No Pizza?

[thyme4change]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10023741/Shortage-of-pizza-makers-as-Italians-are-too-proud.html

Shortage of pizza-makers as Italians are too proud

Despite a long recession and high unemployment, Italians are shunning the job because of the long hours and modest pay.

But with a slice of pizza an increasingly popular lunch time option in times of economic hardship, the pizza sector is booming - and an estimated 6,000 new "pizzaioili" are needed, according to FIPE, an Italian business federation..

Italians may be reluctant to get their hands dirty by stoking ovens and kneading dough, but foreign immigrants have no such qualms and are now filling the gap, producing an increasing share of the three billion pizzas that Italians eat each year.

Egyptians have shown themselves to be particularly adept at mastering the art of the perfect pizza and now run many of the pizza restaurants and hole-in-the-wall takeaways in big cities like Rome, Milan and Turin.

[Sam_2.0]

Sounds like Americans, with the Mexicans flipping burgers for us. Funny how things like this happen everywhere.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

The Egyptians took their jobs!

[thyme4change]

Apr 29, 2013 11:46:16 GMT -5 Sam_2.0 said:

Sounds like Americans, with the Mexicans flipping burgers for us. Funny how things like this happen everywhere.

LOL - my brother in law always says that in Phoenix, every restaurant is a Mexican restaurant.  Mexicans make us pasta, and egg rolls, and steaks, and sandwiches.  And Tacos!

[swamp]

Apr 29, 2013 11:59:06 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

As long as they don't start putting Egyptian toppings on top... (not really sure what Egyptian food is.. )

Falafel. 

[Deleted]

Hey now! Let's not be so quick to rule out fried food on top of our pizzas.... 

[thyme4change]

Hey imanangel - what does pizza in Italy taste like?  Is it like our pizza, or is it more flatbread-ish?

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 12:40:09 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Hey imanangel - what does pizza in Italy taste like?  Is it like our pizza, or is it more flatbread-ish?

Pizza in Italy is different depending on the region (much like the US) In southern italy, they use a tomato sauce... In northern italy, it is finely diced tomatoes instead of sauce. The crust is pretty thin and there is no pepperoni (in italian that translates to large peppers) The cheese selections on the pizzas there is far superior to average pizza here.

I've never seen a thick crust pizza there, or anything along the lines of deep dish. The pizzas I've had are amazing, fresh and delicious!
 

[swamp]

Apr 29, 2013 12:47:18 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

Apr 29, 2013 12:21:10 GMT -5 @beerwench said:

Hey now! Let's not be so quick to rule out fried food on top of our pizzas.... 

Now, for some reason... onion rings on a pizza sounds pretty freaking good...

I'd bet that fried mushrooms would be pretty good too........

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2013 12:48:11 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

Apr 29, 2013 12:40:09 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Hey imanangel - what does pizza in Italy taste like?  Is it like our pizza, or is it more flatbread-ish?

Pizza in Italy is different depending on the region (much like the US) In southern italy, they use a tomato sauce... In northern italy, it is finely diced tomatoes instead of sauce. The crust is pretty thin and there is no pepperoni (in italian that translates to large peppers) The cheese selections on the pizzas there is far superior to average pizza here.

I've never seen a thick crust pizza there, or anything along the lines of deep dish. The pizzas I've had are amazing, fresh and delicious!
 

Where I live they do use sauce on their pizza (I live in Northern Italy).  The crust is very thin.  The pizza here does have pepperoni, but they call it salame (it is basically the same thing as pepperoni but bigger). Pepperoni does translate to peppers (bell peppers). They also use other meats on their pizzas like prosciutto, pancetta, gamberetti (shrimp), tuna, anchovies...and even cavallo (horse...but I don't ever eat that). 
They also put in season veggies on the pizza and pretty much any kind of cheese.  I love brie and ricotta on pizza.

The pizza here is amazing IMHO.  I haven't been to southern Italy so I am not sure what the pizza there is like.

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2013 11:59:06 GMT -5 @missmargarita said:

As long as they don't start putting Egyptian toppings on top... (not really sure what Egyptian food is.. )

Hummas, dolmas, and basically everything you think of as "Middle Eastern" food, plus a lot of seafood.

We had pizza when we were in Cairo; it was the Italian style thin Pizza vs American thick crust.

