| As far as pizza goes, it's one of the most popular kinds of all time. But when you go for a slice, do you know the history behind your pie? Get to know a little about this fan favorite—Neapolitan.
Neapolitan pizza gets its name from the Italian city it was born in: Naples. The ingredients are pretty basic. Take some pizza dough▼, tomatoes, mozzarella▼, basil▼, and olive oil, and you've got yourself a pie. But the real secret is in the sauce. In order for a Neapolitan to be truly authentic▼, there should be more sauce than cheese. This means the middle can become kind of soft and wet, making Neapolitan pizzas difficult to serve by the slice. Maybe that's why they're usually served smaller than other pizza pies, maxing out at around 10 to 12 inches.
Neapolitan pizzas, like all pizzas, owe their existence to European flatbread▼. In Naples, farmers began topping their bread with tomatoes in the 18th century. It wasn't until 1889 that baker Raffaele Esposito first made the classic Neapolitan style pizza, the Margherita. He named it for the queen, and gave it the colors of the Italian flag, with red tomatoes, white cheese, and green basil. |
