Curious About Pizza

In episode 166, we get curious about pizza for Andrew of Toronto, Canada.  We learn what the most popular pizza topping in the United States is, what people top their pizza with in other countries, and why pizza became very popular in the United States after World War 2.

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Transcript

PODCAST 166: CURIOUS ABOUT PIZZA

RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 5TH, 2021

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE DON’T GET CURIOUS ABOUT FOOD VERY OFTEN, BUT YOU CAN BET THAT WHEN WE DO, IT’S A FOOD THAT IS ENJOYED BY ALMOST EVERYONE

O:  STOP RIGHT THERE DADDY.  I DON’T LOVE PIZZA LIKE LOTS OF OTHER KIDS DO.

D:  CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?  OLIVIA IS NOT A BIG FAN OF PIZZA.  SHE LIKES A LOT OF THE OTHER FOODS THAT KIDS TYPICALLY LIKE TO EAT, BUT NOT PIZZA.  KIDS LOVE EATING PIZZA SO MUCH, THAT YOU WILL FIND PIZZA AT ALMOST EVERY KIDS BIRTHDAY PARTY BECAUSE IT IS SO UNIVERSALLY LIKED.  

O:  WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT PIZZA THIS WEEK FOR 7 YEAR OLD ANDREW OF TORONTO, CANADA.  WE READ HIS 5 STAR REVIEW IN LAST WEEK’S EPISODE.

D:  LEARNING MORE ABOUT PIZZA IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN.  THE HISTORY OF PIZZA IS REALLY INTERESTING AND WE WERE ABLE TO FIND SOME REALLY DELICIOUS FACTS ABOUT PIZZA.  LET’S START THIS OFF WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, HOW MANY TOTAL SLICES OF PIZZA DO AMERICANS EAT, ON AVERAGE, EVERY MINUTE?

D:  I’M GUESSING IT’S GOING TO BE QUITE A LOT BECAUSE AMERICANS LOVE PIZZA.  AND, WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES.  PIZZA IS A FOOD THAT’S ENJOYED ALL OVER THE WORLD.  ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MAKES PIZZA SO POPULAR ALL OVER IS THAT THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT PIZZA CAN BE PREPARED.  

O:  IN THE UNITED STATES, PEPPERONI IS THE MOST POPULAR PIZZA TOPPING.

D:  BUT THERE ARE PLACES WHERE THEY TOP THEIR PIZZA WITH STUFF THAT MANY AMERICANS WOULD FIND A BIT STRANGE.  TAKE JAPAN, FOR EXAMPLE.  THERE IS A POPULAR PIZZA TOPPING IN JAPAN CALLED MAYO JAGA, WHICH INCLUDES THINGS LIKE BACON, MAYONNAISE, AND POTATO.  IN BRAZIL, THEY ADD TOPPINGS LIKE CORN, PEAS, AND HEARTS OF PALM TO THEIR PIZZA.  IN SWEDEN, MANY PEOPLE TOP THEIR PIZZA WITH BANANAS AND CURRY POWDER.  IN AUSTRALIA, EGGS ARE A COMMON PIZZA TOPPING.  THERE ARE SO MANY FUN POSSIBILITIES YOU CAN TINKER WITH TO FIND YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA.  

O:  DOMINO’S PIZZA IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PIZZA CHAINS IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN THE WORLD.  THEY DELIVER MORE PIZZAS THAN ANYONE ELSE WORLDWIDE.  DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE OVER 34 MILLION DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS YOU CAN CREATE WHEN ORDERING PIZZA FROM DOMINO’S?

D:  PIZZA IS WILDLY POPULAR TODAY, SO YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED BY THE HISTORY OF PIZZA, BECAUSE IT TOOK QUITE A WHILE FOR PEOPLE TO DISCOVER THEIR LOVE FOR IT.

O:  ALTHOUGH ITALIANS ARE MOSTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING WHAT WE CALL PIZZA, THE ORIGINS OF PIZZA CAN ACTUALLY BE TRACED BACK TO ANCIENT GREECE.  THE GREEKS BAKED FLATBREADS THAT THEY TOPPED WITH ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT TOPPINGS.

