, Grilled Peri Peri Chicken, Fresh Mozzarella and Rucola, Classic Pepperoni and Smoked Scamorza, Smoke House Charcuterie Meat Lover's Pizza."