It is beyond doubt that pizza is one of the most popular fast food items all across the globe. It doesn’t matter what age group you belong to, today every one of us loves to have it. In fact, many of us have even tried a hand in preparing it at our own convenience. However, it would be quite interesting if one has ample information about the various culinary schools and programs that can train and enable one to be dexterous in cooking varieties of food including pizza.

Nevertheless, before we proceed, it is pertinent to know concisely about the history of pizza. Many researchers talks regarding Neolithic Age evidences while speaking about the pizza’s origin. In the history of pizza, Italy is considered to be the hub of bringing in all sorts of variations in the early mound of flour that later shaped into a flavored concoction affectionately known as ‘pizza’. It was considered to be a peasant’s meal in Italy for centuries. But unfortunately it is not easy to say who invented the first pizza. Perhaps, we can also find the early stages of its modification even in Greek manuscripts and in Persian writings. Many food historians even believe that pizza like dishes were also served by peoples lived in the Mediterranean regions including the Egyptians and the Greeks.

However, the popularity of Pizza spread to other parts of the world, especially to the United States, England and Spain, after World War II. After conquering major territories of Italy, many U.S and European soldiers had the taste of Pizza for the very first time. In fact, it was the deep inclination towards pizza that made immigrants from Italy sell their Pizzas in their American stores for the very first time, but it was the soldiers who returned from Italy with a hunger for the saucy delight that pulled the taste of Pizzas out to the nearby Italian neighborhoods and in the main stream of every city’s day to day life all over the continent. The square “Sicilian Pizza” which is now well recognized was the forerunner of well-promoted “Party Pizza” is an American invention. And, today we celebrate the February 9 as an international Pizza Day.

Today on an average, almost every citizen of the United States and Canada eat 23 pounds of pizza each year. Adding to this, Cheese and Pepperoni is among the most favorite combinations, especially with the younger set. Apart from this, if we talk in terms of present context the concept and popularity of pizza has taken many forms such as Ice Cream Pizza, Mexican Pizza, Candy Pizza and many more.

Cooking pizza is an art, and to learn in the best possible way, enrolling into the culinary programs offered by any of the top culinary colleges is important. A good college always makes an inquisitive and hard-working student ready for both traditional and unconventional culinary challenges, and of course, in making pizza. The world class culinary schools have top notch facilities for assisting in gaining refined culinary knowledge and getting placed under famous brand names. All that one has to do is innovate and apply the culinary skills in preparing various food items, including the pizza.

The term ‘food’ is a wider one inclusive of different types of food items like ice creams, burgers, sandwiches, cakes, pastries, cookies, chips, macaroni, pizzas, pasta, noodles, breads and much more.

Culinary science has professionalized this art of food making and it is widely accepted a job for millions to survive. Food itself got subdivided on the basis of regions.

Sandwiches
• Sandwich is one of the widely popular food items in the world.
• They are seen as dietary food rather than a full fledged meal.
• It is estimated that Americans eat more than 300 million sandwiches a day.
• Although, mainly non-vegetarian in nature, it veggie counterparts are widely popular in India.

Burgers
• Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles
• 8.2 Billion Burgers were served in commercial restaurants in 2001.
• Burgers account for about 40% of total sandwiches consumed.
• 65% of Burgers are consumed away from home.
• Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers comprise 71% of the beef servings in commercial restaurants.

Noodles
• Noodles are made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid.
• China is the place of origin of Noodles.
• For Chinese, long noodles are eaten during birthdays to symbolize longevity.
• In Japan, it is polite to slurp loudly while eating noodles or soba.
• The oldest type of noodle is made from millet.
• It is the basic ingredient in dishes like spaghetti pasta, linguine, soba and udon.

Macaroni
• Macaroni is the Italian variant of Noodles.
• Macaroni and cheese is consistently on the list of top ten favorite food choices for children.
• The recommended wine to serve with macaroni and cheese is Burgundy wine.
• Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing macaroni to the United States.

Breads
• Breads are the foundation of cooking in European as well as American Countries.
• Today, in specialized bakeries, you can even buy 11 grain bread.
• Whole grain dark breads have become more popular mostly due to their high fibre content.
• Bread is such a powerful food that in antiquity Egyptian governments controlled it from production to distribution as a means of controlling the populace.
• One can use mashed acorns, ground beans, crushed tree barks, nuts, or chestnut flour, but most balers use primarily finely milled wheat, or rye corn, barley, millet, kamut, spelt and other grains. Wheat flour is preferred because of its gluten content.
• The greatest thing since sliced bread” is a phrase commonly used to describe an innovative achievement.
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, E300) is added to “improve” and strengthen the flour, making it easier to mix the dough at high speed.
Buns
• A cross bun kept from one Good Friday to the next was thought to bring luck.
• Buns can be long and skinny, short and round and or come in many different shapes and sizes.

