Pizza.
Most of us are familiar
with the iconic dish of Italian origin.
Pizza as we know it today
originated in the 18th and 19th centuries in Naples, Italy.
Today, pizza is a staple in Italy, America, and beyond.
At its most simple...
Peter Reinhart: Usually a crust, made out of dough,
with any number of toppings on top.
Narrator: That's according to Peter Reinhart,
the author of "American Pie:
My Search for the Perfect Pizza."
With a definition that broad,
there are pizza variations
and pizzalike dishes eaten all over the globe.
From base to toppings,
here are 18 culturally distinct versions
of pizza around the world.
Sfincione is an Italian variation of pizza.
It's light, fluffy, and slightly spongy.
It's usually topped with onions in tomato sauce; anchovies;
caciocavallo, which is a dry, crumbly cheese;
and a crisp layer of breadcrumbs.
Pissaladière is a traditional dish
from the town of Nice in southern France
and is usually served as an appetizer.
The recipe calls for a thick pizza dough,
caramelized onions, black olives, and anchovies.
Sometimes the anchovies are whole or made as a paste.
The Washington Post reports that flammkuchen,
a mix between flatbread and pizza,
dates back to the fourth century,
when borders didn't exist like they do today.
The dish became a specialty in areas of what is now France,
where it's called tarte flambée,
and Germany, where it's known as flammkuchen.
It's topped with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon,
and the crust is baked to an almost cracker-like texture.
There's a lot of debate surrounding pineapple on pizza.
But this pizza went viral once people found out
that Swedes have taken it a step further
by topping their pizzas with bananas.
The toppings are a combination of curry powder,
bananas, and a protein such as chicken or ham.
Zapiekanka starts with half a baguette
or another long roll of bread
and gets topped with sautéed mushrooms and cheese.
Other toppings can be added,
but to remain authentic,
a thick drizzle of Polish ketchup
is added as a finishing touch.
Lángos is thick fried bread
that is sometimes called Hungarian pizza
and is a popular street food.
The yeast dough is made from mashed potatoes and flour
and fried to a crisp.
It's eaten with a sprinkle of salt
or toppings like garlic butter,
sour cream, and grated cheese.
Macedonian pizza, or pastrmajlija,
is so popular there's a festival celebrating it each year.
It's dough shaped into an oval
and topped with cubes of meat and sometimes egg.
Traditionally, the dish calls for lamb,
but today, pork is often used instead.
Khachapuri is one of Georgia's most well-known dishes.
Yeasted dough is formed into a boat shape
with the edges folded over.
This becomes the basket for the creamy combination
of egg and cheese that fills it.
It bakes until it's golden,
so the cheese and egg are still oozy
and perfect for dipping the crust into.
In the Middle East,
there are two pizzalike dishes
that are popular throughout the region.
Originally from the Levant,
lahmacun consists of a cracker-thin crust
that's usually topped with ground meat, onions, and peppers,
cooked in a wood-fire oven,
and finished off with lemon juice and parsley.
Another popular dish is manakish.
Originally from Lebanon,
it's the Middle Eastern equivalent of flatbread pizza.
The dough is rolled flat and sculpted down for the topping.
Traditional manakish is usually topped with minced lamb,
cheese or a mix of za'atar spice, and olive oil.
Egypt is home to feteer meshaltet.
Feteer meshaltet is a flaky, layered pastry
that can be filled with sweet or savory fillings
or served plain with various dips like honey or cheeses.
The mix of flour and ghee is rolled out
and handled to be thin,
layered on top of each other with more ghee,
and then baked in a wood-fire oven.
Zanzibar pizza is actually more of a savory crepe.
The fried pockets of dough
are filled with just about anything,
from Nutella to cheese to squid.
A ball of dough is flattened,
and then a pile of meat, spices, vegetables,
and an egg are added in.
The sides are folded up,
and the dish is fried in a tava with ghee.
It's cut up into little squares to make it easy to share.
Beef bulgogi is widely popular in Korea
and a common topping for pizza.
These pizzas are loaded with juicy bulgogi,
cheese, and plenty of veggies,
like mushrooms, olives, onions, peppers, and corn.
Fugazzeta is a variation
of the popular South American dish fugazza.
Two pizza crusts are stuffed
and topped off with sweet onions
and sometimes other garnishes like ham.
This thick, double-crusted pizza
oozes with cheese in every bite.
Pizza Portuguesa starts with a traditional pizza crust
and is topped with cheese, ham, onions, and olives,
but it's not a classic pizza Portuguesa
without hard-boiled eggs.
Tlayudas.
These iconic street snacks are sometimes referred to
as Mexican pizza.
They're made from crispy corn tortillas
topped with pureed beans, shredded lettuce or cabbage,
avocado, meat, cheese, and salsa.
They're served open-faced or folded in half.
Several American cities,
like Detroit and New Haven, Connecticut,
have their own twists on pizza.
But Chicago is known for their deep-dish pies.
The crust is about 2 inches tall
and slightly fried from the oiled-up pans.
The layered pies start with the crust,
then cheese, then any veggies and meats of your choice,
and are finally topped off with plenty of tomato sauce.
The slices are so filling
that you might not reach for a second one.
You can get pizza fast and cheap
on just about every corner of New York City.
The New York slice, or plain slice, as locals call it,
grew out of the Neapolitan-style pizza
brought over by Italian immigrants in the early 1900s.
The slices are large and wide,
with a crust that's crispy but still foldable,
and topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Toppings like pepperoni and sausage are popular additions.
While most pies are about 18 inches,
Americans have perfected the art of giant food.