Why "The Entire Pizza?"
- Written by Diana Zahuranec
- font size decrease font size increase font size
- Rate this item
- Published in The Entire Pizza
- Read 19360 times
The Entire Pizza.
The Entire Pizza is about Italian food, my enthusiastic introduction to Italian wines, travel, and Italian culture.
Why is it called "The Entire Pizza?" It represents the meaning of truly understanding a culture through its food, doing as that tired axiom "when in Rome..." suggests you do.
In other words, if you order a pizza in Italy, it is all yours. No sharing.
The first time I came to Italy, I did well; the group had just visited Pompeii, and the bus was on a tight time schedule. A Napoli pizzaiolo (pizza maker) cooked us up a pizza each, all 30-some of us. I scarfed it down in five minutes and then told anyone who listened to me that, "I ate an entire pizza!" Well, yes, so did everyone else. I think we were ambushed with entire pizzas and scared into eating it all as quickly as possible before the bus went away without us. We ate without thinking twice, and marveled that we still had room for dinner.
My second time in Italy was 7 years later. It was the first night of my study abroad experience in Florence, and my three new roommates and I decided to go out and "share" a pizza. We ordered one between the four of us. (!) Splitting a pizza with someone at a restaurant is acceptable; splitting one with four people will only earn you stares and shame. Also, a word about quattro formaggi pizza in Italy. We ordered four-cheese, thinking fondly of greasy pizzas with vapid mozzarella and generic Cheddar, and were in for a surprise with piquant gorgonzola, creamy fontina, and stringy scamorza and emmental. Italian-style.
(Above: Before and after. How much cheese is that?)
My own interests stem from several years of study and experience in Italian things. I earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology (as well as Italian language and culture, and International Studies) at Penn State, and so all those cultural differences that I run into in Italy will have, I hope, a higher perspective than, "That Italian woman did x and it was totally x!!" I studied in Florence at the Palazzo Rucellai for a semester and took an Italian Food and Culture class which opened my eyes to a new world of anthropology and how important and interesting gastronomy is in so many ways besides nourishment. Nourishment is usually what concerns me, though. Then I discovered the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, where I got a Master's in Food Culture and Communications. It was a year of food-wine-gastronomy immersion. I emerged less obese than I feared and wanting more.
That being said, I'm sure some of my posts will have a trace of, "That Italian woman did x and it was totally x!!"
I hope you enjoy reading about a slice of Italian life as experienced by an American.
Diana Zahuranec
I love Piemonte’s food and wine, the city of Turin, and my proximity to the Alps! My goal and challenge is to see as much of the region as possible using public transportation, but if you have a car I’d appreciate the ride. My intro to wine was at the Univ. of Gastronomic Sciences, and I love visiting family wineries, plus discovering Piemonte's craft beer scene. I’m hard-pressed to choose a favorite wine, but Nebbiolo never disappoints (from Barbaresco to Ghemme). As for beer, the Birrificio San Michele makes an incredible beechwood smoked brew.