The weirdest pizza I heard of was when we were in Germany. Tuna pizza was a favorite.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

I didn't like the pizzas I had in Italy.  Few toppings, very thin crusts, and some ready odd topping choices (hard boiled eggs? One long string of prosciutto?  Really?)  I guess I'm too used to American pizza. 

[Deleted]

Rocky, my youngest son doesn't like the pizza here either.  I love all the weird toppings.  To me, the pizza here is almost like art.   Very tasty art.    I like the thin crust.  I know a lot of Americans don't like it and prefer thick crust, but...I prefer thin.

Pizza here is very regional.  The style of pizza you get in one area won't be like the pizza in another area.  They also differ a lot from restaurant to restaurant.  One place I love their pasta, but am not a fan at all of their pizza.  Another place the pizza is so amazing I have never even tried any of their other dishes because it will take me 3 years just to try all their different pizzas.

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 14:01:32 GMT -5 imanangel said:

Apr 29, 2013 12:48:11 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

Pizza in Italy is different depending on the region (much like the US) In southern italy, they use a tomato sauce... In northern italy, it is finely diced tomatoes instead of sauce. The crust is pretty thin and there is no pepperoni (in italian that translates to large peppers) The cheese selections on the pizzas there is far superior to average pizza here.

I've never seen a thick crust pizza there, or anything along the lines of deep dish. The pizzas I've had are amazing, fresh and delicious!
 

Where I live they do use sauce on their pizza (I live in Northern Italy).  The crust is very thin.  The pizza here does have pepperoni, but they call it salame (it is basically the same thing as pepperoni but bigger). Pepperoni does translate to peppers (bell peppers). They also use other meats on their pizzas like prosciutto, pancetta, gamberetti (shrimp), tuna, anchovies...and even cavallo (horse...but I don't ever eat that). 
They also put in season veggies on the pizza and pretty much any kind of cheese.  I love brie and ricotta on pizza.

The pizza here is amazing IMHO.  I haven't been to southern Italy so I am not sure what the pizza there is like.

I have a pizza in naples w/piave and proscuitto that was so amazing i wanted to cry. it was really the only thing i enjoyed in ol' napoli. 

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Apr 29, 2013 14:18:32 GMT -5 imanangel said:

Rocky, my youngest son doesn't like the pizza here either.  I love all the weird toppings.  To me, the pizza here is almost like art.   Very tasty art.    I like the thin crust.  I know a lot of Americans don't like it and prefer thick crust, but...I prefer thin.

Pizza here is very regional.  The style of pizza you get in one area won't be like the pizza in another area.  They also differ a lot from restaurant to restaurant.  One place I love their pasta, but am not a fan at all of their pizza.  Another place the pizza is so amazing I have never even tried any of their other dishes because it will take me 3 years just to try all their different pizzas.

LOL, We just learned to stick with the various pastas.  We had good pasta, so we were cool with the odd pizzas.  I haven't tried it in too many regions, so it could just be a regional thing.  I think most of the pizza we have tried was in the Rome area and maybe Tuscany. 

ETA:  And yes, I'm a thick-crust gal.  I just don't see the point in a thin, hard crust.

[thyme4change]

I like the thin crust.  We are in a hipster area, so we have a lot of that wood-fired pizza and that crust is generally thin and crunchy.  And there are all kinds of weird toppings.  I always imagined that is how Italy pizza is.  Last week I had a potato, fennel, radicchio and Gorgonzola pizza while my husband had the brussel sprout pizza.  Good stuff.  

[Deleted]

I do not know what piave is. Can you explain?  One of my favorite pizzas is pear and ricotta.  I have had to introduce it to several Americans because it was moan worthy.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Pear and ricotta, huh?  I can't picture pear on a pizza. 

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2013 14:22:11 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I like the thin crust.  We are in a hipster area, so we have a lot of that wood-fired pizza and that crust is generally thin and crunchy.  And there are all kinds of weird toppings.  I always imagined that is how Italy pizza is.  Last week I had a potato, fennel, radicchio and Gorgonzola pizza while my husband had the brussel sprout pizza.  Good stuff.  

That sounds exactly like pizza in my area Thyme.  I am sure you would love it.  My DSD loves this one place that makes a walnut and gorgonzola pizza. 

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2013 14:23:38 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

Pear and ricotta, huh?  I can't picture pear on a pizza. 

I couldn't either...but then I tried it and it was divine!

