Authentic Pizza? BBC's take

[rotuts]

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250801-italys-undercover-pizza-detectives

 

interesting.

[weinoo]

Quote

Today, students pick at their rehearsal Margheritas as they await the return of the other trainees from their exams, under the scrutiny of local pizza celebrities Gino Sorbillo and Paolo Surace.

 

Gino had a place in NYC, opened in 2017 or so.

 

 

 

It closed.

 

 

[Smithy]

These are interesting standards, taken from the stated guidelines:

Quote

...all certified pies must consist of a "roundish seasoned disc" with a high-border, puffy crust (cornicione) no taller than 1-2cm. There should be no "big bubbles" or "burned spots". Pizzas must be "soft", "elastic" and foldable.

 

I'm sure I've read on these forums that some folks prefer a bit of blistering on their pizza crusts. Maybe those aren't intended to be Neapolitan style pizzas?

 

For instance, here is a reference to leoparding. Maybe that isn't the same thing as burnt spots...?

[AlaMoi]

uhmmm, defining the acceptable / per-determined 'parameters' is rather a really bad / totally inane approach to finding anything 'original'

[IndyRob]

I respect them for trying to protect Neapolitan Pizza, but not Pizza in general.  Looking at the menu Weinoo posted, I suspect that many Italians would object to them claiming that their pizza represents the whole of Italy based on the toppings (e.g. speck in the north, nduja in the south).  I think proponents of Roman pizza would have quite a bit to say about the idea of adding guanciale and pecorino and calling it a Roman pizza.

[IndyRob]

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

These are interesting standards, taken from the stated guidelines:

 

I'm sure I've read on these forums that some folks prefer a bit of blistering on their pizza crusts. Maybe those aren't intended to be Neapolitan style pizzas?

 

For instance, here is a reference to leoparding. Maybe that isn't the same thing as burnt spots...?

Leoparding refers to small dots of char over the outside of the crust (Cornicione).  Like leopard spots.  It is a desirable trait in a Neapolitan pizza, but a big spot of char would not be. (as I understand it)

 

Edited 11 hours ago by IndyRob (log)

[Mjx]

12 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

uhmmm, defining the acceptable / per-determined 'parameters' is rather a really bad / totally inane approach to finding anything 'original'

 

Fair point, but Italians don't necessarily prioritize originality over tradition, and there's a government body that specifies in detail the way many ingredients and dishes must be sourced or made, and this does include Neapolitan pizza (In English, here, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/2313/oj). MASAF rulings concerning how DOP, IGP, STG, and PAT products are defined (https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/2090) are a source of endless, highly enjoyable arguments all over Italy.

[liuzhou]

The topic's title is misleading. It isn't the BBC's take. The BBC is merely reporting the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana's take.

Edited 3 hours ago by liuzhou (log)

[Pete Fred]

This put me in mind of a recent article on how the "authentic" form for carbonara came to be.

[Ddanno]

14 minutes ago, Pete Fred said:

This put me in mind of a recent article on how the "authentic" form for carbonara came to be.

 

 It reminded of the time an Australian cheese maker made parmesan and became a meme when his comments were filled with furious Italians

 

(channel here, it's well worth your while as the chap knows his stuff and is quite a relaxing watch -  https://m.youtube.com/@GavinWebber)

 

We humans are a silly bunch at times. 😁

Edited 2 hours ago by Ddanno (log)