I have just returned from a 2 week trip in Italy and was so shocked to see so many pizzerias. I was expecting to see many fast foods but not all those pizzerias. We really have exported all our goodies abroad. Italians seem to really enjoy one our national dishes

Pizza didn't originate in Italy?

Did you really go to Italy and think that Pizza was American,oh my......

Hi<BR><BR>I think (hope) Marsha is joking here ?<BR><BR>Peter<BR>

While this cetainly fits the troll mold - - I do think that it's a common legend (part truth) that "pizza" as we know it today was largely "created" (popularized) by Italian-Americans - - IN America.<BR><BR>I have certainly seen plenty of places in Italy where pizza means what we would call "just the dough" - - maybe like what is popularly called "focaccia" in current American "restaurant-ship"/marketing. I'm not sure how historically accurate the term focaccia is. Has it long been popular in Italy with that name?<BR><BR>And the practice of a "pizza deluxe" seems to be an American creation of the last two decades - - fitting with out super-size trends in American fast food.<BR>

Whoops. Hit send before I was ready.<BR><BR>The language of food in any culture is constantly changing. The newest entry into the lexicon seems targeted to spread itself further around the world: YUM.<BR><BR>from recent news releases...<BR><BR>Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), based in Louisville, Kentucky, is the world's largest restaurant company. The company's brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style restaurant categories, respectively. Total worldwide system sales for the brands were over $22 billion in 2001. <BR><BR>On March 12, 2002, Tricon announced it will change its corporate name to Yum! Brands, Inc. <BR><BR>"Yum! Brands better reflects our expanding portfolio of brands and the unique fun and recognition culture we are driving."<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Pizza is about as American as Benito Mussolini!!!!!!!

Is he that new sensation at Armani? or is it Versace?<BR>

There's a discussion of this isuue (i.e. origins of pizza and some other common Italian foods) on this thread on a Delphi forum: http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/...ture&msg=170.1

Just a question. How many of you are old enough to remember when pizza first became popular in the US during the 1950's? Remember what it was called? We never called it pizza -- it was always referred to as "a pizza pie"! As in "when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie". Mom would never say, "should we get one or two pizzas?" She'd always say, "should we get one or two pizza pies?"

Actually, that was regional. Pizza was around in Brooklyn, NY, for as long as I've been (mid-late 1940's). When we moved to the suburbs and I first heard "pizza pie" I thought it was so funny, since my father had taught me that "pizza" was the word for "pie" so I thought it was amusing to call the stuff PIE-PIE and used to make jokes about it.

Interesting. . .maybe it was a midwest thing, since I'm from Ohio. <BR>But I'm curious, Carol. Did you also say I'll have a slice of apple pizza or lemon merenque pizza, since pizza was the word for pie??

Pizza has a long and documented history in Campangnia. It was brought over to the US and it CHANGED in nature to the thick crusted, larger varieties seen in NY and Chicago. Deep dish was a lter invention. I would bet there are more pizze sold in the US than in Itlay, but it is Italian in origin. In fact, the <BR>Romans were making dough and baking it and topping it with flavorings almost 2500 years ago.

Pizza, as a savory food made of dough topped with tomato and cheese and anchovy was Italian, so was called "pizza." An Easter sweet pastry with a filling of ricotta and cooked wheat kernels and eggs and candied orange peels and exotic flavorings was Italian and was called "pastiera." An Easter savory dish which was a pie filled with salami and sausage and cheeses and herbs and hard cooked eggs was Italian and was called "pizza rustica." My aunt's mince pie was viewed as an English or American style dessert so was called "pie." When I was much older and learned to eat savory turnovers of phyllo dough with cheese or spinach or meat fillings, I knew they were Greek so they were a "pita." Just always kept the languages and national/ethnic origins of the various dishes straight, I guess.

"more pizze sold in the u.s than in Italy" quick thinking dean but do you think the fact that their are 250,000,000 people in America and around 16,000,000 in all of Italy might have something to do with that$$$ just a thought

Actually, the population in Italy is around sixtY millions, not sixtEEN...

-- Mmmmmmmmm, reading this makes me hungry. I sure could use a pizza funghi right now. Scotty, beam me up to Roma!

tossing it up<BR>

Ok, when's Marsha going to admit she was going?

My daughter would ask her little boy if he wanted a piece of pizza when he was really small.<BR>When he learned to talk, he called it <BR>Pizza pizza...