D: ITALIANS THEN INTRODUCED SOMETHING INTO THE MIX THAT THE GREEKS WERE NOT USING TO MAKE THEIR PIZZA.  IN THE 1500’S FLATBREAD PIZZA WAS OFTEN ENJOYED BY PEASANTS IN NAPLES, ITALY BECAUSE IT WAS SO INEXPENSIVE.  INSTEAD OF USING MANY OF THE DIFFERENT SEASONINGS USED BY THE GREEKS UP UNTIL THEN, THE PEOPLE OF NAPLES WERE USING TOMATOES TO CREATE THEIR PIZZA.  TOMATOES WERE VERY INEXPENSIVE AT THE TIME, BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY JUST DISCOVERED THAT TOMATOES WERE NOT POISONOUS, AS MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE.  EVEN THOUGH PIZZA GREW IN POPULARITY IN NAPLES, AND TOURISTS ENJOYED EATING IT TOO, IT REMAINED A FOOD OF PEASANTS, AS MANY WEALTHIER ITALIANS STAYED AWAY.  

O:  ALL OF THAT CHANGED IN THE LATE 1800’S WHEN QUEEN MARGHERITA AND KING UMBERTO THE FIRST TRAVELLED THROUGH ITALY.  

D:  DURING THEIR TRAVELS, QUEEN MARGHERITA OBSERVED PEOPLE EATING PIZZA, AND SHE DECIDED TO GIVE IT A TRY.  SHE CALLED A CHEF TO HER PALACE AND TASKED HIM WITH MAKING A VARIETY OF PIZZA FOR HER.  HE DESIGNED A SPECIAL PIZZA FOR HER WITH TOPPINGS THAT MATCHED THE COLORS OF THE ITALIAN FLAG, RED TOMATOES, WHITE MOZZARELLA, AND GREEN BASIL.  SHE LOVED, LOVED, LOVED THE RED, WHITE, AND GREEN PIZZA.  SHE LOVED IT SO MUCH THAT THE PIZZA WAS NAMED AFTER HER AND IS STILL CALLED MARGHERITA PIZZA TODAY.  

O:  EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, WORD SPREAD THAT THE QUEEN LOVED PIZZA.  AS A RESULT, LOTS OF WEALTHY ITALIANS STARTED EATING PIZZA FOR THE FIRST TIME AND DISCOVERED HOW YUMMY IT IS. 

D:  IT WAS AROUND THAT TIME THAT PIZZA ALSO STARTED APPEARING IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE OF THE MANY ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS THAT WERE ARRIVING IN AMERICA.  EVEN THOUGH IT ARRIVED IN AMERICA IN THE LATE 1800’S, YOU WOULD ONLY BE ABLE TO FIND PIZZA IN CITIES WITH A LARGE ITALIAN POPULATION, LIKE NEW YORK CITY, PHILADELPHIA, AND CHICAGO.  

O:  THAT ALL CHANGED AFTER WORLD WAR 2.  AFTER THE WAR, MANY SOLDIERS RETURNED HOME FROM ITALY AND BOUGHT WITH THEM A LOVE FOR PIZZA.

D:  AND THE SOLDIERS WERE FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES, NOT JUST THE CITIES WHERE PIZZA WAS ALREADY BEING ENJOYED.  THAT MEANS THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO INTRODUCE PIZZA TO PLACES THAT WERE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SUPER YUMMY FOOD.  ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE PIZZA INDUSTRY EXPLODED AND AMERICANS WERE ENJOYING PIZZA IN EVERY STATE, FROM COAST TO COAST.  

O:  PIZZA IS USUALLY MADE UP OF THREE MAIN INGREDIENTS:  BREAD, TOMATO SAUCE, AND CHEESE.  

D:  THE BREAD, OR DOUGH, IN PIZZA IS GENERALLY MADE UP OF FLOUR, WATER, AND YEAST, ALTHOUGH OTHER INGREDIENTS CAN BE ADDED TO THE MIX AS WELL.  

