4 ms·

> Pizza predates the use of the tomato. What makes it pizza specifically at that point?

• deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
• nkozyra 3y ago
  Yeah, I find the idea that a flattened leavened (maybe?) bread with something on top is "pizza" to be quite a stretch.
  • Stratoscope 3y ago
    Some of my favorite pizzas have no tomato sauce: * White clam pizza * Amici's Milano or Trentino * State of Mind's Peas on Peas on Peas (when it's in season) Why would the lack of tomato sauce make it not a pizza? (You didn't specifically mention tomato sauce, but GP did and it sounds like you are in agreement? Please forgive me if I misunderstood.)
    • nkozyra 3y ago
      I'm saying Bread + topping is not inherently a pizza. There are lots of other dishes that are bread + topping that we don't call pizza. Is crostini a pizza? Is bruschetta? Is sabich? Is lahmacun? Arepas? Is an open face bagel with cream cheese?
      • Stratoscope 3y ago
        I think you hit the nail on the head. Yes, bread + topping is by definition not pizza. Pizza is made with pizza dough and toppings, not with already-baked bread. Of course if the pizza dough is wrapped around the toppings/fillings, pinched around the edge in a half moon shape and then baked, now it is a calzone, not a pizza. Or is it an empanada? ;-) And thank you for that list! I have never had sabich or lahmacun, so you have given me some new things to try.
• scythe 3y ago
  Pizza is cooked on one side; it is cooked after adding toppings; it is cooked rapidly in an oven. Most flatbreads are flipped; some are cooked with open heat.
• causi 3y ago
  Because they called it pizza and modern pizza is a direct descendant of it.