User:Rhododendrites/Pizza in New York City
History
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Italian immigrants came together in an area of Manhattan later known as Little Italy. They brought with them a variety of culinary traditions, including Neapolitan pizza, a combination of flour, water, tomatoes, and cheese cooked in a domed, wood-fired oven. With no access to the kind of ovens needed to make that style, the immigrants rented time to use the bread ovens at local bakeries.[1] These were much bigger and ran on coal, which burns at an even higher temperature than wood. As a result, the pizzas were much larger and one could feed multiple people, unlike the traditionally smaller Neapolitans. As gas ovens became more popular, pizza became easier to reheat without burning.[1] and pizzas cooked inside took longer, leading to ingredients like oil being added to the dough and the introduction of toppings that would not otherwise have cooked properly in high heat.[2]
According to the Museum of the City of New York, while pizza was created in Naples, "New York City is recognized as the epicenter of the American pizza culture that has taken over the world".[2] It has also had an influence on Italian cuisine through the pizza effect.
The first pizzeria in New York City, and possibly the United States, was Lombardi's in what is now Manhattan's Little Italy neighborhood. Gennaro Lombardi opened the restaurant in 1905, making pizzas in a coal-burning oven.[3]
Styles
A wide range of pizza styles are served in New York City,
New York style
The basis for New York–style pizza is the Neapolitan style[citation needed], which historically involved a hot, wood-fired, stone oven. When Italian immigrants used bread ovens to make pizza,
New York style is often cooked at a high temperature, sometimes using coal-fired ovens, to produce a crust that is both crisp and chewy.[4]
When eating a slice, it is common to fold the pizza at the crust.[5]
Jumbo slice
Grandma
Neapolitan
Sicilian
Ingredients
Water
A common belief is that pizza in New York City tastes better because of the city's unfiltered tap water,[6] similar to an appreciation of New York bagels. Water is brought into the city from multiple areas, but most is from the Catskill and Delaware watersheds, which is considered "soft" because it has less calcium and magnesium than other water supplies. It flows to the Hillview Reservoir, where it is disinfected and treated with various chemicals that also raise its pH level to 7.2.[7] By the time it reaches the taps of New York City, it has a variety of substances, but it is the second softest of any city in the United States. Calcium and magnesium has the effect of strengthening the bonds between proteins in the flour, so soft water leads to softer dough.[8][9] According to Food & Wine, however, it is likely this difference in water has a nonzero but "minimal" effect on the final product, which varies considerably in quality even among pizzerias using the same water.[9][6]
Flour
Some pizzerias, like Scarr's in Lower Manhattan, mill their own flour.
Cheese
[Munchies says[5] Grande Cheese East Coast Blend is common -- I can't find much else about it.]
Sauce
Pizzerias
Most pizzerias in New York City focus on selling individual slices rather than whole pies.[4] Estimates for the total number range from 800 to 3,000.[4]
Lombardi's in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan is regarded as the first pizzeria in the city and possibly the first in the United States.[4]
Many of the older pizzerias, like Lombardi's, used coal-fired ovens, which operate at a higher temperature than other ovens, which cooks the dough's exterior to a crisp while retaining a chewier interior.[4] Though sometimes thought to have been banned in the city due to emitting smoke with harmful particulates, the 2016 law just requires an emission control called a "scrubber" to filter the smoke for human health and climate reasons.[10][11] In addition to Lombardi's, Patsy's and John's of Bleecker Street in Manhattan, and Totonno's and Grimaldi's in Brooklyn are examples of coal oven pizzerias.[3]
In the 2000s, several Neapolitan-style pizzerias opened, many of them using a wood-fired oven instead of coal.[4] While not all Neapolitan, Roberta's, Paulie Gee's, and Lucali in Brooklyn, and Keste and Motorino in Manhattan use wood-fired ovens.
Economics
The price of a slice of pizza in New York City can be controversial, and has been used as an economic indicator. A long-running correlation between the price of a slice and of a transit ride has been cited as the Pizza-Subway Connection.
There was a protest outside Pizza Suprema in the early 1970s when it raised its price from $0.20 to $0.25 a slice.[1]
In the 2000s and 2010s, new "dollar slice" businesses opened which prioritized high-volume sales at a low price, charging $0.99 or $1.00 for a slice of pizza. Most are located in Manhattan, where population density is high enough to support such a business model, and they often operate as chains.[1] Critics of the model argue that it is detrimental to traditional neighborhood "midpriced" pizzerias.[1]
The rising costs of rents to operate a business in New York City has been a persistent challenge for pizzeria owners.
References
- ^ a b c d e Hollander, Sophia (April 14, 2013). "Economics, Sliced". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ a b "New York by the Slice". www.mcny.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b Raisfeld, Robin; Patronite, Rob (2014-02-02). "The Truth About Coal-Oven Pizza: It's Not As Rare As You Thought". Grub Street. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ a b c d e f "NYC Pizza Cultural Literacy". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ a b "The MUNCHIES Guide to New York Pizza". VICE. 2018-02-09. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ a b "Is the Water Really the Key to New York City's Pizza Supremacy? | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News". WNYC. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Pizza is better made with New York water. Here's how we know". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "Is Good Pizza Really All About the Water? | The Food Lab". Serious Eats. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ a b "Is New York Water Really the Secret to the Best Bagels and Pizza?". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
- ^ "New York City DEP sets record straight on pizzeria regulations to help curb pollution". ABC7 New York. 2023-07-25. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Wiener-Bronner, Danielle (2023-06-27). "Here's what's actually happening with wood- and coal-fired pizza ovens in NYC | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
Category:Cuisine of New York City Category:Italian-American culture in New York City Category:Pizza in New York City