WORLD PIZZA DAY IS A REAL THING!

Can you believe your ears ? The globe celebrates a World Pizza Day on February 9 of every year. As a huge foodie myself, I couldn’t contain my happiness. I researched some more on the history of pizza and here it is.

HOW PIZZA CAME INTO EXISTENCE ?

Italians have been savouring pizza since time immemorial. The earliest mention of flat bread was recorded in 6th Century. The first pizza was nothing like what its today. It started as a flat bread spread with some sauce and cheese. The people making it had no idea how it would go on to amass huge attention later.

In 1905, pizza hit the American shores and the first pizzeria is still in business ! It goes by “Little Italy”.

This place should be in your list if you want to taste authentic pizza.

People started celebrating World Pizza Day somewhere around 1990s and 2000s. While it is important to reminisce its history, it will be enthralling to see how pizza can evolves.

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE PIZZA DAY ?

I don’t think there are any instructions to celebrate this fab day. But, back in Italy it is a day of pride and honour for their people.

One described the combination of hot pizza and cold beer gave him feeling of euphoria. Such is the love and craze for pizza everywhere.

Devour a slice or slices of pizza !

Wow! What better than starting your day with a pizza on this special occasion. From its humble beginning in Italy, pizza has become cosmopolitan.

The New York style pizza, Canadian pizza, California pizza, you name it. Even Indians decided to give it a desi tadka – using a paratha as base.

The only confusion you got to be dealing should be what toppings to choose from. As the day is around the corner, try and bake different pizzas yourself. Or you could grab one from your local pizzeria.

Try baking one.

It has everything one needs – bread, cheese, and meat. And definitely sauce, which brings every ingredient together.

If you are gluten sensitive, grab alternatives such as jowar flour. For the rest, knead the wheat flour into soft dough. You can add yeast, as per your choice. Let it sit for 30 minutes at least.

You can make your sauce or get it from the store. But I bet nothing can beat the freshly cooked sauce.

While crowning your pizza, you can transform your imagination into reality. Add toppings and sauces of your choice- from prawns to veggies. Literally, anything that goes with bread and sauce.

Chefs worldwide try to recreate pizza in everyway. You should too. Loaded with cheese and aromatic herbs, it is the perfect one to share with your friends.

Join any Pizza Day celebration.

Places like California, New York, Naples, etc. goes big on celebration. If you stay near these places, make sure to visit nearby celebration. These places offer good discounts around this time.

Fun activities such as baking a pizza or dancing are some you can take part in. Look for pizza and beer craft pairing nearby. I swear you won’t regret going there.

You meet fun people there, or huge foodie, if I may. That’s a bonus point, isn’t it ? Celebrating good times with people (family or random) makes it more memorable.

Enrol yourself in cooking course.

Around this time, many places offer people to visit the kitchen- where the magic happens. These tours are a great way to expose yourself with people and knowledge.

Sometimes, they conduct one or two day programs of baking pizza or crafting beer. Grab such opportunities and make use of it to the fullest. By the end of these programs, you will be capable of baking a decent pizza.

Since huge people eagerly wait for it, pizzerias conduct them in countryside farms. Make use of it as a road trip to countryside.

ARE PIZZA HEALTHY ?

To be honest, it boils down to what type of pizza you’re having. Those ready-to-eat pizza are loaded with preservatives, sodium, and artificial colours. The ones freshly baked are, however, full of anti-oxidants, fibre and fatty acids.

Nothing better than a steaming pizza or any food , for that sort.

DID YOU KNOW ?

Almost half of US population eats pizza, that will be around 200 million Americaans. In 2021, pizzeria in the US recorded sales of 45 billion US dollars. Pizza restaurants are increasing day by day, but the recent corona virus put a set back in the numbers. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for pizza.

In Italy, 907,074 gluten free pizzas were sold during 2017-18. While the sales of organic pizzas touched 731,661, the classic Italian pizza soared as high as 41,674,800.

It’s not easy to say NO to pizza, you see. The numbers prove it. This Italian food surpassed geographical boundaries to make us drool. Let us know in the comment section how you gonna celebrate Pizza day this year.

Featured image source: Image by KamranAydinov on Freepik