National Pizza Month (1)

• The history of pizza

Find out why this delicious food is loved all over the world

Do you like pizza? If so, this is your month! In 1984, an Indiana pizzeria owner established October as National Pizza Month in the United States. So how did pizza become one of America’s favorite foods?

The history of pizza
Records show that ancient Greeks and Romans cooked flat, round bread with various toppings. But Italian cooks perfected the dish by adding one key ingredient – tomatoes. Pizza’s popularity grew during the 1830s, and pizzerias began popping up around the region.

When Italians moved to other countries, they took their pizza recipes along.

The delicious food began gaining popularity in the U.S. after soldiers returned from WWII. While fighting in Italy , many had discovered the famous food. When they returned home, they took with them a taste for the delightful dish. Today 94 percent of Americans eat pizza at least once a month. They consume 100 acres of pizza per day, which equals 350 slices per second!

Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Cooks and Cookers
Hi, friends! What do you call a person who knows how to cook, and please don’t say cooker. Unless that person has an electrical cord plugged into him.

Ha-ha, very funny Steve! But you are right. I hear many students say their mothers are good cookers. No, if your mother can make lots of delicious dishes, your mother is a good cook.

That’s right. Cook is both a verb and a noun. The verb refers to the act of making food. And the noun refers to the person who makes the food.

Steve, what about someone who cooks very slowly, can I call the person a slow cooker?

Ah, ha. You’re even funnier than I am, Ken. No, a slow cooker is a cooking appliance, also known as a crock pot.

Good, I’m glad we got that cleared up. Now there’s another word that describes someone who can cook, and that is a chef. So the obvious question now is, how’s a chef different from a cook?

Umm, good. Anyone who prepares food is a cook, but a chef is a professional cook who is in charge of a kitchen. We sometimes hear about a celebrity chef and that’s no ordinary cook.

Also you might ask why is this word pronounced /ˈʃɛf/ and not [chf]? Well, that’s because the word chef came from the French language hence the pronunciation chef. In French, chef means chief, so a chef is literally a chief of the kitchen.

Right, so if you think you’re a good cook, work hard and maybe one day you’ll become the chef at a nice restaurant.

Language Lab
establish v.
to begin or create (something that is meant to last for a long time)
- The school was establish back in 1850.
- That country's ambassador is trying to establish a stronger relationship with our country.
establishment n.
the act of establishing something or someone: such as a: the act of starting something that will last for a long time
- The establishment of the museum is due to the effort of a renowned family.

topping n.
a food that is added to the top of another food
- The non-dairy topping on the cake is very tasty.
- You can choose four toppings for your pizza.

recipe n.
a set of instructions for making food
- If you follow the recipe, you'll be able to cook authentic Italian risotto.
a way of doing something that will produce a particular result — + for
- The recipe for a happy parent-child relationship is to make reasonable boundaries.

delightful adj.
very pleasant: giving or causing delight
- The little girl is cute, charming and absolutely delightful.
- The delightful music instantly changed my mood.
delight n.
a strong feeling of happiness: great pleasure or satisfaction
- The baby is the delight of this couple.