Pizza has evolved into one of the world’s most loved foods, and its Italian roots are widely recognised. However, it has undergone numerous transformations and adaptations throughout its history, including how it is known in different countries and regions across the globe.
Join us whilst we explore the alternative names for pizza…
Italy – Pizza
You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t understand the word pizza, even if that’s not how it’s referred to in their country. Italy is well known as the birthplace of pizza, with many popular varieties originating there, from the classic Margherita to Roman-style thin-crust pizza. The well-known Italian Neapolitan-style pizza has very strict guidelines proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), which must be met in order for a Pizza Napoletana to be considered authentic.
Argentina – Fugazza
Inspired by Italian immigrant Juan Banchero who moved to Buenos Aires from Genoa in the early 1900s, Argentina’s take on pizza, Fugazza, derives from the word focaccia, based on the style of bread that forms the pizza base. The focaccia-style bread makes for a spongier base than a classic pizza crust and is usually topped with mozzarella, lots of green, red, and sweet onions, parmesan, oregano and olive oil. Unusually for pizza, it is made without the addition of tomatoes!
View this post on Instagram
Morocco – Madfouna
Moroccan pizza, or madfouna, is a traditional Berber dish thought to be thousands of years old. The dish, essentially a stuffed flatbread, was traditionally baked in the Saharan desert using a fire pit – the word means ‘buried’ in Arabic. Madfouna is made with the same traditional ingredients as the Italians use: flour, yeast, salt, olive oil and water, but it is rolled into shape and stuffed rather than being served flat with toppings. The filling is usually made up of meat, vegetables, onions, and spices.
America – Pie
Across the United States, it’s common to hear people use the term pie when referring to pizza. This term likely stems from the circular shape and depth of the pizza, which resembles a pie. Whilst it might cause confusion among Brits – what we refer to as pie is something completely different, involving a pastry case with a sweet or savoury filling – Americans know when someone mentions getting a slice of pie, they are talking about cheesy, tomatoey pizza goodness.
View this post on Instagram
Korea – Nurungji Pizza
Korean-style pizzas are known for their innovative toppings and combinations; no weird or wonderful ingredients are off-limits in South Korea. Nurungji is crispy, burnt rice that forms at the bottom of a rice cooker and is often eaten as a snack or infused in hot water to make rice tea. However, more recently, restaurants in Korea have started using nurungji to form pizza bases, which are topped with red chilli paste and toppings such as barbecued beef, cheese, figs, onions, and sweet potatoes.
Turkey – Lahmacun
Lahmacun, or Turkish Pizza, is a delicious pizza variation that features a thin-crust Mediterranean flatbread topped with a combination of spiced minced meat, minced vegetables, garlic tomatoes, onions, herbs, chilli pepper and paprika. A popular street food, this Turkish delicacy is often served with a squeeze of fresh lemon and rolled up before eating.
View this post on Instagram
As we travel the globe and explore different cultures, it is evident that pizza is more than just a dish; it is a culinary phenomenon. Whatever name it goes by – pizza, fugazza, pie, nurungji, madfouna, or lahmacun – the essence remains the same. Pizza in all its delightful forms brings people together over a shared love for this globally loved creation.