In the world of pizza, even the slightest variations of a recipe can turn them into a completely different dish! For example, cooking a pizza in a brick oven versus a conventional oven results in a smokier flavor that you can’t accomplish with the other oven. Changing the type of sauce used can turn a red pizza into a white pizza. Other variations require specific ingredients to truly distinguish themselves from the competition. We’ll go over one such variation below: pizza napoletana!
What Is Pizza Napolitano?
Upon first glance, you may think that there’s nothing to distinguish pizza napoletana from a regular pizza. If you’re basing it off of appearance alone, you would be right; a traditional pizza napoletana is made with cheese and tomato sauce like many other variations. However, the main difference between pizza napoletana and other types of pizza is where the ingredients come from. The tomatoes must either be San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino tomatoes, which are so rare that they are only grown on the side of Mount Vesuvius! The cheese is even more specific, with only one type making the cut. The cheese used must be Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, which is mozzarella made from buffalo milk, or Fior di Latte, which is made using a specific and detailed process. Because the ingredients are so specific, pizza napoletana is designated as a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed food, or TSG for short.
What Is a TSG?
When a food receives a traditional speciality guaranteed designation, it’s not something to be taken lightly. In fact, these foods are protected under European Union laws! In order for a food to qualify for this title, it must have very specific characteristics. In the case of pizza napoletana, these characteristics are the fixed ingredients used to make the dish. Because any diversion from these changes the nature of the dish, it qualifies for traditional specialty guaranteed status. Foods that are processed differently and foods that have a specific recipe can also receive this status. Because pizza napoletana is a TSG, a manufacturer can only call it that if it conforms to the ingredients mentioned previously.
Pizza Napoletana at Quattro
Brick oven pizza is the name of the game at Quattro, and we have plenty of recipes that are sure to make your mouth water; including pizza Napolitano! We also sport a variety of Italian cuisines to satisfy anyone’s palette. If you’re curious about pizza Napolitano or our other options, click here to make a reservation with us and satisfy your curiosity!