Chicago-style pizza
 Chicago-style deep-dish pizza | |
| Type | Pizza |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Chicago, Illinois |
| Main ingredients | Pizza dough, tomato sauce, cheese |
| Part of a series on |
| Pizza |
|---|
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Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several different styles developed in Chicago, widely referred to simply as deep dish pizza due to its cooking style. The pan in which it is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style pizza may be prepared in deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza.[1][2]
Deep-dish
According to Tim Samuelson, Chicago's official cultural historian,[3] there is not enough documentation to determine with certainty who invented Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.[4] It is often reported that Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, in 1943,[5] by Uno's founder Ike Sewell. However, a 1956 article from the Chicago Daily News asserts that Uno's original pizza chef Rudy Malnati developed the recipe,[6] and Michele Mohr from the Chicago Tribune reports that the menu at Rosati's Authentic Chicago Pizza has included deep-dish since it opened in 1926, according to the descendants of Saverio Rosati.[7]
- Deep-dish pizza
A deep-dish pizza from California
Deep-dish pizza from Lou Malnati's
Stuffed pizza
By the mid-1970s, two Chicago chains, Nancy's Pizza, founded by Rocco Palese,[8] and Giordano's Pizzeria, operated by brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio, began experimenting with deep-dish pizza and created the stuffed pizza.[9] Palese based his creation on his mother's recipe for scarcedda, an Italian Easter pie from his hometown of Potenza, more commonly known in Italy as pizza rustica Lucana.[10][11]
Thin-crust pizza
There is also a style of thin-crust pizza found in Chicago and throughout the rest of the Midwest. The crust is thin and firm enough to have a noticeable crunch, unlike a New York-style pizza. While in New York bakers who had immigrated from Italy made pizzas using the traditional method of tossing the dough by hand, the tavern owners who first developed Chicago's thin-crust pizza instead rolled their dough or used mechanical sheeters. This led to thinner crusts than those present in hand-tossed pizzas.[12]
This pizza is cut into squares, also known as "tavern-style" or "party cut", as opposed to wedges.[13][14] The name "tavern-style" comes from the pizzas originally being served in taverns, often as an enticement to drink alcohol. This origin in taverns is also linked to the pizza's shape, as the square shape of the slices made it possible for taverns that did not have plates to instead set them on napkins.[12]
According to GrubHub data and Chicago Pizza Tours, thin-crust outsells the more widely known deep-dish style among locals. Technomics food industry researcher Darren Tristano has questioned GrubHub's conclusion on the basis of the delivery service's user demographics, and NPR noted that the data would not include information on several deep-dish chains that are not on GrubHub.[15][16]
Toppings
The typical toppings commonly found on pizzas in most of North America (i.e. sausage, pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, etc) are also standards in Chicago area pizzerias; however, a survey in 2013 indicated that while the most popular pizza topping in the rest of most of the United States, is pepperoni,[17][18] in Chicago, the most popular topping is Italian sausage.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Ali, Tanveer; Ludwig, Howard (January 13, 2015). "A Guide to Chicago Pizza: From Deep-Dish to Tavern-Style and Beyond" Archived 2016-01-01 at the Wayback Machine, DNAinfo. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ Kindelsperger, Nick (June 2, 2014). "The Best Deep Dish Pizza in Chicago" Archived 2016-01-06 at the Wayback Machine, Serious Eats. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ Borrelli, Christopher. "Tim Samuelson: Chicago's cultural historian". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- ^ "Who Invented Deep Dish?", Chicago Tribune, February 18, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ Who Cooked That Up? Archived May 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Pizano's Pizza and Pasta – About Us – The Best Chicago-Style Pizza and Italian Restaurant". www.pizanoschicago.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-29. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- ^ Mohr, Michele (October 22, 1995). "Rosati Family is Dividing Up the Pie". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- ^ Chu, Louisa (September 19, 2016). "Family's Stuffed-Pizza Dynasty Began with a Fight". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
- ^ Pollack, Penny; Jeff Ruby (2005). Everybody Loves Pizza. Emmis Books. p. 33. ISBN 1-57860-218-1.
- ^ "Our Story". Nancy's Pizza. Archived from the original on 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
- ^ "Scarcedda". cuorebasilicata.it.
- ^ a b McClelland, Edward (June 30, 2020). "Tavern Style Isn't Just Chicago's Signature Pizza, but Its Signature Food". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ Vettel, Phil; Kevin Pang (2009-07-23). "Pizza slices: Two foodies debate the merits of wedge versus 'party cut'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL: Tribune Company. Archived from the original on 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ Chahwala, Jaison (March 13, 2017). "20 Great Spots to Taste Real Chicago Pizza: Tavern-Style Thin Crust". Eater Chicago. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ Rousseau, Caryn (2014-09-19). "It's not all deep-dish pizza in Chicago". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
- ^ John, Derek (December 20, 2013). "Deep Dish or Thin Crust? Even Chicagoans Can't Agree". NPR. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ Lutz, Ashley (October 10, 2013). "Here's a Pie Chart of the Most Popular Pizza Toppings". Business Insider. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ^ "The Top 10 Most Popular Pizza Toppings". Huffington Post. November 12, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- ^ Kindelsperger, Nick (August 21, 2017). "Why Are Chicagoans So Obsessed with Italian Sausage on Pizza? An Investigation". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
Further reading
- Bruno, Pasquale Jr. (1983). The Great Chicago-Style Pizza Cookbook. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. ISBN 0809257300.
- Ruby, Jeff (July 2010). "The 25 Best Pizzas in Chicago". Chicago. Archived from the original on 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
