And nobody believed me!
It was a moment in the chat that got erased.
Let’s Talk About It
The roots
Pizza and spaghetti have a few commonalities.
They’re both Italian.
They’re both tomato-based
And if you’re like… (Black) We add cheese to both.
Parmesan!
Cheddar if you’re feeling rich.
Oh, and guess what? If you order a meat trio pizza from Little Caesars – YOU’RE GETTING GROUND BEEF.
Can we call them cousins?
The process
Spaghetti is more noodles based, I haven’t made my own spaghetti before… sigh.
However, I know its core ingredients, and according to this Italian recipe blog, technically, spaghetti is supposed to be made without meatballs.
piZzA
American pizza is your typical flour crust, with a sexy slob of tomato paste, then THE CHEESE. Mozzarella, cheddar if you want to be unIqUe, throw on those pepperoni, (everyone likes beef or turkey now).
I like to get crazy and add olives, banana peppers, maybe even a bit of green peppers. Hmm, some bacon bits too. Even a dash of ranch, what could go wrong?
(High sodium alert) (High sodium alert)
Just kidding!
Don’t try this at home.
However, pizza and spaghetti are distant cousins.
Does that sound better
They may not have the same steps or the EXACT ingredients, but they come from the same roots.
Girl, why does this matter
Honestly, I was scrolling Instagram reels one night, and accidentally watched a recipe video, and then saw like five other videos. Sent a few to my cousin’s groupchat and a discourse started about Olive Garden serving pizza, and yeah, now we’re here.
See, you’re going to find pasta and pizza at most restaurants, because guess what?
THEY’RE COUSINS
Distant, but still.
I need to find a metaphor for this. Hold on.
Thinking. Thinking. Thinking.
Uhhh.
Sometimes, you may feel like a flat piece of bread. Is pizza bread? Gotta Google that.
Sometimes, you may feel like a flat piece of dough.
Sounds better.
Sometimes, you may feel like a flat piece of dough with just toppings, but then overtime, you turn into a giant bowl of noodles.
Fancy noodles, topped with parsley and Parmesan. How cool is that?
I also gotta Google if pasta or pizza came first…
The research
Mama’s confused!
Random articles on Google are calling it flatbread! (Pizza is bread, bruh) Flour, water, yeast and salt! Ugh.
But folks on Reddit are like, “Ahh, nah, it’s not bread, it’s dough!” Like ugh!
This research is getting hectic; let me put on my journalism cap.
We’re going on a pizza deep dive.
It’s not American! It’s bread, it’s flat bread. Ugh. I guarantee you the Italians never used pepperoni.
They don’t! We’re being served lies about this pizza!
What are we eating? Fake pizza!
(My bell peppers are a hit tho in Italy)
Why oh why! How could we be so ah! Gentrified with pizza!
Wow.
In journalism school, they ask for a summary of this, but I think you should read it yourself! I’ll tag it, though! Haha
Learn about the origins of pizza, you hungry American!
Alright, let’s get into our girl pasta
Well, spaghetti, because she has to tell everyone she’s the cousin on the dad’s side.
Oh, baby, those meatballs in your spaghetti aren’t even Italian.
You’re eating another American dish.
(I knew that)
Hmm. This is definitely giving mom side activity because it still holds the fact that American pizza and spaghetti are cousins. They’re the distant cousins of the Italian dishes with a dash of uhhh
More sodium?
Here’s another article you can read from a food blog about meatballs not really being Italian, and more so, “added cause it was cheap in America”. That’s that journalism degree paying off.
Wow, when my husband takes me to Italy, I am going to be so aware of what I eat!
(I am practicing, duh)
Not going to lie, that meatball and spaghetti story is kinda deep
You should read it. Honestly.
It kinda reminds me of how Black families love meatballs at baby showers. Why do we have meatballs at baby showers?
I bet you never went to a cookout and saw meatballs on the grill.
I bet on Thanksgivings, you never saw them either.
Why do Black people like meatballs at a baby shower?
Am I going to have meatballs at my baby shower?
And pasta salad. Rotini noodles dripped in “Italian dressing” with peppers, black olives, and random items everyone adds to their recipe.
Are we channeling our inner Italian vibes?
American pizza and spaghetti are cousins
Goodbye.
Happy pizza day! It’s almost over, but you get the point>
With love,
C.Alilijah