O:  THE SAUCE USED FOR PIZZA IS USUALLY TOMATO SAUCE, ALTHOUGH PEOPLE OFTEN EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT SAUCES LIKE ALFREDO SAUCE OR BARBECUE SAUCE.

D:  THE MOST POPULAR CHEESE USED FOR MAKING PIZZA IS MOZZARELLA, BUT ONCE AGAIN, THE VARIETY OF CHEESES THAT CAN BE USED IN MAKING PIZZA IS ALMOST ENDLESS.  

BEFORE WE GET TO THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK, CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE INCREDIBLE PIZZA FACTS.

O:  ON ANY GIVEN DAY, ABOUT 13% OF AMERICANS EAT PIZZA.  93% OF AMERICANS WILL HAVE AT LEAST ONE SLICE OF PIZZA PER MONTH.  I GUESS I’M REALLY IN THE MINORITY.    

D:  THE MOST EXPENSIVE PIZZA SELLS FOR ABOUT $12,000.  YOU HEARD ME RIGHT, $12,000.  CHEF RENATO VIOLA CREATED HIS PIZZA, CALLED LOUIS THE 13TH, AT HIS ITALIAN PIZZERIA.  THIS COSTLY PIZZA PIE IS TOPPED WITH THREE TYPES OF CAVIAR, LOBSTER, SHRIMP, BUFFALO MOZZARELLA, AND PINK AUSTRALIAN SALT.   

O:  THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF PIZZA MEMORABILIA CAN BE FOUND IN A MUSEUM IN PHILADELPHIA CALLED PIZZA BRAIN.  WHILE YOU’RE THERE, YOU CAN ALSO EAT PIZZA FROM THEIR RESTAURANT.  

D: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN SOMEONE PAT THEIR PIZZA SLICE WITH A NAPKIN TO SOAK UP SOME OF THE OIL?  HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED IF THAT ACTUALLY MAKES THE PIZZA ANY HEALTHIER?WELL, IT TURNS OUT THAT BLOTTING YOUR PIZZA SLICE ACTUALLY MAKES YOUR PIZZA A LITTLE HEALTHIER BY ABOUT 35 CALORIES PER SLICE. 

OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  HOW MANY TOTAL SLICES OF PIZZA DO AMERICANS EAT, ON AVERAGE, EVERY MINUTE?          

O:  AMERICANS EAT 21,000 SLICES OF PIZZA PER MINUTE.  THAT’S ABSOLUTELY INSANE.

D:  OVER 3 BILLION PIZZAS ARE SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES YEARLY.  THAT’S MORE THAN HALF OF THE WORLDWIDE 5 BILLION PIZZAS SOLD EVERY YEAR.  THE BIGGEST DAY FOR PIZZA SALES WAS SUPER BOWL SUNDAY FOR A LONG TIME, BUT HALLOWEEN HAS PASSED SUPER BOWL SUNDAY IN RECENT YEARS.  THE SLOWEST DAY FOR PIZZA SALES IS THANKSGIVING DAY.  

THIS EPISODE HAS MADE ME SUPER HUNGRY.  YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO GUESS WHAT FOOD I’M IN THE MOOD FOR.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  166 - PIZZA.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB ANDREW FOR THE MOUTH WATERING TOPIC SUGGESTION.  REACH OUT TO US ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO LET US KNOW HOW YOU LIKE YOUR PIZZA.  MY FAVORITE PIZZA IS TOPPED WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND PINEAPPLE.  HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR PIZZA?  BEFORE WE GO, WE HAVE A SPECIAL LISTENER TO THANK.

O:  THANK YOU, FELIX O., FOR BEING OUR NEWEST SUPPORTER.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO FELIX FOR SUPPORTING THE PODCAST ON PATREON.  FOR HIS SUPPORT, THERE ARE LOTS OF CURIOUS KID PODCAST EXTRAS FOR FELIX TO ENJOY.  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE PODCAST, HEAD ON OVER TO WWW.PATREON.COM TO LEARN MORE, THAT’S SPELLED P-A-T-R-E-O-N.  NEXT WEEK, WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT NINJAS FOR LISTENERS IN PROVO, UTAH AND SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.