Protecting Pizza's Pristine Preparation

In a city that has gained international notoriety for breaking the rules, or bending and stretching these to a point where the original purpose has been blurred beyond recognition; the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana has drawn up a set of rules for the making of pizza - a dish that's as varied in style and substance as the region, culture, or personal preference of the one preparing it. To impose a set of rules on an item of such diversity is an exercise in futility; and to implement it in a locale where rules are restructured to suit individual purposes and benefits is genuinely quixotic. But the Naples based association is determined to protect one of its most ancient and most important gastronomic traditions - pizza.

The rules, which gained the backing of the European Union are published in the EU's Official Journal based on the Associazione's (translation: True Neapolitan Pizza Association) defined standards. Henceforth, Pizza Napolitana will be recognized as a Regional Specialty granted the same rank as French Champagne or German beer, and anyone selling it is subject to strict inspections. The new law details the diameter size of the pizza, the thickness of the center and the crust, measured in exact centimeters. Specifications on the type of oven and cooking period have also been laid out. The tomatoes must be from San Marzano from the volcanic plains south of Mount Vesuvius, and the mozzarella made with milk of the water buffalo raised on the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state.The oil must be extra virgin olive oil. The rules also document the step-by-step procedures and details of dough preparation to the point that each individual chef will produce a standard Neapolitan Pizza as if it was made in a mechanized factory.

The law applies specifically to the Pizza Margherita, which together with the Marinara, are considered the only two true pizzas. Neapolitans take their pizza very seriously and it is part of their history, culture and daily living; and they will not give it up to be diluted like the societal rules they so blatantly disobey. The Margherita is attributed to baker Raffaele Esposito who worked in a shop established in 1780 that maintains the same name to this day, Pizzeria Brandi. In 1889, he baked 3 different pizzas for the visit of King Umberto l and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Queen's favorite was the pizza that evoked the colors of the Italian flag, green (basil leaves) white (mozzarella), and red (tomatoes). This combination was named Pizza Margherita in her honor. Currently, the Margherita is sold throughout the world but the imitations taste like corrugated rubber. It is the intent of the association to establish the quality and the brand of the Margherita, and issue a Pizza Napolitana Certificate to those selling the product under this name.

The rigidity of the rules however may provide problems of compliance with the association. Da Michele for instance, one of the pioneers in pizza baking since 1870 and considered one of the best if not the best in Naples, is not applying for the certificate. The sizes of their pizzas, ingredients, and method of baking differ in many aspects to the rules established by the association, yet their sizeable customer base has never diminished. But the Real Pizza Association Director Antonio Pace, has threatened to hail to court all those who claim the brand Pizza Napolitana but are not following the agreed rules. It has never been this intense and the likelihood of bitter rivalries and court litigations looms because of these developments.

Italians have not been known to go to war yet over pizza, nor have they taken to the streets or resorted to anarchy (as in the garbage burning incidents) because of it. This will be the test of how Neapolitans will adhere to rules after centuries of breaking them nonchalantly. The only way these rules will find uniform compliance would perhaps be the employment of a specialist organization that will give each and every restaurant or pizzeria its standard operating philosophy... "An offer they can't refuse".

Haaarrrwwwwk...Twoooooph...Ting!