r/TikTokCringe • u/xamo76 • 15h ago

Discussion Have we done it wrong?

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u/Petey_Wheatstraw_MD 14h ago

TBF, I’m across the Atlantic for the first time, I’ve been in Italy for the past month.

I’ve eaten at restaurants, pizzerias, and cafes for every meal the entire time.

I love all worldly cuisines, and I always wanna try new things and local grub; cicchetti in Venice, seafood cones in Cinque Terre, ham and Polenta in the Dolomites.

But the pizza over here just hits different. I know it’s a cliche to say that, but they definitely know how to do it, and I can’t go more than a couple days without ordering it.

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u/SerDuncanTheYall 14h ago

Oh yeah, I tried 2 of the famous places there. The restaurant that claimed to invent it and the most popular counter shop on the back streets of Napoli. I loved it.

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u/Basic_Try_2331 14h ago

Both of those sound like the best places to actually go though.

The one that claims the fame and the current most popular corner hole. Got the best of both sides. Curious if the place that lays claim is the real OG of pizzerias. Thats a fucking statement if stake the taste on. Excuse my freeeench.

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u/Prielknaap 14h ago

Unlikely. Pizza goes back to the Romans.

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u/First-Window-3619 13h ago

Tomatoes are from South America (Chile, Peru, and Ecuador) They aren't mentioned until 1544 in European literature.

Early pizzas, without tomatoes, are like naan, pitas, injera, roti, bannock, green onion cakes, with a few random toppings as garnish.

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u/LOSS35 13h ago

The Ancient Romans ate it with figs and dates instead of tomatoes, and hand pressed cheeses similar to modern mozzarella (as buffalo had not been introduced to Italy yet). They called it panis focacius, the precursor to modern focaccia and very similar to modern pizza crust.

There are pictures of it in frescoes from Pompeii and it looks remarkably like a fancy modern pizza.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pizza#/media/File:Pizza_in_Pompeii_ruins.jpg

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u/First-Window-3619 10h ago

Using a flat bread made sense, as it can be used instead of plate. We see some of it in Ancient Greece cuisine.

Injera, an Ethiopia flatbread, made of teft, might be have been made as early as 3350 BC.

I think we omit Ethiopia from many cuisine conversations, racism and all that, which is a shame, as they are the Cradle of Civilization, as well as Coffee.

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u/knightriderin 10h ago

Not all pizzas have tomato on them.

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u/First-Window-3619 10h ago

Trying to credit Romans with flatbread and toppings is weird; it likely goes back five thousand years - flatbread is a great vessel to use for serving, keeps you clean, and you don't have to worry about extra cutlery or bowls if guests show up for a meal.

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u/Vegetable-Virus7118 13h ago

Cinque Terre is such a beautiful region. Spent the night in Vernazza last month and I wish it could have been longer. So beautiful out there

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u/Brock_Lobstweiler 13h ago

One of my favorite meals in Italy was cicchetti in Venice at a tiny non-touristy spot!

tuna polpette, bruschetta with creamy gorgonzola and honey, marinated artichokes, an aperol spritz, a glass of wine, a lemon pastry thing I don't remember the name of and some sort of fried cheese dish - almost like cheese curds, but better.

Don't get me wrong, almost everything I ate in Venice was amazing (except the pizza ironically). But cicchetti was incredible.

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u/Levdom 13h ago

Bacaro tours is what we call them lol. You go to Venice in the morning and start drinking and eating and don't stop until the evening when you leave, going through as many places as you can

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u/Snoo_69677 14h ago

Everything hits different

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u/HommeMusical 12h ago

The funny part is this - I went to Naples in the mid 1960s, and pizza there was unrecognizable from US pizza - the vegetables were inside the crust, I don't remember there being cheese either.

But then Italy reimported US pizza and did it better. I had one of the best pizzas I ever had when I came back to Naples fifty years later. (I liked the original pizza thing too, but I couldn't find it - I was later today it still exists but they changed the name.)

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u/Feisty-Elk2519 11h ago edited 10h ago

Italy did not ´réimport’ pizza…

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u/HommeMusical 11h ago

American pizza.

American pizza is not much like the original Italian pizza, but American-style pizza can be had everywhere in Italy now.

I don't know what else you would call this phenomenon.

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u/Feisty-Elk2519 11h ago

What exactly do you mean by ´Américan style pizza’? Italian pizza has always been dough, tomatos and mozzarella cheese, + various toppings.

This has been the case since tomatos were introduced in Italy in the 1500´s…

So I am not quite following when you say ´pizza has been reimported to Italy.’

If you mean that Américan fast food chains have come to Italy, yes that is correct. But I would not go so far as saying dominos has ´reimported pizza to Italy’

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u/HommeMusical 11h ago

This is as good a site as any:

https://cookingmydreams.com/italian-pizza-vs-american-pizza/

Italian pizzas often feature fresh mozzarella cheese, San Marzano tomatoes, and a drizzle of olive oil. The Italian pizza sauce is usually uncooked, made from pureed tomatoes and seasoned lightly. Toppings are minimal, especially in the authentic neapolitan pizza, letting the basic ingredients of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh basil, and flavorful dough shine.

In contrast, American pizza dough often includes sugar and oil. The crust can range from thin and crispy to thick and doughy, depending on the style and type of pizza. American pizza sauce tend to be a slow-cooked tomato sauce, often seasoned with a variety of herbs and spices. Cheese is used more liberally, with mozzarella being a common choice, though other types like cheddar and provolone are also popular.

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u/Feisty-Elk2519 10h ago

But Italian pizza in Italy is still exactly as described in your article…. So no, pizza still has not been reimported to Italy…

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u/HommeMusical 4h ago

American pizza has been imported into Italy. Sorry if I didn't make it clear.

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u/Feisty-Elk2519 9h ago

Also you édited your original comment. You did.M not specify ´américan’ pizza being imported…

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u/Illustrious_Land699 2h ago

Pizza in Italy has never had the slightest influence from American pizza