ArmyofApples @armyofapples - Tumblr Blog

Posts

harpersbazaar

The Fashionable Life: Lady Goga

Photo credit: Christopher Sturman

escusem

scottspizzatours

When did we start folding pizza?

A great email landed in my inbox this week via the inbox of Slice founder Adam Kuban. Adam and I shoot questions to each other all the time but this one was particularly interesting because I had recently experienced a slice that helped inform my answer. Read on…

QUESTION from a guy named LARRY: A twenty-something friend of mine tried suggesting that pizza-folding was a “fairly recent thing in New York. It started like in the 60’s.” After picking my 54 year old jaw off the ground, I questioned his intelligence and manliness, scoffing at his source: a Discovery Channel documentary from a few years back on the history of pizza.

Phooey, I’m hitting a wall researching the subject, do you have any idea when pizza-folding started?

Hi Larry,

Great question and of course one that sorts controversy. Since old school NYC pizza joints like John’s, Lombardi’s, and Totonno’s don’t offer slices and pizzerias that opened after WWII generally DO, people often assume that there’s a correlation between the timeline and pizza eating method. Gas ovens (introduced in the early 1940s) did make pizza by the slice a viable business option since those ovens are heated indirectly at a much lower temperature than their wood- and coal- burning brethren. Movies and TV shows of the 1960s forged the relationship between pizza by the slice and NYC, helping to spread the concept to other cities. So your friend certainly has reason for the theory. But there’s more to the story…

I recently ate at a pizzeria in Casserta, Italy (photo above) that offered pizza al portafoglio, or “pizza in a wallet,” on their menu. It’s a folded slice wrapped with paper eaten on-the-go. As you can see in the photo above, we were in a sit-down restaurant so there was no real need to serve the pizza this way. It’s an homage to a local tradition honored by this famous pizzeria (Pepe in Grani). I have no idea when pizza al portafoglio started, but it’s clear that it folding pizza was commonplace in Naples before the 1960s. The 1954 film L’oro di Napoli features an episode about a pizza maker (Sophia Loren), who serves pizza this way. Since it’s an entire pizza and not a single slice, this is referred to as pizza a libretto, or “pizza in a book.”

It doesn’t show folded, but this 1858 etching titled “Il Pizzajuolo” by Filippo Palizzi clearly shows pizza being sold by the slice by a street hawker. I’ve seen several similar images, all dated around the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s very cool to see a food like pizza in the context of old documents like these.

It’s easy to understand why someone might think folding pizza started in New York City. Most of Italy eats pizza with fork and knife, so it appears as though the tradition started after the dish left its native country. But we have to keep in mind that pizza is not necessarily Italian to begin with, it’s Neapolitan, and the culture of Naples is key to the understanding of pizza at its origin. Naples was an active port and one of the most densely populated cities in Europe at the time pizza was gaining popularity in the 19th century, but as a peasant food it was not often eaten by outsiders. Even today, the most common reason for visiting Naples is as a connecting point to go somewhere else (Capri, Amalfi, etc). Pizza was a street food enjoyed by the lazzaroni (peasants) thanks to its low price point. It’s unlikely these people were eating a meal at a table with fork and knife. But because of their circumstances and the culture of Naples, this method was isolated until its resurgence a century later in New York City.

To sum it all up, people were definitely folding slices of pizza before post WWII NYC, but it was only happening in Naples and never achieved the status of compulsory eating method the way it did in New York City. So your 20-something friend might want to be careful about using television programs as historical references.

innerwreck

armyofapples

Is she wearing same dress in 2008 and 2015? Cool!

quesojane

bodybyplants

Berries for breakfast. Next a short run in the mountain air, some yoga, and a Costco trip. #vegan #801010 #rawvegan #hclf #highcarb #fruit #healthy #breakfast #fitness #yoga #run

mothernaturenetwork

Classical music soothes cats during surgery Listening to relaxing tunes may reduce the amount of anesthesia cats require, making surgery safer.

