Celebrate World Pizza Day with us

Welcome to today's post on my favorite thing... Pizza! Yes, pizza lovers, today we are coming to you to celebrate this special day.

Today, we're going to tell you a little bit of the history of this food. Merriam-Webster defines pizza as a "a dish made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked.” It is one of the best delicacies that Italian culture has provided us with. Mmmmmm, its crust is so delicious!

World Pizza Day is today, on February 9th. That's why we're going to tell you some fun facts about this delicious dish today. Keep reading!

1. Origin: Where does pizza come from?

The origin of modern pizza goes back to Naples in 1889 when the Italian Raffaele Esposito created this great work.

That year, Italy's royalty visited this iconic city. That's why he created a very special meal for them with the colors of the flag.

Each color was represented by one of the utterly delicious ingredients. Thus, red was represented by tomatoes, white with mozzarella, and finally, green with basil. Sounds super good, right?

Ever since then, thanks to its positive reception, this pizza was baptized the Margherita pizza in honor of the queen.

2. How did this recipe spread so widely?

This Italian recipe gained so much popularity in such a short time that no one could believe it. That's how it became so well-known all over the world. The number of pizzerias has grown to now represent 17% of all restaurants in the world.

Pizzerias around the world

While Italy is the European country that consumes the most pizza, Argentina has the most pizzerias out of any country in the world. This is due to the many Italians living in the country.

Pizza is, of course, an indispensable part in their diet. In fact, they created their own style of pizza called La Fugazza, which consists of a pizza stuffed with mozzarella between two crusts, with onion and a little parmesan on top.

3. Do you know all the types of pizza around the world?

Nowadays, there are many versions of this exquisite recipe and ways to cook it with different types of ingredients. There are, though, a few 'classics.'

While the Margherita is the original and most classic, especially in Italy, many more have been cooked up. Here's a list of the most famous ones:

• Neapolitan.
• Four-cheese.
• Capricciosa.
• Calzone.
• Sicilian.
• Barbecue.

Which one is your favorite?

4. The best way to celebrate World Pizza Day.

Whether you go to a pizzeria or make it at home, you should celebrate this day by eating your favorite.

If you decideto choose to try the delicacies of professional pizza chefs, you can opt for the best, such as the winners of the 2022 edition of the Contest for the Best Pizza in Spain by Madrid Fusión, who were valued by Franco Pepe, considered the best piazziolo in the world. 

The best thing about home-made pizza is that you can prepare it with your favorite ingredients your own way. It's so easy to do and is a great plan with friends or family.

Steps for cooking pizza dough

To cook the dough, you will need:

• Wheat flour.
• Olive oil.
• Fresh yeast.
• Salt.

Get the ingredients together in advance and get to it.

1. Add oil, water, and yeast in a bowl to mix them together, and then add the flour and salt.

2. Once mixed, put the dough on a clean surface with a little flour so that it does not stick. Knead for three or four minutes until it is completely smooth.

3. Let it rest for at least an hour and stretch it until it takes on a round shape.

4. Now, all you have to do is put your favorite ingredients on top and put them in the oven!

We recommend getting all the essentials ready ahead of time. This includes oven mitts to take it out of the oven without burning yourself and the pizza cutter to slice it up easily.

If you're a pizza lover and celebrate this day by eating a pizza pie, share on social media so we can see, too! Time to sling some dough!