Yippie, today is National Pizza Day. This important event is celebrated annually on 9. February.
What is National Pizza Day all about?
Well, Pizza is one of the most consumed fast foods in the United States. And may I say, it is the most versatile and delicious (fast) food as well.
From the traditional Neapolitan and Sicilian pizza or the Chicago-style or deep-dish pie. Everyone can at least name one of their favorite pizza styles.
So, let’s celebrate.
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History
From Italy, the Pizza started its way to the United States at the end of the 19th century. Gennaro Lombardi was an Italian Immigrant who became famous for opening the first pizzeria in New York in 1905.
By 2010, New York had over 400 pizza restaurants. (according to Wikipedia)
The origins of the National Pizza Day are not quite clear, but it began to emerge around 2000/2001.
Here Are Some Cool Facts
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Pepperoni is the most popular pizza at 36% of all pies ordered.
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Over 3 billion pizzas are sold in the USA each year. Add another 1 billion on frozen pizzas
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17% of all US Restaurants are pizzerias.
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Antica Pizzeria, the first Pizzeria, opened in Naples, Italy, in 1738.
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Americans consume on average 23 pounds of pizza per person each year.
…And some more interesting facts about pizza
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According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2014 Food Survey report on the Consumption of Pizza, 13% of Americans consume pizza on any given day!
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According to gross sales earned by pizza chains, the top 5 American pizzerias are:1) Pizza Hut, gross sales of $13.4 Billion2) Domino’s, gross sales of $8.9 Billion3) Little Caesars, gross sales of $3.4 Billion4) Papa John’s, gross sales of $3.3 Billion5) Papa Murphy’s, gross sales of $7.85 Million
How To Celebrate
⇒ Why not make your own homemade pizza from scratch [check out my best pizza dough recipe and pizza sauce recipe or try my favorite pizza!]
⇒ Add your favorite toppings and bake in a hot conventional oven. Or, heat up your wood fired oven and invite your friends for a pizza party.
⇒ The sky is the limit when it comes to toppings: pepper, onions, mushrooms, eggplant, different cheese, mince, bacon, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, herbs, tomatoes … I am sure you can add a few more ingredients. 🙂
⇒ How about having a pizza and movie night?
⇒ Or, go and visit your favorite pizza place. They might even offer some discounts and specials to celebrate NPD.
How Much Money Would You Spend On A Pizza
To celebrate National Pizza Day, an Australian restaurant has created a $100 pizza with expensive ingredients like black truffle and lobster.
400 Gradi owner Johnny Di Francesco said the pizza ingredients included Italian plum tomatoes, zucchini, lobster carpaccio and black truffle.
“We’re using $40 of black truffle and $45 of lobster on each pizza — so it’s definitely a generous quantity,” Mr Di Francesco says.
He said making the pizza is not an attempt to win a world record, but simply to do something special for customers to enjoy.
“We have some really loyal customers and we know that they’re going to absolutely love this combination of ingredients,” he said.
Mr Di Francesco says the pizza will be available for lunch and dinner on Thursday and Friday.
“We’ve extended the event for two days because we’ve had such a high demand for the pizza,” he says.
Would you pay $100 per pie? Please let me know in the comment box below.
I only know one thing for sure. If it were up to my children, we would have National Pizza Day every day.
Guess what we are having for Dinner tonight?