United StatesNational Cheese Pizza Day
The roots of pizza reach back to ancient Greece and Rome, where bread was adorned with oils, herbs, and cheese, laying the foundation for this beloved dish. The word ”pizza“ itself has origins in Byzantine Greek, meaning pie. However, the modern pizza originated in Naples, Italy, where Neapolitan flatbread became the canvas for the iconic dish. The original Neapolitan pizza was simple, featuring tomato sauce, buffalo milk mozzarella, and basil. In the United States, the love for pizza, especially cheese pizza, took off in 1905 with the opening of the first pizzeria in New York's Little Italy. Post-World War II, American soldiers returning from Italy fueled the pizza craze, leading to a surge in pizzerias nationwide. By 1997, the U.S. was producing over 2 billion pounds of pizza cheese annually. National Cheese Pizza Day, a celebration of this culinary classic, invites us to appreciate the simplicity of a cheese pizza. A classic version features a baked flatbread crust topped with tomato sauce, herbs, and a variety of cheeses, with mozzarella being the most common. The iconic cheese pull, where melted cheese stretches in tempting strings, encapsulates the essence of a cheese pizza, showcasing its timeless appeal.
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