Today (December 6), if you visit Google, you will encounter a charming pizza image appearing on the search bar.
Google Doodle celebrates pizza with an interactive game. (Screenshot).
Google Doodle has chosen December 6 to honor the pizza while emphasizing that it is one of the most popular dishes in the world today. In the introduction to today’s Doodle, Google explains that December 6 was chosen because on this day in 2007, the culinary art of Naples, known as “Pizzaiuolo,” was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Google also provides a brief introduction to pizza, stating that this dish is considered a “specialty” of Italy and is favored worldwide. Pizza is typically a flat, round bread made from water, flour, and yeast, which is fermented for at least 24 hours, topped with a variety of ingredients such as meat, fish, and vegetables, and covered with cheese.
Pizza is one of the prideful culinary achievements of the Italian people, but it actually has deep roots in Greece.
In ancient times, the Greeks would often bake pieces of dry bread on hot stones left over from fires. Later, to make use of leftover food, they would place it on top of the baked bread and eat it. This is where pizza originated.
The precursor to the famous pizza we know today was simply a round, flat bread.
Pizza first arrived in Italy in the form of a flat, round bread sold at a low price. It was delicious and widely sold on the streets for the poor.
The first pizza resembling what we know today was created in 1889, made to serve Queen Margherita Teresa Giovanni during her visit to Naples. This pizza included mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil, representing the colors of the Italian flag. This dish quickly became popular, and the chef who created it named it after the queen: Margherita pizza. Today, in addition to Margherita pizza, many other delicious and popular variations have emerged, such as Pepperoni pizza, Extravaganzza pizza, Bolognese pizza…
Margherita pizza represents the three colors: green, white, and red of the Italian flag.
Italians typically enjoy pizza with a cold gelato, where the delicious flavors of the pizza blend wonderfully with the refreshing, sweet taste of gelato. Furthermore, Italians never eat salad with pizza; instead, they pair it with antipasto (appetizers with cheese, cured meats, mushrooms, olives…). Notably, pizza is a dish that you can eat with your hands instead of using a knife and fork, and no one would dare call you rude, even in a restaurant. Another essential item that fans of this dish agree is a must-have when eating pizza is ketchup and Tabasco hot sauce or Heinz sweet chili sauce.
Pizza is not only a dish that makes people think of Italy but has also quickly become a popular and beloved food worldwide. Statistics show that 93% of Americans will eat pizza at least once a month. It is estimated that the average American consumes over 9 kg of pizza each year. Pizza shops in the U.S. account for 17% of all restaurants in the country.
Pepperoni pizza is the most popular traditional pizza.
Every year, around 5 billion pizzas are sold worldwide. Among them, pepperoni pizza is the most favored, accounting for 36% of the total.
Saturday night is considered the best time of the week to enjoy a pizza. Meanwhile, many consumers around the world now believe that pizza is a perfect breakfast for them.
February 9 is designated as International Pizza Day.
Chef Renato Viola created the most expensive pizza in the world in the port city of Salerno, Italy, costing $12,000. The pizza has a diameter of 20 cm, meant for two people. The organic dough is imported from the Arab region, topped with pink salt from the Murray River in Australia, and takes 72 hours to prepare. The toppings include three types of rare caviar, Alaska lobster, and seven types of cheese.
The longest pizza delivery in the world, recognized by Guinness World Records, was from the Opera Pizza restaurant in Madrid, Spain, to Wellington, New Zealand. The distance, measured in a straight line between the two locations, is 19,870 km. This delivery took place from June 28, 2006, and was completed on July 1, 2006.
The most expensive pizza in the world sold for $12,000.
The highest pizza delivery in the world, confirmed by Guinness World Records, was made on top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, taking three days for delivery, from May 5 to May 8, 2016. This unique delivery was conducted to mark the opening of the first Pizza Hut in Tanzania.