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Apr 29, 2013 14:24:48 GMT -5 imanangel said:

Apr 29, 2013 14:23:38 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

Pear and ricotta, huh?  I can't picture pear on a pizza. 

I couldn't either...but then I tried it and it was divine!

[thyme4change]

I had a date and ricotta, or maybe it was fig and ricotta.  It was very good.  It was sweet, but the cheese was salty enough to make it still feel like a meal.

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

I didn't like the pizzas I had in Italy.  Few toppings, very thin crusts, and some ready odd topping choices (hard boiled eggs? One long string of prosciutto?  Really?)  I guess I'm too used to American pizza. 

It is actually a pretty common opinion. There are quite a few americans that I know of that don't like the food in italy. Many people go, expecting to get our americanized versions of italian dishes and when presented with authentic dishes, they don't like it. You can go to a place that caters more to tourists, and they will have more americanized dishes, like fettucini alfredo.

And the cuisine really varies by region. Not that you can't get southern italian food in northern italy... you can. Just like you can get fried chicken in NY. but in general the cuisine varies just like it does here in the US. 

[thyme4change]

Please, please, please don't make me eat another horrible burrito in Fergus Falls.  Seriously, I live 90 minutes from Mexico.  I'll eat anything else.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Apr 29, 2013 14:31:24 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

Apr 29, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

I didn't like the pizzas I had in Italy.  Few toppings, very thin crusts, and some ready odd topping choices (hard boiled eggs? One long string of prosciutto?  Really?)  I guess I'm too used to American pizza. 

It is actually a pretty common opinion. There are quite a few americans that I know of that don't like the food in italy. Many people go, expecting to get our americanized versions of italian dishes and when presented with authentic dishes, they don't like it. You can go to a place that caters more to tourists, and they will have more americanized dishes, like fettucini alfredo.

 

Sad to say, this was me the first time I went to Italy.  I  Americanized Italian food.  I just didn't realize it was just the Americanized version and not the authentic stuff.  I did have many things in Italy that I enjoyed, but I learned that the two versions are not the same. 

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 14:22:12 GMT -5 imanangel said:

I do not know what piave is. Can you explain?  One of my favorite pizzas is pear and ricotta.  I have had to introduce it to several Americans because it was moan worthy.

Piave is a cows milk cheese... it is amazing.  

and pear and ricotta YUM! 

[thyme4change]

I actually find that true where ever I travel.  Granted, I mostly cook at home - so restaurant food always tastes different to me.  But unless you only eat at chains ( ) it all tastes different.

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 14:30:03 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I had a date and ricotta, or maybe it was fig and ricotta.  It was very good.  It was sweet, but the cheese was salty enough to make it still feel like a meal.

[sarcasticgirl]

Apr 29, 2013 14:38:08 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I actually find that true where ever I travel.  Granted, I mostly cook at home - so restaurant food always tastes different to me.  But unless you only eat at chains ( ) it all tastes different.

true story. 

[Deleted]

Apr 29, 2013 14:31:24 GMT -5 sarcasticgirl said:

Apr 29, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -5 Rocky Mtn Saver said:

I didn't like the pizzas I had in Italy.  Few toppings, very thin crusts, and some ready odd topping choices (hard boiled eggs? One long string of prosciutto?  Really?)  I guess I'm too used to American pizza. 

It is actually a pretty common opinion. There are quite a few americans that I know of that don't like the food in italy. Many people go, expecting to get our americanized versions of italian dishes and when presented with authentic dishes, they don't like it. You can go to a place that caters more to tourists, and they will have more americanized dishes, like fettucini alfredo.

And the cuisine really varies by region. Not that you can't get southern italian food in northern italy... you can. Just like you can get fried chicken in NY. but in general the cuisine varies just like it does here in the US. 

Yes it is a very common opinion.  I know a lot of Americans here that were complaining that the food didn't taste like Olive Garden.   In Italy, fettucini alfredo doesn't actually exist. That is totally an Americanized dish.  There are similar type dishes at places that cater to American tourist, but it isn't exactly the same.
I prefer the real Italian food.  I like the simplicity of it, the fact that they don't use a lot of salt in their cooking, and they cook based on what is in season.
When I ate at Olive Garden in the states I would always swell up like a puffer fish because of all the sodium in the food.

It is funny because they have Italianized versions of Amercian food here.  Hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.