Step 2 - Reading

Pizza

You are going to read two texts, one about the history of Pizza and one about how to bake Pizza.

Read the text.

History of pizza

The modern pizza was originally invented in Naples, Italy but the word pizza is Greek in origin, derived from the Greek word pēktos meaning solid or clotted.
The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. The first major innovation that led to flat bread pizza was the use of tomato as a topping.
It was common for the poor of the area around Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flat bread, and so the pizza began.
While it is difficult to say for sure who invented the pizza, it is however believed that modern pizza was first made by baker Raffaele Esposito of Naples.
In fact, a popular urban legend holds that the archetypal pizza, Pizza Margherita, was invented in 1889, when the Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pie swathed in the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.
Later, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world:

  • The first pizzeria, Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba, was opened in 1830 in Naples.

  • In North America, The first pizzeria was opened in 1905 by Gennaro Lombardi at 53 1/3 Spring Street in New York City.

  • The first Pizza Hut, the chain of pizza restaurants appeared in the United States during the 1930s.

Nowadays, many varieties of pizza exist worldwide, along with several dish variants based upon pizza.

Source: http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-history-of-pizza.php#.VQlHzct0xdg

 

Read the second text.

Cooking ingredients of pizza

Pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven. The different parts of pizza consist of the crust, cheese and the toppings.

Crust
It is the bottom of the pizza. It may vary widely according to style:

  • thin as in a typical hand-tossed pizza or Roman pizza,

  • or thick as in a typical pan pizza or Chicago-style pizza.

It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese.

Cheese
The most popular cheeses to use on pizza are mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and parmesan. Romano and Ricotta are often used as toppings and processed cheese manufactured specifically for pizza is used in mass-produced environments. Processed pizza cheese is manufactured to produce preferable qualities like browning, melting, stretchiness and fat and moisture content.

Toppings
There are many toppings used on pizzas, including, but not limited to:

  • Anchovies

  • Bacon

  • Ground beef

  • Mushrooms

  • Olives

  • Onions

  • Pepperoni

  • Peppers

  • Sausage

  • Seafood

  • Sun-dried tomato

  • Tomatoes

  • Vegetables

  • Fruit, such as Pineapple

  • Feta cheese

  • Spinach

  • Artichoke

 


Source: http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-cooking-ingredients-pizza.php#.VQlIJ8t0xdg

 

Assignment 1

Answer the questions on your own, then discuss the answers in your group.

Text 1 The history of pizza

  1. Where does the pizza originally come from?
  2. Who was Raffaele Esposito?
  3. Where does the name Pizza Margherita come from?
  4. What happened in 1830 in Napels?
  5. Where and when was the first Pizza Hut opened?

Text 2 How to bake pizza

  1. How many types of oven can you use to bake a pizza?
  2. What does the bottom of a pizza look like?
  3. What kind of cheese can be used on a pizza?
  4. Wich of the toppings would you like on your pizza?

Assignment 2

Assignment 3