- 670 MILLION pounds
of cheese is sold every year!
- 75 ACRES of cheese
is eaten every day!
- 350 MILLION tons of
frozen pizza is sold every year!
- 30 TIMES a year is
how often the average family eats pizza at home!
- 96% of people buy
pizza out. Only 4% never go out for pizza!
- 23 POUNDS of cheese
is eaten every year by the average person
- 1.1 BILLION frozen
pizzas were sold last year!
- 4 BILLION fresh
pizzas were sold last year!
* *
*
- In 1994, total
pizza sales in the United States exceeded $20 billion.
- The 1995 Guinness
Book of World Records lists the largest baked pizza on record was 37.4
meters in diameter (12,159 sq.ft.), in Norwood, South Africa December 8th
1990. Another notable pizza by size was a 10,000 sq.ft. pizza cooked by
Lorenzo Amato, owner of Cafe di Lorenzo in Tallahassee Florida in 1991.
- The first known
pizza shop, Port 'Alba in Naples, opened in 1830 and is still open today.
- The first pizzeria
in North America was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring
Street in New York City.
- The first pizza
delivery was in 1889, by Raffaele Esposito owner of the famous pizzeria
Pietro il Pizzaiolo (Naples). The recipients were visiting King Umberto I
and Queen Margherita. Refusing to go to the likes of a pizzeria, the queen
ordered in, being anxious to try this food she heard so much about.
- The first
commercial pizza-pie mix was "Roman Pizza Mix", produced in 1948 in
Worcester, Massachusetts by Frank A. Fiorello.
- The mozzarella
originally used in Italy for pizza, was made from the milk of the water
buffalo.
- The tomato arrived
in Naples, Italy around 1522 originating from seeds first arriving in
Spain from Peru. Initially grown only as an ornamental plant, the 'golden
apple', so called because they were small and yellow, were thought to be
poisonous until around 1750, when it began to be used in cooking.
- The origins of
focaccia, one of the oldest styles of pizza (without the tomato) can be
traced back to about 1000 B.C.E., when the Etruscans arrived in northern
and central parts of Italy from Asia Minor.
- Pizza is the number
2 entree in food service, outpacing the growth rate of all other food
items. It represents more than 10% of all food sales and is expected to
exceed the hamburger 1996.
- Tuna is one of the
most popular toppings in Europe.
- North Americans eat
more pizza than anyone else in the world, yet most are acquainted with
little beyond the basic tomato and cheese style.
- There are three
major regional styles of pizza in the US. In the East, pizza is the
traditional Neapolitan type with a light, thin crust, tomato sauce,
mozzarella cheese and a vegetable or meat topping. It is more commonly
known as New York-style. On the West Coast, pizza takes on a sophisticated
look. Individual pizzettes with light, chewy crusts and toppings ranging
from sundried tomatoes to asparagus to boccocini cheese are the norm. The
Midwestern states prefer the deep-dish Chicago style, a thick creation
heaped with toppings requiring up to 45 minutes to bake.
- Cookbooks
specializing in Italian recipes have no reference to pizza prior to the
1950's.
- In non-Italian
communities in the eastern states, pizza can be heard to be referred to as
"tomato pie
|