February 9: it’s National Pizza Day!

3 min read

National Pizza Day, on this day, February 9, is the perfect time to get that pizza eating game on!
A whole day, 24 happy and delicious hours, devoted especially to celebrating that yummy carb that almost no one can do without.
From its humble beginning of sauce on a modest flatbread to today’s gourmet offerings, pizza has captured the hearts (and stomachs) of people from all around the globe.
Enjoying the basic Italian Margherita pizza?
Or maybe the traditional American cheese and pepperoni?
There are many disputes about the best pizza, with the main argument being whether pineapple belongs on a pizza or not.
No matter each person’s preference, though, there’s one thing pretty much everyone can agree on: pizza is absolutely one of the best culinary inventions around.
But, aside from figuring out what toppings to have on pizza, it is also necessary to make the decision about what type of crust to go for, as there are also thick and thin crusts, as well as pizzas with stuffed crusts.
The options are practically endless!

Despite it’s impossible to know for sure, some people might say that National Pizza Day got its beginning in the 10th century in Naples, Italy.
This is when records first show the presence of what has now become our modern-day pizza.
It started out as a simple flatbread spread with sauce and sprinkled with cheese, and Pizza eventually made its mark on America in 1905.
In New York City, a pizzeria called Lombardi’s created the spark that would light hearts across the country from then until now.
It was 1905 when Lombardi’s was granted the first mercantile license to make the delicious dish issued in the United States.
And, amazingly, Lombardi’s is still in business! For those who want to taste that first real pizza to hit American shores, head over to Little Italy in Manhattan and check them out…

But there are lots of pretty interesting facts about pizzas that can be shared in honor of this day.
Did you known, for example, that 350 slices of pizza are eaten every second in the United States?
Over 3 billion pizzas are sold in the USA each year and add another 1 billion on frozen pizzas!
In the United States, 17% of all restaurants are pizzerias. Pizza is in fact the second most popular fast food in the United States. The only fast food that people love more than pizza is hamburgers!
75% of Canadians report consuming the cheesy savory food favorite at least once a month or more. However, surprisingly, the country with the highest consumption of pizza in the world per capita is Norway.
The most expensive pizza in the world will cost a massive $12,000 to order. It is sold in Italy, made by Renato Viola, and just the dough takes 72 hours to make. As you can imagine, It features some of the most lavish ingredients such as grains of pink Australian sea-salt from the Murray River, lobster from Norway, and even three different types of caviar.
Always about Italy, Antica Pizzeria, the first Pizzeria, opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738.

And, how to celebrate?
All easy: Eat your favorite pizza, visit a local pizzeria, make your own pizza at home, maybe experimenting with toppings, crusts and sauces….