vegan-yums

Banoffee Pie / Recipe

elisetheviking

Hi, I just got started into being vegan today is my first day. I've alr eliminate almost all animal product from my life. I still don't get the food part. Can u gimme tips? I hope that u"ll post your daily intake if possible I can maybe copy :)

Hi, yo Anon! :)

Firstly; congrats on becoming vegan, that’s a super huge step for anyone to make and it’s totally ok to “screw up” sometimes, ‘cause we’re only humans, so don’t let that get you down! You’re still doing a huge thing for the environment, animals and yourself :)

There are soooo many things you can eat on a vegan diet, let me help ya out:

I don’t reaaally like to post my intake, but I’ll share with you the types of foods, just not the amounts:

Today I’ve eaten:

Chocolate soy milk with added B12

oats

natural peanut butter

banana

shredded coconut

lettuce

carrot

radish

flax seed

sesame seed

tomato

Veggie bullion

oat milk

couscous

cinnamon flatbread

soy vanilla pudding with added B12

mango

But if you are going vegan it is super important that you make sure you get enough of your nutrient such as Vitamin D, B12, iron, calcium and fatty acids such as Omega-3.

B12 is an important vitamin which is responsible for red blood cell growth and nervous system maintenance. The unfortunate thing is that you can only get from animal products - that’s why it’s important to either take vitamins especially for vegan/vegetarian or make sure you have foods with added - like I have soy milk and vanilla pudding with added B12.

Calcium is important for bone and overall health. But when you take away your main source of it which is for many dairy products, you need to find yourself a new source. Calcium containing foods are:

chickpeas

kale

hemp milk

blackberries

oranges

broccoli

dried figs

enriched whole-wheat bread

calcium-set tofu

calcium-fortified soy cheese, orange juice, or cereal

But most likely, if you take the vitamins especially for vegan/vegetarian you will get your daily dose :)

vitamin D is something our bodies produce the bone-forming when we expose our skin to the sun - but for those who live in a more cloudy area with long winters or have indoor jobs it’s not as easy to get all your needed D’s when you’re on a vegan diet(not always when you’re eating “regularly” either.) - again if you take the vitamins especially for vegan/vegetarian you will get your daily dose.

But if you’re not, here are some things you can do/eat:

Make sure to spend some time outside almost every day to get at least some D’s from the sun

Pay attention when you’re buying vegan/vegetarian products, many contain D’s and it’d be a shame if you picked the ones without the added D’s when you can buy those with added ones :)

Mushrooms contain vitamin D too

Fatty acids such as Omega 3 are healthful fats which helps with inflammatory diseases, decreasing the risk for coronary heart disease, lowering blood pressure, lessening the joint pain of arthritis, and protecting against dementia and depression.

Now, those aren’t as difficult to get enough of as some might think they are. These foods contain fatty acids:

Veggie oils

Sesame oil

Coconut oil

Flax seeds

hemp

Different types of nuts

Avocados

Iron serves as an essential part of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in your blood from your lungs to every body cell.

Here are some tips to getting the iron you need:

Select a variety of plant-based iron-rich foods daily, such as legumes, fortified veggie meats, nuts and seeds, prunes, raisins, blackstrap molasses, fortified cereals and grains, kale, and broccoli.

Do not rely on spinach, beet greens, rhubarb, and Swiss chard for your iron. An acid in these veggies called “oxalates” binds with the iron, making it unavailable for the body.

Eat iron-rich plant foods along with fruits and veggies that are rich in vitamin C during the same meal or snack to increase absorption.

Use cast-iron pots and pans to cook your food, especially acidic foods such as tomato sauce. This will increase the amount of iron in your food.

Do not drink tea or coffee with your iron-rich foods. The tannins in the tea and coffee can decrease the absorption of the iron. Some herbal teas, such as chamomile, peppermint, lime flower, and pennyroyal, can also decrease absorption.

So yep, when going vegan you need to be fully aware of this and know your shit so that you don’t feel like shit! Find a plan and stick to it and you’ll feel just great! :)

Hope this helped! :)