In all likelihood, you have had
pizza at least once in your life. Chances are also pretty good that you
enjoy it as well.
There are many types of pizza in the world --
deep-dish,
Chicago,
New York, even
fringe pizzas like
stuffed-crust and their
ilk. You might claim to have tried all of these. You might even claim that you've had a
Neapolitan.
But have you really?
Neapolitan pizza is the
original pizza; it is the classical pizza from which all others are derived, originating in
Naples, which is also considered to be the first place in
Italy that
tomatoes were ever added with regularity to dishes. There are several things which define a Neapolitan, though, aside from
geographic origin -- these involve the
cooking method and
ingredients.
More specifically, an
authentic ("
verace") Neapolitan is
brick oven cooked, and its ingredients are very specific: "
olive oil, salt, flour, water,
yeast and
mozzarella di bufala"
1. Usually, the
mozzarella is not used right away, when very
moist, but is instead aged for a day or two, allowing it to dry, somewhat. The crust is, of course,
handmade.
So you still think you have had a true Neapolitan?
The Neapolitan
tradition is held and protected very closely. In fact, if you can believe it, there is actually a
trade association for the Neapolitan: The
Verace Pizza Napoletana Association. In order to have one's pizza classified as authentic Neapolitan, one must join the
organisation, whose
charter lays out very specific
regulations regarding the construction of
Neapolitans.
Most registered association members are, of course, in Italy. However, there are a few in the US and other countries as well -- although
Bertucci's is the only
restaurant chain in the US who is a member of the VPN.
More info on both the history of pizza and on the
Verace Pizza Napoletana can be found at the US Association's website:
http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/
References:
1 http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/neapolitan_pizza_vs.htm