Pizza Facts for Kids

The idea of putting stuff on flatbread isn't new- new! Evidence shows people were eating these simple meals as far back as 12,000 years ago during Neolithic times.

The ancient Greeks made a flat, round cheese pie called plakous, which they brought to Southern Italy centuries ago. That’s way older than your grandparents!

While these weren't pizza today, they were the ancestors of the pies we love, showing that people have always liked a quick, delicious bread meal.

In January 2023, a team partnered with Pizza Hut and a YouTuber to create a colossal pizza that covered 13,990 square feet! That's huge!

To build this giant, they needed 13,653 pounds of dough and over 8,800 pounds of cheese! Imagine rolling that dough out!

The pizza was so big it had to be baked in many large sections at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The tomato is a key part of modern pizza, but when it first arrived in Italy from the Americas, many people thought it was poisonous! Scary!

It wasn't until around 1552 that the poor people in Naples started experimenting with the fruit on their flatbreads.

This brave move by Naples’ working poor gave us the incredible, bright red sauce we can't live without today.

The original location considered the world's first pizzeria is Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba in Naples, Italy, which first opened way back in 1830.

It used to be a super popular spot for students and artists who didn't have much money, so their first pizzas were super simple—sometimes just oil and garlic!

It’s incredible that you can visit the same place that served the first official pizzas and maybe even try an original recipe.

In 1889, Queen Margherita of Savoy visited Naples and got bored of fancy French food. She asked for pizza!

A famous pizza maker named Raffaele Esposito made three pies, and the Queen loved the one with red tomato, white mozzarella, and green basil.

He named it Pizza Margherita because those colors matched the Italian flag! Talk about a royal compliment for a pizza.

At Domino's 'World's Fastest Pizza Maker' competition, the current record is held by Joana Mendes, who made three large pizzas in just 39.2 seconds!

That means she only spent about 13 seconds per pizza—that’s faster than it takes you to pick which movie to watch!

It’s not just speed; judges make sure the dough is stretched and the toppings are right, so it has to be fast and good quality for kids.

To get that super crispy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside crust, traditional Neapolitan pizza needs 450°C to 500°C heat.

That’s over 900 degrees Fahrenheit! Your home oven probably only hits about 550°F (290°C) max!

This intense heat causes the Maillard reaction, which is a fancy science word for the browning that makes the crust taste amazing.

Get this: the 'Louis XIII' pizza costs a wild $12,000! It’s made by chef Renato Viola for a very select, small crowd in Italy.

The dough for this fancy pie takes 72 hours to rest and prepare, and it's dusted with special Murray River pink salt.

It's covered in three types of rare caviar and Norwegian lobster—it's more like a fine-dining meal than a regular takeaway for kids!

While you might love pepperoni, pizza is totally different around the world. In Russia, one popular choice is 'Mockba' pizza, which includes tuna, mackerel, sardines, and salmon!

If you visit Japan, be ready for toppings like squid, eel, and even mayonnaise with potato and bacon (called Mayo Jaga)!

In India, you might find tasty toppings like paneer cheese and pickled ginger on your slice.

Pizza crossed the ocean with Italian immigrants to the United States around the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The very first American pizzerias, like Lombardi's in NYC (licensed in 1905), were places mainly visited by Italian immigrants.

For a long time, pizza was seen as food for a specific group until it became a popular food for everyone after World War II.