Did you know that October was pizza month in the US? Well, now you do. It turns out that the magazine, Pizza Today, was first published in October which is why its publisher, Gerry Durnell, chose this month to celebrate and it’s been that way since 1984. 

So in honour of that, and because as South African meat wholesalers we love all things foodie, we’re going to share 10 of their favourite pizza facts:

1. The word pizza originated in Gaeta, Italy in 997 AD according to food historian Giuseppe Nocca in La Repubblica.
2. Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba in Naples, Italy is widely believed to be the world’s first pizzeria, opened in 1830. 
3. Americans eat three billion pizzas per year. 
4. The average American consumes 11 pounds of mozzarella a year, more than any other cheese. It is attributed to the demand for pizza.
5. Pepperoni remains the most popular pizza toppings at a rate of over 250 million pounds consumed on pizza each year in the U.S.
6. The top five most popular pizza toppings in the U.S. are pepperoni, mushroom, olives, sausage and green pepper.
7. There are approximately 92,000 pizzerias operating in the U.S., 
8. The biggest pizza sales days are Super Bowl Sunday, Halloween, the day before Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
9. The largest pizza commercially available measures 8 feet by 2 feet and 8 inches from Moontower Pizza Bar in Burleson, Texas. When the record was set in 2018, the pizza retailed for $299.95 plus tax.
10. The largest pizza delivery was 30,000 pizzas delivered to the United States Armed Forces, in Kandahar Airfield, Bagram Airbase and Camp Bastion, in Afghanistan, on July 4, 2012. The delivery was organized by Pizzas 4 Patriots.

And have you ever wondered how the most basic of pizzas, the Margherita got its name? Well, legend has it that in 1889 when a Neapolitan pizza maker was commissioned to create a pizza in honour of the visiting Queen Margherita, he chose to prepare a dish that would represent the colours of the Italian flag – hence the red of tomatoes, the green of basil and the white of mozzarella. 

N1 may be the leading Cape Town meat wholesalers, but we also have a wonderfully diverse range of frozen foods including pizza! So, if you want to celebrate right through the year and like the idea of having delicious pizza ready to bake at a moment’s notice, then consider calling us today and stocking up. Happy Pizza Month and bon appetit!