| In its basic form, a pizza (occasionally, albeit redundantly,
pizza pie) is an oven-baked, flat, usually circular bread covered with tomato
sauce and cheese with optional garnishes. The cheese is usually mozzarella
or "pizza cheese". Various other foodstuffs can be added to this
design as garnishes, most typically ground meats and sausages, such as salami
and pepperoni, ham, bacon, fruits such as pineapple and olives, vegetable-like
fruits such as chili peppers and sweet bell peppers and vegetables such
as onions, and fungi such as mushrooms. The crust is traditionally plain
but it can be flavoured with butter, garlic, herbs or sesame. The variety
of ingredient typically used has drawn kudos by nutritionists as an excellent
fast food. Pizza can be eaten either hot (typically at lunch or dinner)
or cold (typically at breakfast or on a picnic).
In some countries, apart from eating pizza in a restaurant, buying it in a supermarket, or preparing it oneself, pizza can be ordered by phone or e-mail and is then delivered hot and ready for eating. The word "pizza" is from the Italian pizza (IPA: /pittsa/), with the same meaning, also meaning "a mess". Italian plural: pizze |
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