Kids might think they know a lot. They may rattle off their favorite toppings or preferred restaurant that serves up the best pies. Little ones might have an opinion about whether they like thick or thin crusts, and how many nights a week they would like to eat a delicious slice for dinner. Next time you are talking to little foodies about their favorite Italian specialty, share some of these fascinating pizza facts to spice up the conversation.
Fun Trivia for Pizza Lovers
It's hard to argue that pizza is one of the most universally loved foods by kids and adults alike. Friday nights are the most popular night for ordering up a pizza pie. After a long and tiring week of work, sports practices, school, music lessons, and other activities, families often bypass a trip to the grocery store and dial up delivery. Children's books about pizza capture the fondness characters share for a delicious crust topped with tomato sauce and a generous amount of piping hot, melted mozzarella cheese. Kids will especially love engaging in imaginary play with their very own toy ovens and games involving their most favorite food. And while they are busy running their pretend parlors, be sure to share some of the coolest facts about the origins of pizza, some nutty trivia about the biggest and most expensive pies, background about the very first pizzeria, and more information about this popular food.
History of Pizza
First pizza was created in Naples.
During the 1500s, pizza was an inexpensive meal for low-income families. Tomatoes were thought to be poisonous and not worthy of people who had money. Poor people topped dough with tomatoes and cheese, and could feed large families very inexpensively.
Lombardi's in NYC was first American pizzeria.
The grocery store started selling pizza on the side in 1905. It was considered a foreign food, but within a short while parlors started popping up all over the city. Next time you visit New York City, head over to Little Italy where your family dine in the very first Lombardi's pizzeria.
Pizza World Records
Most expensive pizza costs $12,000.
Prepared by a master chef in Italy, this pizza is topped with some top dollar delicacies like three rare types of caviar, the highest quality lobster, handpicked squilla mantis, and Australian pink sea salt.
Largest pizza ever was 14,000 square feet.
In 2017, a Guinness World Record was broken through a collaborative effort by Pizza Hut and a YouTube star named Eric Decker. They chose the Los Angeles Convention Center as the location for this huge undertaking. To put this project into perspective, the ingredients consisted of 13,653 pounds of dough, 4,948 pounds of sauce, and close to 9,000 pounds of cheese. The pie was cut into smaller pieces to cook and distribute to local food banks.
How Much Pizza Americans Eat
300 slices are consumed every second in the US.
This translates into about 20,000 slices each minute. Taking this calculation one step further, this equals approximately 100 acres of pizza daily. And here's another mind-boggling statistic- a whopping 3 billion pies are sold annually by restaurants and delivery services, equating to over $38 billion dollars.
An average of 46 slices per year is consumed per person.
Survey data indicates that 35% of the people who indulge on a regular basis eat 3 slices at a time. Slicing this data point another way, each person enjoys 23 pounds per year, or close to 40 entire pies, adjusting for size and weight. Extrapolating this thought process further, a person is likely to scarf down close to 6,000 slices over the course of a lifetime.
Most Popular Pizza Toppings
Pepperoni is top pick.
Surveys have revealed that more than 35% of pizzas ordered from take-out restaurants include pepperoni. In fact, 250 million pounds of pepperoni are consumed annually as a topping. Comprehensive surveys completed across US consumers reveal that 24% prefer pepperoni over other toppings.
A close second is sausage, especially for midwesterners.
In fact, people from Chicago choose sausage above everything else. Pizza is typically served with ground sausage flavored with Italian seasonings. Restaurant owners in the city reportedly purchase millions of pounds, either in raw form where they make a mixture themselves, or from a specialty butcher that prepares the meat with savory seasonings. Across the country, approximately 13% of consumers order this topping.
Extra cheese, please.
Since cheese is already a key ingredient, some may argue that it doesn't really count as a topping. However, they would lose that argument with pizzerias all over the country who have it listed as an additional topping on their menu. Demand for more melted mozzarella means higher profits for an ingredient already in stock. And about 11% of the population requests more of this deliciousness every time the place an order.
When People Eat the Most Pizza
October is National Pizza Month.
Pizza is such a popular food that an entire month has been devoted to celebrating all of its deliciousness. It all began when Gerry Durnell, the publisher of Pizza Today magazine, declared that pizza is too good to only have one day of observance on the calendar. What began as a novel idea in 1984 to promote pizza around the country officially became a holiday, passed by Congress three years later. Lots of pizzerias run promotions encouraging people to increase their consumption during a month when pizza orders are already are at record highs.
Most popular day for delivery is Halloween.
There are contradicting statistics circulating about whether pizza delivery is highest on Halloween or Superbowl Sunday. Either way, pizza shops all over the country are raking in big bucks on these two days when orders come in faster than they can be filled. Three other days are also busier than the rest of the year for pizza delivery people- the day before Thanksgiving, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. As far as typical non-holiday weeks go, Friday nights are by fart the most popular for pizza, with Saturday as second.
Pizza Terminology
Cornicione is the official name of the crust.
Kids love to chow down on a cheesy slice with savory tomato sauce and other toppings, but the many times the crust is left high and dry on the plate, only to be tossed in the trash. For others, the crust is one of the best parts of the pie, especially when done right. A crispy outer shell filled with hot, chewy dough is music to the mouth. Well, now you can introduce a new word when talking about the crust. Cornicione, derived from the architectural term cornice to describe decorative wood trim around buildings, is the Italian term specifically for the outer ring of crust.
Margherita pizza has an interesting history.
There is a bit of an interesting history lesson around this popular Neapolitan pizza with its signature fresh mozzarella, pureed tomatoes, and fresh basil. In the late 1800s, flatbread was a popular, inexpensive meal amongst the peasants in Italy. In honor of Queen Margherita, the food eventually was transformed to represent the red, green and white colors of the Italian flag.
Sicilian is the word for thick-crusted pizzas.
People who love bread opt for the square-shaped pie with a crust that is measured in inches. The origins are traced to Sicily where thick bread was often topped with oils and herbs. However, when ordered up in restaurants, the item is piled high with sauce, cheese, meats and vegetables.
