Italian cuisine is very famous in the world. There is a list of Italian dishes that are very popular.
Italian cuisine comes from the Mediterranean region. It consists of various ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques that have been used in Italy since ancient Rome.
It spread to the world with Italian dishes consisting of tomatoes, capsicum, maize, potatoes, beet, etc. The speciality of Italian cuisine is that it is known for its simple ingredients and great taste.
It has affected several cuisines in the world, especially in America. Pizza and Pasta are a part of Italian cuisine.
Key Takeaways
- Pizza is an Italian dish with a flat, round bread base topped with tomato sauce, cheese, and various ingredients, baked in a high-temperature oven.
- Pasta is an Italian cuisine made from wheat flour and water, formed into various shapes and sizes, and commonly served with a sauce or other accompaniments.
- Both pizza and pasta are popular Italian dishes, but pizza features a baked bread base with toppings, while pasta consists of versatile, shaped dough served with sauces or other ingredients.
Pizza vs Pasta
Pizza is an Italian cuisine. Pizza is cooked or baked in a round shape. The base of the pizza is made with flour. After making the base, vegetables, meat, and cheese can be added to the top. The pizza is baked at a high temperature. Pasta is made with water, flour, and eggs. There are multiple types of pasta. It takes ten to fifteen minutes to make pasta.
Pizza comes from Italian cuisine. It belongs to the region of Campania (Naples). Pizza is of round shape that is a type of flatbread. Its base layer is made up of wheat flour dough, and then toppings of various vegetables like tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, olives, onions, olives, meat, pineapple, anchovies etc., are added.
Then it is cooked at a very high temperature. Traditionally pizzas were cooked in a wooden brick oven. In Italy, Pizza is served without cutting it into pieces. It is eaten with knives and forks.
Pasta also belongs to Italian cuisine. It consists of wheat flour that is mixed with water, eggs or instead of wheat flour, rice flour can also be used. The shape of Pasta is very different, like twisted, straight etc.
Pasta is cooked in boiling water or baked in an oven. It is a staple food of Italy. To make it more interesting, it comes in different flavours and tastes. It has an alternative to gluten-free as well. Pasta is made from a machine that makes it cost-effective.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Pizza | Pasta |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Flatbread | Staple Food |
| Ingredients | Dough, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, sauce, meat, etc. | Wheat Flour, eggs, water, etc. |
| Shape | Round | Various kinds |
| Variation | Calzone, stromboli, panzerotti. | Rice flour pasta, egg pasta, legume pasta. |
| Preparation Time | 25-30 minutes | 10-15 minutes |
| Shelf Life | Fresh or Frozen | 1 year |
| Nutritional Value | Higher in carbs, Fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc. | Lesser in fat, potassium, iron, zinc, calcium, and sodium |
What is Pizza?
The term ‘Pizza’ first appeared in 997 AD in Byzantine Empire. Various foods that are the same, like Pizza, have been prepared by the people since Neolithic Age. Modern-day Pizza evolved from Naples, a region in Italy in the 18th or 19th century.
The most popular pizza, i.e. Margherita, was invented in 1889. Pizzas spread quickly around the globe. It was brought to the United States by an Italian immigrant in the 19th century. The pizza is sold fresh. It takes a lot of time to prepare it.
Because dough needs to be kneaded 12 hours before.
It is also sold frozen. In Italy, it is served as a whole without unsliced. It is served in portions as well as it is easy to eat them with hands. Traditionally Pizzas are prepared in fire brick ovens.
But now it is being prepared in an electric oven or conveyor belt. The bottom of the Pizza is called Crust, which varies from thin to thick to hand-tossed to filled with cheese.
The cheese used in Pizza is mostly mozzarella. Varieties of Pizza include Hawaiin Pizza, Clam Pie, Pizza Capricciosa, Pizza Marinara, seafood Pizza etc.
Styles of Pizza include Calzone, Deep-fried Pizza, Chicago-style Pizza, Greek, New York-style, Jumbo, Pizzetta etc. A person who makes Pizza is called Pizzaiolo.
What is Pasta?
Pasta is of Italian origin. It has been made there since the 13th and 14th centuries. Pasta became very famous in Italy in the 15th century because it was very easy to store them.
The pasta was carried away in the sea with the sailors who went for the exploration of the New World. In the 16th century, Pasta was introduced to the world. Tomatoes were added to the pasta in Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Then Italy became the hub for manufacturing Pasta. Kneading machines were brought that made pasta-making easier and cheaper.
The first factory of Pasta was also established in Venice. In the modern era, Pasta making has become an art. A lot of dedication, hard work and devotion was given to make it what we have now.
Pasta is so much eaten in Italy that it is produced more than wheat. In the whole world, Italians consume pasta average of 27 kg in a year. Basic Pasta consists of wheat flour or semolina.
Variations include rice flour, gluten-free, adding vegetable purees such as spinach or tomato, mushrooms, cheeses, herbs, spices and other seasonings etc.
Pasta is available in different shapes and sizes, i.e. long, short, fresh, twisted, egg, baked, etc. It is divided into two types one is dried, and the other is fresh. Fresh Pasta is made from local ingredients. Dried Pasta is made commercially in factories. Both have more than 310 variants. Pasta is served with sauce like white or red sauce.
Main Differences Between Pizza and Pasta
- Pizza is a type of Flatbread. Pasta is a staple food.
- Ingredients used in Pizza are Dough, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, sauce, meat etc. Ingredients included in Pasta are Wheat Flour, eggs, water etc.
- Pizza comes in a round shape. Pasta has various shapes and sizes.
- Variations of Pizza include Calzone, panzerotti, stromboli, Greek Pizza, Jumbo Pizza etc. Variations of Pasta include Rice flour pasta, legume pasta, egg pasta, short pasta etc.
- The preparation time for Pizza is 25 to 30 minutes. The dough of the Pizza should be kneaded at least 12-24 hours before. The preparation time for Pasta is very quick, i.e. 10 to 12 minutes.
- The shelf Life of Pizza depends upon the type, whether it is fresh or frozen. Fresh has to be consumed within a day. Frozen Pizzas can survive for 2-3 months. The shelf Life of Pasta is very long, i.e. at least for one year.
- Pizza’s nutritional value is high in calories, carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc. Pasta’s nutritional value is less in fat, potassium, iron, zinc, calcium and sodium.
- https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/advan.00044.2005
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X1000034X
Last Updated : 25 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