Pasta
• The Chinese are on record as having eaten pasta as early as 5,000 B.C.
• In the 13th century, the Pope set quality standards for pasta.
• There are more than 600 pasta shapes produced worldwide.
• To cook one billion pounds of pasta, you would need 2,021,452,000 gallons of water-enough to fill nearly 75,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
• Christopher Columbus, one of Italy’s most famous pastaphiles, was born in October, which is now National Pasta Month.
• Pasta existed for thousands of years before anyone ever thought to put tomato sauce on it. The Spanish explorer Cortez brought tomatoes back to Europe from Mexico in 1519

Food items like burgers, buns, cookies, pastries, pancakes, noodles, doughnuts and bread have different tastes as they are made from different cereals and grains. Here is some more interesting information about different types of food grains.

Wheat
• Wheat has been cultivated since 9000 B.C.
• Over 725 million metric tones of wheat are produced all around the world and China tops the list followed by India and US.
• Wheat forms the major ingredient of many food items such as breads, porridge, crackers, biscuits, cookies, muffins, rolls, pies, pancakes and pastries.
• The principal elements of wheat flour are gluten and starch.
• Wheat is also used for fermentation to make beer, vodka and alcohol.
• Major cultivated species of wheat are Common wheat, Durum, Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt.
• There are more than 30000 different varieties of Wheat representing 14 different species.

Barley
• Russia is the largest producer of Barley in the world.
• The World’s total production of Barley is 136 million metric tones.
• Barley is extensively used in the production of Alcoholic Beverages and is used as an animal feed too.
• There are as many as 80 countries in the world alien to Barley cultivation.
• US alone cultivates around 150 varieties of Barley
• Barley contains 8 amino acids and eating whole grain barley can regulate blood sugar in our body up to 10 hours after consumption.
• Barley has the potency of combating many diseases.

Maize
• Maize, popularly know as corn is the widely grown crop in the American continent.
• Maize contains ‘lipid transfer protein’, an indigestible protein which survives cooking. This protein has been linked to a rare and understudied allergy to maize in humans.
• US alone produce 332 million metric tones.
• Maize has around10 chromosomes.
• Maize is the principal ingredient in Custard Powder.
• It is said that there are more than 3500 uses for corn products.
• Farmers can grow corn everywhere except Antarctica.
• Maize is used in products ranging from chewing gum to bathing soap.

Millet
• There are about 9 types of millets.
• Pearl Millet is the most important member of Millet family.
• India is the principal producer of Millet in the World followed by Nigeria and Niger.
• A Millet grain is rich in B Vitamins.
• They are used in Alcoholic Beverages.
• Thyroid patients should stay from their over consumption.
• Millets are widely used as bird as well as animal feed.
• They along with birdseeds are commonly used as fillings for juggling beanbags.

Rye
• Rye is used both as a food grain as well as a forage crop.
• It is used in manufacturing beer, vodka, bread and some whiskies.
• Russian Federation is the largest Rye producer in the World.
• It is a popular food grain in the coldest regions.
• Rye is a god source of Vitamin E, Proteins and Calcium.
• It is god for the digestive system.

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Are you looking for some of the interesting facts about food or culinary? If your answer is yes, then here are some of the most amusing facts you must know. Share these facts and impress your friends.

Ice Cream

Ice cream is a Chinese food item. Marco Polo the famous explorer when returned to Italy, from China in the year 1295, he actually brought a well known recipe called “Milk Ice” among many other things. However, later Europeans substituted cream for the milk, and voila. Since then, ice cream has been a major hit.

Generally, the United States actually consumes on an average 48 pints of ice cream per person, per year. This is usually more than any other country in the world.

On an average, it takes 50 licks to polish off a single-scoop ice cream cone.

Pizza

The word pizza was originally spelt as “pitsa”.

Most pizza is ordered during the weather forecast or TV programs. Adding to this, the delivery folks also report that women, perhaps not surprisingly, are better tippers!

Generally, Americans consume or eat almost 350 slices of pizza each second.

Chilies

The color of a chili is no indication of its spiciness, but what matters is its size. Generally, it is important to note that the smaller the chilie pepper, the hotter it is.

Near about 140 varieties of chilies peppers are alone grown in Mexico alone.

Chilies play a very important role in making foods safer. They help in reducing the harmful bacteria on foods.

Potato

The potato is one of the most important non-cereal crops in the world, and considered as the fourth most important crop overall.

Irish were the first to eat potato. They were first introduced to Britain and Ireland in the late 1500s. It didn’t get popular immediately; many people actually held potato responsible for diseases as it was not talked about in the Bible.

Chips made of potato were first invented by a North American Indian named as George Crum

In the United States, if we compare the price between a pound of potato chips and potato, generally prices of potato chips is almost two hundred times extra than potatoes.

Miscellaneous

The flavor that is commonly associated with bubble gum all across the world is a mixture of wintergreen, vanilla and cassia, a form of cinnamon.

Cheddar is the most consumed and widely purchased cheese in the world.

Research shows that dark chocolate very similar to the red wine actually contains considerable amounts of flavonoid phenolics which in turn may be very helpful in lowering the risk of heart disease.

Today these foods are so common that it is really hard to imagine life without it. However, when these interesting facts were first brought into notice, it was considered as a myth, but slowly it turns out to be real. This list is just to give you an idea about some of the most important trivia that is related to about food and culinary items.