Introduction
Pizza is a dish of Italian origin that consists of a flat based round dough baked with toppings of tomato sauce and cheese, typically added with meat or vegetables. Pizza is a famous meal that is now nationwide.
Composition of ...There is Tomatoes,Cheese, oil, and garlic.
Pizza is a yeasted flatbread(main ingredients are flour, water, and salt) topped with tomato sauce(known as neapolitan sauce, made from tomatoes) and cheese(is a food derived from milk with a wide range of flavors).The bottom of the pizza is called the crust there are different styles of crust like (hand-tossed, deep-dish, thin-crust, stuffed crust) Mozzarella cheese is the mostly commonly used on pizza also (provolone,pecorino romano, ricotta, scamorza). The modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy .It is also usually topped with a selection of meats, vegetables fruit like pineapple, and condiments. Variations of pizza are calzone, panzerotti, stromboli.
Understanding the Composition
Main Chemicals, Compounds, Components
Flatbread: flour- C4H8O4
Water- H20
Salt- NaCl
Sauce: Tomato- C5H8
Garlic- C12H21NO4S3
Flour is made with barley, buckwheat, corn, lima beans, oats, peanuts, potatoes, soybeans, rice and rye. A bleaching agent is also added called benzoyl peroxide to make the flour more white. Oxidizing agents like potassium bromate, chlorine dioxide, azodicarbonamide to enhance the baking quality.Flour is created by the grinding of stones. The mortar and pestle was a hand operated device. There then became the millstone, that was a vertical disk-shaped stone rolling on grain on a horizontal disk-shaped stone.
Tomato sauce is made with the chopped tomato flesh cooked a little in olive oil and is simmered until it loses its raw flavor, and seasoned with salt
Chemistry's Role
The maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that give the dough the tougher crust. The reaction is formed of non-enzymatic browning which rapidly happens around the temperature of 140 to 165 °C ( 280 to 330 °F ). This reaction occurs in the oven while it bakes. This process hundreds of different flavors can occur especially with all the different topping you can add to pizza.
Background Research
Pizza became most popular in America after soldiers stationed in Italy returned from WWll. The pizza was first founded in 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement.Queen Margherita favorite pizza from Naples was a pizza topped with white mozzarella, red tomatoes, and green basil. Perhaps it was no coincidence that the pizza had the same colors as the Italian Flag).The pizza then was called the Margherita.
The word pizza was first documented in 997 AD in Gaeta, Italy. The word pizza is believed to be for an Old Italian word meaning “a point”, then became the Italian word “pizzicare”, which means “to pinch” or “pluck”
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizza
Description of pizza
Flatbread
Tomato sauce
Cheese
http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/a-slice-of-history-pizza-through-the-ages
Pizza was founded
https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Pizza/PizzaHistory.htm
How pizza got it’s name
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Pizza.html
How pizza is made
http://wtop.com/food-restaurant/2014/11/all-in-the-chemistry-science-says-pizza-is-delicious/
Chemicals and reaction in pizza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction
The reaction of pizza
About the Author
Charlotte Krenz loves to stay on her toes and is always ready for an adventure. She loves music, hanging with great friends, an her amazing but crazy family. She plays a little soccer and volleyball on her own time. Charlotte also maintains her GPA in school. She also loves to be outside, travel the world, and spend time with her beautiful family.