Naples, the Birthplace of Carlino’s Pizza
Pizza is a worldwide phenomenon now, but the popular pie’s roots are sunk deep in the fertile soil of the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Naples, the ancestral home of pizza, still produces some of the world’s best pies thanks to its unique geography. Flat breads and cheese were part of many other Italian cities’ cuisines, but the world had to wait for Neapolitan chefs to combine the region’s flavorful tomato sauce with a crisp dough and slices of mellow mozzarella cheese to create the first true pizza.
A classic pizza Napolitano relies on only three elements: tomato sauce, cheese and crust. Because it has so few ingredients, each must be top quality to produce a perfect pizza. Neapolitans grow their long, narrow San Marzano tomatoes in the region’s mineral-rich volcanic soil and cook them slowly into a robust red sauce. Carlino’s embraces this same philosophy, making pizza sauce fresh from flavorful tomatoes.
Only real mozzarella cheese will do for an authentic pizza Napolitano. Mozzarella, a young cheese that doesn’t need to age like a Parmigiano or Pecorino, melts and toasts without burning due to its high water content. Its special characteristics make mozzarella what some would call the most important aspect of a proper pizza.
The crust of a pizza Napolitano is more than just a carrier for toppings. It’s a flavor in its own right, and its characteristic blend of crispness and chewiness gives a classic pizza its mouth-pleasing texture. While the earliest Neapolitan pizzas had thin crusts, modern residents now have a choice of thin crust or the thicker crust favored by their more southerly Sicilian neighbors.
Sample the original with Carlino’s classic pizza Napolitano or enjoy one of many variations on this delicious theme with toppings that incorporate the fresh, authentic flavors of Italy.
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