Pizza cookbooks

Pizza (Italian: [ˈpittsa], Neapolitan: [ˈpittsə]) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as anchovies, mushrooms, onions, olives, pineapple, meat, etc.), which is then baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.[1] A small pizza is sometimes called a pizzetta. A person who makes pizza is known as a pizzaiolo. In Italy, pizza served in a restaurant is presented unsliced, and is eaten with the use of a knife and fork.[2][3] In casual settings, however, it is cut into wedges to be eaten while held in the hand. The term pizza was first recorded in the 10th century in a Latin manuscript from the Southern Italian town of Gaeta in Lazio, on the border with Campania.[4] Modern pizza was invented in Naples, and the dish and its variants have since become popular in many countries.[5] It has become one of the most popular foods in the world and a common fast food item in Europe, North America and Australasia; available at pizzerias (restaurants specializing in pizza), restaurants offering Mediterranean cuisine, via pizza delivery, and as street food.[5] Various food companies sell ready-baked pizzas, which may be frozen, in grocery stores, to be reheated in a home oven. In 2017, the world pizza market was US$128 billion, and in the US it was $44 billion spread over 76,000 pizzerias.[6] Overall, 13% of the U.S. population aged 2 years and over consumed pizza on any given day.[7] The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (lit. True Neapolitan Pizza Association) is a non-profit organization founded in 1984 with headquarters in Naples that aims to promote traditional Neapolitan pizza.[8] In 2009, upon Italy's request, Neapolitan pizza was registered with the European Union as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed dish,[9][10] and in 2017 the art of its making was included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.[11] Raffaele Esposito is often considered to be the father of modern pizza.