Did America Invent Pizza Sauce?
Hold onto your marinara, folks, because there's a spicy rumor going around the trattorias of Italy! A food historian named Alberto Grandi is stirring the pot, claiming the red sauce on pizza - the lifeblood of "Pizza Rossa" -- might be an American invention, not an Italian one.
Grandi's fiery theory comes courtesy of his new book, co-written with Daniele Soffiati, "La Cucina Italiana Non Esiste" (Italian Cuisine Does Not Exist). Apparently, the authors are on a mission to debunk myths surrounding Italian food. In this case, the myth being tossed into the wood-fired oven is the origin story of tomato sauce.
A Food Identity Crisis?
Grandi claims Italians only discovered the "so-called lifeblood of Italian cooking" when millions emigrated to the US during the big Italian diaspora (1880-1920). According to the book, these Italian expats then waltzed back to their homeland with their newfound love of tomato sauce, forever changing the pizza game.
Grandi, a professor at the University of Parma in northern Italy, told La Repubblica newspaper, "Pizza became red in America. The plant is from America and so is the use of tomato sauce as the basis for our cuisine."
Want another kicker? Grandi also says that before this saucy exchange, Italian pizza was basically just a fancy focaccia adorned with various toppings. Shocking, right?
Is the Classic Margherita the OG Pizza Rosa?
But of course, this staggering bit of info isn't going to rewrite history without a fight. Italian pizzaiolos are firing back, with some, like Gianni Altrui, a pizza-making legend, telling The Telegraph that it's "rubbish." Altrui says red pizza has been around since at least 1889, with the invention of the Margherita pizza-a patriotic masterpiece adorned with basil, mozzarella, and tomato to represent the Italian flag.
Is Grandi onto something, or is this a case of a food historian oversalting his facts? The jury's still out, but one thing's for sure: This debate is hotter than a fresh pizza straight out of the oven!
