Chart Shows 40 Types of Pizzas The Good, The Bad and The Weird

It doesn't seem like there are too many people out there who don't like pizza. Even if you're vegan, dairy-free, or gluten-free, there are still lots of pizza recipe options for those types of food requirements, and they all taste delicious. The variations of pizza recipes that are available in the world are absolutely astounding. We all knew there were lots of different kinds of pizzas out there, but this chart shows 40 types of pizzas, including the good, the bad, and the just plain weird.

Meals resembling pizza go back to Neolithic times and dishes similar to pizza exist all over the world. The rationale behind ancient pizza? Basically to give bread staples more flavour. In ancient Greece, for example there was plakounos, a type of flat bread that was seasoned with onion, garlic, and herbs. The soldiers of Persia's King Darius are said to have used their war shields as baking pans for flatbreads with cheese and date toppings, cooked over the fire. Ancient pizza-like recipes can also be associated with pizzarelle, a kosher Passover cookie served when Roman Jews came home after worshipping in the synagogue on Passover. There's even some evidence that pizza was first invented when Roman soldiers topped matzah bread rations with olive oil and cheese. It wasn't until a type of flat bread Gallette, or freeform crusty cake, well-known as the poor man's food, was actually referred to as �pizza� in Naples during the 16th century that the modern word pizza was actually used. This dish was only sold or traded on the street and not accepted as a household recipe for quite some time. Many years later, people started topping it with tomatoes, oil, and sometimes even fish. It was at about this time that the diversity of pizza toppings began to grow.

There's a popular pizza story of Neopolitan Raffaele Esposito, a pizza chef, who cooked the Pizza Margherita, to honour the Queen consort of Italy. This type of pizza was beautifully decorated with green basil, red tomatoes, and white mozzarella cheese to symbolize the colours of Italy's national flag. History tells that pizza was first served as a sweet dish, and it wasn't until much later that it became savoury, flavoured with tomatoes and cheese. However it all came about, pizza is still one of the world's favourite dishes, and there are so many different ways that it can be made, each pizza recipe representing the unique flair of a particular country, city, or restaurant within which it was created. In North America alone, you'll find cheeseburger pizza, bacon cheeseburger pizza, double cheese pizza, meatlovers pizza, vegetarian pizza, gluten-free pizza, dairy-free pizza, vegan pizza, and even Hawaiian pizza, Greek pizza, and, of course, Italian pizza � but the Italian pizza you eat in the US will not taste like the Italian pizza you eat in Italy.

You're probably already quite familiar with all of the different North American pizza recipes we've just mentioned. In this article on forty types of pizzas, however, you will find lots of different kinds of pizzas that you've never laid eyes on before. Some of them will be well worth trying, and some of them will be well worth leaving alone, but this chart is fascinating to study, at any rate - especially if you love trying out new pizza recipes. This article comes from the Nerdist website, where you can find daily news, amusing videos, and lots of other fun facts that you never knew existed.*