8 Little Known Facts About Pizza: Surprising Facts about The World’s Most Favorite Dish

8 Little Known Facts About Pizza: Surprising Facts about The World’s Most Favorite Dish

Pizza is a universal food, popular around the world in many forms and variations. From its simple beginnings to a multi-billion-dollar industry, there’s a lot more to pizza than meets the eye. So in this article, we’re going to look at eight fast facts about pizza that you probably never knew – and that will surprise and inform you.
Pizza’s Roots Date Back Over 2,000 Years

Although it is most commonly associated with Italy, modern pizza originated more than 2,000 years ago, among ancient civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, and Rome. The earlier iterations were flatbreads slathered with various toppings. But Naples, Italy, is credited with the invention of the first “true” pizza, which consisted of tomatoes, cheese, and, later, basil, during the 18th century.
One of the most famous versions, the Margherita pizza, was created in honor of Queen Margherita of Savoy when she visited Naples in 1889. The ingredients — tomato (red), mozzarella (white), and basil (green) — embody the colors of the Italian flag.
The World’s First Pizzeria Opened in 1738

Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba, the first-ever pizzeria, opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738. Started as a street vendor’s operation, the full-fledged restaurant was founded in 1830 and is still open. The historic pizzeria was the first to sell Pizza a Panuozzo — Pizza by the slice, a concept that spread worldwide.
It was through Italian immigrants bringing their traditional recipes to the United States in the late 1800s that pizzerias became a hit and ignited the pizza boom around the world.
The World’s Priciest Pizza Is More Than $12,000

If you think extra topping gourmet pizza is expensive, wait until you hear about the Louis XIII Pizza in Salerno, Italy. Chef Renato Viola created this luxury pizza, which costs $12,000.

What makes it so expensive? It features:

Dough from organic Arabian flour ripened for 72 hours
Three varieties of caviar (Oscietra Royal Prestige, Kaspia Beluga, and Kaspia Oscietra Royal Classic)

Norwegian lobster
Seven types of cheese

Mined pink Australian salt
Served with rare vintage champagne and cognac, it is a meal fit for royalty.

Americans Eat More Than 3 Billion Pizzas Every Year
Americans are some of the biggest pizza lovers in the world, eating more than 3 billion pizzas a year —that’s 350 slices every second! [7] The opportunity: The U.S. pizza industry is a $45+ billion industry with over 75,000 pizzerias across the nation.
Here are some of the most popular styles of pizza in the U.S.:

New York slice: Thin, foldable crust
Chicago deep-dish46: Thick, cheese-y layers

Detroit-style: A square with caramelized edges
Anyway, I also want to do something like California-style: Unique gourmet toppings.

Also — There’s A Pizza Delivery Record In Space
Pizza isn't only popular on Earth — it has also reached space! In 2001, Pizza Hut was the first brand to deliver a pizza to the International Space Station (ISS).
The delivery to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov cost $1 million. To keep the pizza fresh, special adjustments made to the recipe included adding extra salt and spices to counteract astronauts’ diminished sense of taste in microgravity.
Japan’s Pizza Toppings Are as Weird as It Gets

Other cultures have put their own spin on pizza, but perhaps the strangest toppings of all can be found in Japan. Popular choices include:
Potatoes with mayo and squid

Teriyaki Chicken
Eel and Fish Roe

Corn and Seaweed
Despite these fancy toppings phasing in, pepperoni is globally the most common topping on a pizza.

World’s Biggest Pizza Spans More Than 14,000 Square Feet

The most giant pizza ever made is in Los Angeles, USA, 2023; Guinness World record The pizza was 14,000 square feet and made with:
13,653 pounds of dough

4,948 pounds of tomato sauce
8,800 pounds of cheese

The giant pizza was created primarily as a stunt to promote the relaunch of Pizza Hut’s Big New Yorker pizza and was donated to food banks to avoid wasting the food — however unorthodox บวก — items would actually have been to eat it.
Frozen Pizza Was Invented in 1957Frozen Pizza Was Invented in 1957

Frozen pizza, which became a household staple, was first launched in the U.S. by the Celentano brothers in 1957. But frozen pizza didn’t gain mass appeal until the 1960s when Totino’s cranked it out. Frozen pizza today is a $6 billion industry in the U.S. alone.
Since then, brands have also gotten creative, introducing gluten-free, keto, and plant-based frozen pizzas to meet a variety of dietary preferences.

Conclusion
The evolution of pizza, from humble flatbread to worldwide obsession, is nothing short of amazing. Whether you’re obsessed with a classic Margherita, a deep-dish Chicago-style, or an adventurous Japanese squid-topped pizza, there’s no doubt pizza is a love most everyone shares.
The next time you bite into a slice, keep these eight fast pizza facts in mind — and share them with your friends!

What do you think of the different pizzas? Let us know in the comments!