Get to know your pizza history for Kids
The first pizzas were simple, flat breads topped with herbs and olives. When tomatoes were brought back to Italy by explorers from the Americas in the 1600s, they were topped on the flat breads, too.
We learn from an old story that in 1889, to honor Queen Margherita of Italy, the pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito created “Pizza Margherita”, with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, which contained the red, white and green colors that are represented on the Italian flag, and the Margherita pizza was born.
In the late 19th century, pizza was sold in the streets in Naples at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was cut from a large tray that had been cooked in the baker’s oven and had a simple topping of mushrooms and anchovies. As pizza became more popular, stalls were set up where the dough was shaped as customers ordered. Various toppings were invented. The stalls soon developed into the pizzeria, an open-air place for people to congregate, eat, drink, and talk — What’s Cooking America
For those who prefer gluten-free options, try out our Cauliflower Pizza for a very new twist on this classic food that kids will love too. Quite a departure from the traditional pizza crust is a gluten-free way to eat your veggies. Best of all, cauliflower has lots of vitamin C!
- 1 head of cauliflower
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce
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