salmon

Pizza became a common dish in the poor communities of Naples—in the late 1700’s. And it makes total sense!  Minimal ingredients, minimal expense, and maximum quantity.  Topping them only came naturally to make these cheap pies even more filling; using inexpensive ingredients such as tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies and garlic.

It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that Queen Margherita, of Italy, visited Naples and there in visited a Napoleon pizzeria—Pizzeria Brandi. It was there she fell for a basic Napoleon pizza topped with mozzarella, basil, and sliced tomatoes. It was said to be love at first bite, and so was dubbed the “Pizza Margherita.”

She brought the tradition back to Italy where it famously gained popularity. The actual Margherita recipe was so coveted that the government coined and enforced the name and recipe That didn’t stop the Italian’s from experimenting with new pizza recipes.  They made famous the heavy use of garlic, as well as chunks of sausage with fennel and anise. They also came up with there well know Italian Blended Cheese, or a shredded blend of mozzarella, provolone, asiago and romano cheeses. Still mixed and used world wide for pizza making.

As more Italians came to the U.S., so did the tradition of pizza making. During World War II the dishes popularity boomed for similar reasons as it did in Naple’s.  It was inexpensive, delicious, and a true comfort food. They took it a step further by adding another inexpensive topping to bulk up these pies even more. Pepperoni gained massive popularity as is was extremely cheap to buy—made mostly of pork and beef scraps, but was spiced to perfection! American’s fell in love with it and we still treasure it now! Even though we experiment every day with new toppings like BBQ chicken, salmon, bcacon, etc., we still consume 250+million pounds of pepperoni a year. Making pepperoni the most popular topping, bar none. Far second is surprisingly mushrooms, followed by onions, sausage, bacon, olives, green peppers, and pineapple.

Funny enough the most famous pineapple topped pizza, known prevalently as the Hawaiian, isn’t even that popular in Hawaii.  This dish gained it’s recognition in Australia, Sweden, and Canada.  I can only assumed that’s where Canadian bacon started to take place of the traditional ham topping.

Other countries, like Japan, have popular toppings like squid, potatoes, and bacon.  I’d love to know where you’re from, or where you’ve been, and what is the most popular and native topping that the area has to offer!

Hope you enjoyed food for thought.

So I get asked all the time: ‘Which types of fish can be eaten raw and do they have to be “sushi-grade?”‘ It’s a great question and I highly encourage doing your research any time it comes to preparing a new type of meat, fish, poultry, and so fourth. You can never be too safe—and in honor of #FishWeek I’m going to address the do’s and don’ts of buying and eating RAW fish.

The most common misconception is that only fish rated “sushi-grade” can be eaten raw and that’s not necessarily true. Starting with the most obvious question…

Photo Credit: Chow.com

What is Sushi-Grade?

Put simply, “sushi-grade” is just a phrase, among several, thrown around to express the freshness of a fish. It is not, however, a regulated title; hence theoretically anything could be labeled “sushi-grade.” Typically that’s not the case and the title should be reserved for the vendor’s freshest fish that has been properly prepared and stored, but it’s important that you trust your vendor, or fish monger, and that you know what to look for when buying fish intended for raw consumption.

 What to know?

Don’t be fooled by the freshness.  Yes, it is true that only fresh fish should be consumed raw, as fish is highly perishable, but there are other standards and practices that need to be abided by to ensure a safe meal. The most important being, proper preparation.

Proper food and safety measures must be taken to minimize the risk of food-borne illnesses from eating raw fish. Your first concern should be sanitation and avoiding cross contamination.  Ask you fish vendor how they avoid cross contamination.  Is there “sushi-grade” fish prepared and kept separate from the fish that must be cooked? As in some fish—like types of Tuna—can often be eaten straight from the ocean, but other fish—like Salmon—can not be eaten raw unless it’s been properly treated. Therefor, you want to make sure the fish intended for raw consumption and the fish intended to be cooked have been prepared and stored separately to avoid any parasitic transfer.

That’s also why it’s important to know your fish. Parasitic fish, like Salmon, must be frozen first (roughly 7 days), thawed, and then can be served for raw consumption. This process is regulated. Every fish vendor should be able to provide you with a log of when the fish was caught, if, when and how long it was frozen for, and when it hit the shelves. That leads to my next point: know your vendor.

Where to buy?

I would only buy fish I intend to eat raw from a very trusted vender or fish monger.  Only go somewhere that is reputable, has a high turn around—to guarantee freshness—and that comes with a knowledgable staff. Once you know where to shop, there are a plethora of unbelievably delicious RAW fish recipes.  Whether you enjoy sushi, ceviche, sashimi, what have you—there are endless possibilities.

Hope you enjoy #FishWeek!